“The Just Shall Live By Faith”

New King James Version                          Written by: David Hicks

 

Romans 1:17 “ For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "The just shall live by faith."

Galatians 3:11 “But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for "the just shall live by faith."

Hebrews 10:38 “Now the just shall live by faith; But if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him."

“Articles of Faith”

 

An Orderly Account Of The Greatest Story Ever Told

(A Study in Luke)

Chapter 3:1-6:

In this lesson, we will be introduced to the beginning of the work that John the Baptist would be commissioned to complete. His calling is to come directly from the word of God and his mission will be crystal clear; “Prepare the way of the Lord” .

Malachi 4:5

“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet Before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord .”

Text #1:

Luke 3:1-2 “Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, 2 while Annas and Caiaphas were high priests, the word of God came to John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.”

Reign of Tiberius: For many years now, there have been many who have tried to refute the dates and events of the Bible, including this date given by Luke. They claim that the fifteenth year of Tiberius is far too late for the corresponding reigns given. Luke actually helps us understand the date by the corresponding rulers given, note:

Tiberius was the step son of Augustus Caesar and of all the heirs of Augustus; he was by far the most able body successor. His merits as a soldier and administrator were well known to Augustus, who during his own lifetime granted Tiberius a share in the government, which included the territories of Judea . This fact along with the other rulers mentioned here for the purpose of dating this event help us to understand that this is not the fifteenth year of Tiberius' absolute reign.

Annas and Caiaphas: Here Luke calls Annas and Caiaphas both high priests and in John 18:13 ; John tells us that Annas is the father-in-law of Caiaphas. Since there was no provision made in the Law of Moses for more than one high priest to be in office at the same time, we must understand the times that have led to such a contrary practice.

Judea was in subjection to Rome at this time and that secular government had meddled in the affairs of the Jews. Under the Law of Moses the high priest held his office for life, however, Pilate, the Roman governor, replaced Annas as high priest with his son-in-law Caiaphas. Even though Pilate had appointed Caiaphas as high priest, both were being called high priest. In this arrangement, it was believed that Annas acted has the head of the Sanhedrin and Caiaphas was high priest for religious activities (in either case, it was not as the Lord intended for it to be!).

The Word of God Came to John: In chapter 1:80 , we left John in the wilderness and this is where the word of God would come to John. In our opening, we have a quote from Malachi 4:5 ; in the close of the revelation of God in the Old Testament, God said He would send His messenger ( Malachi 3:1 ).

God said He would send them Elijah ( Malachi 4:5 )! Elijah was the great prophet to the kingdom of Israel , during the reign of the wicked king Ahab ( I Kings 17:1 - II Kings 2:25 – this makes some wonderful reading if you have the time!).

With this final prophecy, this one would come like Elijah (with the same power of God), the children of Israel waited for this one to come and John the Baptist would be this one to come like Elijah and the scriptures testify clearly that he is this Elijah spoken of by God, note:

Matthew 11:14 “And if you are willing to receive it, he is Elijah who is to come.”

Matthew 17:12-13 “But I say to you that Elijah has come already, and they did not know him but did to him whatever they wished. Likewise the Son of Man is also about to suffer at their hands." 13 Then the disciples understood that He spoke to them of John the Baptist.”

Mark 9:11 -13 “And they asked Him, saying, "Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?" 12 Then He answered and told them, "Indeed, Elijah is coming first and restores all things. And how is it written concerning the Son of Man, that He must suffer many things and be treated with contempt? 13 But I say to you that Elijah has also come, and they did to him whatever they wished, as it is written of him."

You may recall in one of our earlier lessons that the angel of God spoke to Zacharias concerning this very thing, note:

Luke 1:17 “He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, 'to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,' and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."

Here we see the accurate conception of the relationship between John and Elijah. They are not the same individual, but John has come with the same spirit and power of God!

Just as Elijah came with power to wicked Israel in an effort to turn them back to God from their idolatrous ways; John also has come to turn Israel back to God before the coming of the Son of God (not just to prepare them for the kingdom of heaven that the Christ would establish, but to turn them back before the Christ also brought judgment on disobedient Israel – more on this in future lessons!).

All this is given at this point to make sure that we see that John is the prophesied one to come before the Christ and to know that His charge comes directly from God (the accurate definition of the word apostle is, “one sent” – in this understanding, John is an apostle of God !). The message he will bring in the coming verses comes directly from God!

Text #2:

Luke 3:3 “And he went into all the region around the Jordan , preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins,”

Baptism of Repentance: The Jordan Valley was an extensive area extending 65 miles from the sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea . The river twists and turns until it is nearly 200 miles long. A well suited area to fulfill this new command which consisted of the immersion of a penitent believer in water after he repented.

His baptism was “unto the remission of sins” , which would be predicated on the One coming after him. This is best explained by the Apostle Paul (an apostle of Christ !), to disciples of John whom he has found in Ephesus , note:

Acts 19:4 “Then Paul said, "John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on Him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus."

Those who would reject the baptism of John would reject God, note:

Luke 7:30 “But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the will of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.”

John's baptism was not to be confused with baptism in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins (Christian baptism – Acts 2:38 ) , his baptism was preparatory for the coming kingdom and its king.

Repentance means, to change your mind, or, to turn away from a present course to a new direction. The repentance was back to the Old Law and its true statutes which had been forsaken for the teachings of men ( Matthew 15:7-9 ), if they could not walk according to the righteousness of God under the Old Law, they certainly would not be ready for the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus, note:

Matthew 5:20 “For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.”

Text #3:

Luke 3:4-6 “as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, saying:"The voice of one crying in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the Lord ; Make His paths straight. 5 Every valley shall be filled And every mountain and hill brought low; The crooked places shall be made straight And the rough ways smooth; 6 And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.' "

Isaiah 40:3-5 : The prophets of the Old Testament often spoke in duality, that is, they would make reference to an immediate or close event and also in the revelation make reference to something farther off. Isaiah, when he made this prophecy spoke in duality. The first portion spoke of the return of Israel from Babylonian captivity, when Jehovah rose up Cyrus to deliver His people (which Isaiah prophesied over 100 years prior to the event).

The second portion of this dual prophecy speaks of a greater wonder in store for all flesh, when John the Baptist would come crying in the wilderness, “Prepare the way of the Lord” . Isaiah would claim that he would only be a voice, and his mission will be introducing Him in whom the glory of God will be revealed; “And all flesh shall see the salvation of God” .

What assurance did the people have that all this would come to pass? “For the mouth of the Lord has spoken – Isaiah 40:5 ”.

Luke, as a New Testament prophet acknowledges that John is this voice and that he will make straight the path by adjusting the conditions in the lives of men to better suit them for the greater One who would follow!

We did not get very far in this lesson, but we have covered some very important thoughts concerning the call and purpose of John the Baptist. In our next lesson we will examine the condition of the people that he would come to and why there was such great need for repentance in the land.