Luk 3:1 | KingComments | STEP | In the previous scene, we see the Lord when He is twelve years old. Now we are eighteen years further in time. The service of the Lord Jesus is about to begin and will be introduced by John the baptist, just as the prophet Samuel was the predecessor of David. The date of the beginning of John’s performance is given in connection with the heathen dominion over the people of God. Judea is a province under the power of the empire of the nations. The other parts of Canaan are divided among different heads who are subject to that empire. At that moment, the people are in a chaotic state, both externally and in their hearts. It is God’s will that His land should be ruled by His Messiah, the King-Priest ( ). This situation was presented by God in the Old Testament in David and Levi. However, both the kingship and the priesthood are in the hands of people who do not care about God, but only think of themselves. The emperor of the Roman Empire, represented by a governor, Pontius Pilate, reigns over God’s land. Furthermore, there are several tetrarchs reigning. A tetrarch is a prince over a quarter of the land. This means that the empire will be even more fragmented than the two parts in which it was already divided. Two of these four princes belong to the Herod family, i.e. descendants of Esau. They may belong to a brother nation, but this brother nation is one of the greatest haters of God’s people. We read about their hatred in the book of the prophet Obadiah. There is not just the unusual heathen domination, also internally everything is in disorder. There are two high priests. Who ever heard that there were two high priests? Annas is the father-in-law of Caiaphas ( ). In the last chapters of this Gospel we see how all the leaders, political and religious, conspire to bring the Lord Jesus to the cross. In the circumstances just described, the word of God comes to John. This is an event of great importance. For four hundred years no prophet had come to Israel with the word of God. The word of God comes to John in the wilderness and not to the religious leaders in the religious center Jerusalem. God can no longer go there with His word because the leaders determine their own course and have closed themselves off to His calling voice. The wilderness is the place that corresponds to the spiritual condition of the people. This is where the service of the prophet John begins. A prophet is especially sent by God when the people are in decay.

‏ Luke 3:1

The Time of the Performance of John the Baptist

In the previous scene, we see the Lord when He is twelve years old. Now we are eighteen years further in time. The service of the Lord Jesus is about to begin and will be introduced by John the baptist, just as the prophet Samuel was the predecessor of David. The date of the beginning of John’s performance is given in connection with the heathen dominion over the people of God.

Judea is a province under the power of the empire of the nations. The other parts of Canaan are divided among different heads who are subject to that empire. At that moment, the people are in a chaotic state, both externally and in their hearts. It is God’s will that His land should be ruled by His Messiah, the King-Priest (Zec 6:13). This situation was presented by God in the Old Testament in David and Levi.

However, both the kingship and the priesthood are in the hands of people who do not care about God, but only think of themselves. The emperor of the Roman Empire, represented by a governor, Pontius Pilate, reigns over God’s land. Furthermore, there are several tetrarchs reigning. A tetrarch is a prince over a quarter of the land. This means that the empire will be even more fragmented than the two parts in which it was already divided. Two of these four princes belong to the Herod family, i.e. descendants of Esau. They may belong to a brother nation, but this brother nation is one of the greatest haters of God’s people. We read about their hatred in the book of the prophet Obadiah.

There is not just the unusual heathen domination, also internally everything is in disorder. There are two high priests. Who ever heard that there were two high priests? Annas is the father-in-law of Caiaphas (Jn 18:13).

In the last chapters of this Gospel we see how all the leaders, political and religious, conspire to bring the Lord Jesus to the cross.

In the circumstances just described, the word of God comes to John. This is an event of great importance. For four hundred years no prophet had come to Israel with the word of God. The word of God comes to John in the wilderness and not to the religious leaders in the religious center Jerusalem. God can no longer go there with His word because the leaders determine their own course and have closed themselves off to His calling voice. The wilderness is the place that corresponds to the spiritual condition of the people. This is where the service of the prophet John begins. A prophet is especially sent by God when the people are in decay.