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Luke 3

Luke joins John’s call for repentance with the revelation of Jesus as God’s Son, whose ancestry reaches back to Adam.

John, the son of Zacharias, receives God’s word in the wilderness during the rule of Tiberius Caesar. He goes through the Jordan region, calling the crowds to repentance and baptism, warning of judgment, and answering questions about changed conduct. He points to someone mightier who is coming. Luke also records Herod’s imprisonment of John. At Jesus’ baptism, the Spirit descends and a voice from heaven names him the beloved Son. A genealogy then traces Jesus’ ancestry back to Adam and God.

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1Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene,
2during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John, the son of Zacharias, in the wilderness.
3He came into all the region around the Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for remission of sins.
4As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make ready the way of the Lord. Make his paths straight.
5Every valley will be filled. Every mountain and hill will be brought low. The crooked will become straight, and the rough ways smooth.
6All flesh will see God’s salvation.’”
7He said therefore to the multitudes who went out to be baptized by him, “You offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
8Therefore produce fruits worthy of repentance, and don’t begin to say among yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father;’ for I tell you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones!
9Even now the ax also lies at the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that doesn’t produce good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”
10The multitudes asked him, “What then must we do?”
11He answered them, “He who has two coats, let him give to him who has none. He who has food, let him do likewise.”
12Tax collectors also came to be baptized, and they said to him, “Teacher, what must we do?”
13He said to them, “Collect no more than that which is appointed to you.”
14Soldiers also asked him, saying, “What about us? What must we do?” He said to them, “Extort from no one by violence, neither accuse anyone wrongfully. Be content with your wages.”
15As the people were in expectation, and all men reasoned in their hearts concerning John, whether perhaps he was the Christ,
16John answered them all, “I indeed baptize you with water, but he comes who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to loosen. He will baptize you in the Holy Spirit and fire.
17His winnowing fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly cleanse his threshing floor, and will gather the wheat into his barn; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
18Then with many other exhortations he preached good news to the people,
19but Herod the tetrarch, being reproved by him for Herodias, his brother’s wife, and for all the evil things which Herod had done,
20added this also to them all, that he shut up John in prison.
21Now when all the people were baptized, Jesus also had been baptized and was praying. The sky was opened,
22and the Holy Spirit descended in a bodily form like a dove on him; and a voice came out of the sky, saying “You are my beloved Son. In you I am well pleased.”
23Jesus himself, when he began to teach, was about thirty years old, being the son (as was supposed) of Joseph, the son of Heli,
27the son of Joanan, the son of Rhesa, the son of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, the son of Neri,
31the son of Melea, the son of Menan, the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David,
32the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Salmon, the son of Nahshon,
33the son of Amminadab, the son of Aram, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah,
34the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor,
35the son of Serug, the son of Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of Eber, the son of Shelah,
36the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech,
37the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalaleel, the son of Cainan,
38the son of Enos, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.
World English BibleRead in NIV in Psalmlog →Highlighted verses are the most connected.
Key verses
Luke 3:22The Spirit’s descent and the voice from heaven identify Jesus as the beloved Son before his teaching ministry begins.
Luke 3:6Isaiah’s promise places John’s work within God’s purpose to make his salvation visible to all flesh.
Luke 3:16John answers speculation about his identity by pointing to the greater authority and Spirit-giving work of the coming Christ.
Where this chapter reaches

Luke quotes Isaiah’s wilderness proclamation, including its promise that all flesh will see God’s salvation, and shares with Matthew the accounts of John’s preaching and Jesus’ baptism. The genealogy reaches into Genesis through Abraham, Noah, and Adam, connecting Jesus with the ancestors of Israel and humanity.

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After reading the whole chapter

Which of John’s answers about possessions or wages most challenges how you understand repentance?

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What do you notice when you read the heavenly declaration alongside the genealogy’s ending?

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Questions people ask about Luke 3

What are the fruits of repentance in Luke 3?

John describes conduct that fits a turning from sin: sharing food and clothing with those who lack them, collecting no more tax than authorized, and refusing extortion or false accusation. He also tells soldiers to be content with their wages. Ancestry from Abraham offers no exemption from this call.

What does baptism with the Holy Spirit and fire mean in Luke 3?

John contrasts his water baptism with the greater work of the coming Christ. The Holy Spirit points to the gift Christ will give. Fire is interpreted in different ways, including purification and judgment, but the next verse’s burning chaff makes judgment central to the warning in this passage.

Why does Luke 3 trace Jesus’ genealogy back to Adam?

Luke’s genealogy extends beyond Abraham to Adam, placing Jesus within the ancestry of humanity as a whole. Its ending also follows the declaration that Jesus is God’s beloved Son. Luke does not explain every purpose of the list, but its scope fits the earlier promise of salvation seen by all flesh.

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Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).