Am reading Luke 3:

Luke starts off by giving some background information about what’s going on. He mentions some important historical and religious figures to give us a sense of when these events took place. It’s interesting because while these powerful men are in charge, God chooses to speak to this weird guy living in the wilderness instead. This shows that God often works through unlikely people.

John the Baptist’s message aligns with what was prophesied in the Old Testament. Centuries before John, prophets like Malachi and Isaiah talked about someone who would prepare the way for the Messiah. Luke uses these references to show that John is fulfilling those promises.

John is pretty bold in his preaching style, probably because he’s dealing with some hypocritical religious leaders. He even warns them about judgment and uses strong imagery to get his point across.

People who hear John’s message start asking him how they should live. He gives different advice to different groups, urging them to live in a way that matches their claims of repentance. He talks about selflessness, honesty, and integrity.

Because of his preaching style, some people start to wonder if John is the Messiah, but he quickly corrects them and says he’s just a messenger. He sees himself as unworthy compared to the Messiah. John’s preaching makes him popular, but it also gets him into trouble, like when he criticizes Herod’s marriage and ends up in jail.

Luke doesn’t give a lot of detail about Jesus’ baptism, but he mentions that it happened and there was some kind of divine approval. Think this stood out the most. V21 He humbles Himself in His humanity to get baptized. How cool with the audible voice of God.

Luke traces Jesus’ family tree all the way back to Adam to emphasize that the gospel is for everyone, not just a select group of people.

Luke’s gospel switches back and forth between the stories of Jesus and John the Baptist. The genealogy at the end of chapter 3 marks a transition, and from now on, Luke will mainly focus on Jesus.