Luke 3:2

Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judaea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of Ituraea and of the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias the tetrarch of Abilene, For the exposition, see the notes at Matthew 3:1....

Luke 3:2._Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests _It is certain, that there never were two persons who held the office of _high priest _at the same time. Josephus states, that Valerius Gratus made Caiaphas _high priest, _a short time before he left the government. During the time that Pilate was governor of Judea, Josephus does not speak of him as having made any change in this respect; (244) but, on the contrary, states that, when Pilate had been recalled from the government, and sent to plead his cause at Rome, Vitellius, who was at that time governor of Syria, reduced Caiaphas to a private rank, and transferred the high priesthood to Jonathan, the son of Ananus, (Ant. 18:4:3.) When Luke says that there were two _high priests, _we must not understand him to mean, that both held the same title, but that the honor of the priesthood w

1-14 The scope and design of John's ministry were, to bring the people from their sins, and to their Saviour. He came preaching, not a sect, or party, but a profession; the sign or ceremony was washing with water. By the words here used John preached the necessity of repentance, in order to the remission of sins, and that the baptism of water was an outward sign of that inward cleansing and renewal of heart, which attend, or are the effects of true repentance, as well as a profession of it. Here is the fulfilling of the Scriptures, Isaiah 40:3, in the ministry of John. When way is made for the gospel into the heart, by taking down high thoughts, and bringing them into obedience to Christ, by levelling the soul, and removing all that hinders us in the way of Christ and his grace, then preparation is made to welcome the salvation of God. Here are general warnings and exhortations which Jo...

Verse Luke 3:2. _ANNAS AND CAIAPHAS BEING THE HIGH PRIESTS_] Caiaphas was the son-in-law of Annas or Ananias, and it is supposed that they exercised the high priest's office by turns. It is likely that Annas only was considered as high priest; and that Caiaphas was what the Hebrews termed כהן משנה _cohen mishneh_, or סגן כהנים _sagan cohanim_, the high priest's _deputy_, or ruler of the temple. Matthew 2:4, and John 18:13. The facts which St. Luke mentions here tend much to confirm the truth of the evangelical history. Christianity differs widely from _philosophic system_; it is _founded_ in the goodness and authority of God; and _attested_ by historic facts. It differs also from popul

ANNAS AND CAIAPHAS BEING HIGHPRIESTS - There was, properly speaking, but one high priest of the Jews; yet the name of high priest continued to be given to those who had been in that office, and especially when they still possessed some civil office after they had left the high priesthood. In this case it appears that “Caiapas” was high priest, and Annas “had been,” but had been dismissed from the office. It is highly probable that he still held an office under the Romans, and was perhaps president of the Sanhedrin. He is mentioned before Caiaphas because he was the father-in-law to Caiaphas, and probably was the eldest, and had been longest in office. Instances similar to this may be found in Josephus. There is one remark to be made here about the manner in which the gospels are written. They have every mark of openness and honesty. An impostor does not mention names, and times, and plac...

EXPOSITION LUKE 3:1 THE BAPTISM OF JOHN. LUKE 3:1 NOW IN THE FIFTEENTH YEAR OF THE REIGN OF TIBERIUS CAESAR. St. Luke's Gospel is framed after the model of approved histories. He commenced with an elaborate rhetorical preface, most carefully worded, stating, in a few well-chosen sentences, the reasons which had induced him to undertake the work. He then (Luke 1:5) skillfully wove into the text of his narrative one or more original documents; these he translated, preserving, with great art, as closely as possible, the spirit, and oftentimes the very words, of his original authority. Now, in this

ANNAS AND CAIAPHAS BEING THE HIGH PRIESTS,.... Some difficulty here arises, how these two could be both high priests; when according to the law of God, and the usages of the Jewish nation, there was to be, and was but one high priest at a time: many things are observed by writers, to solve this difficulty: some go this way; that though according to the divine institution, and the practice of former times, there was but one high priest at a time; yet now, through the corruption of the present age, there were two high priests; or at least, which officiated alternately in the same year: but of such a corruption, no instance can be given, even in those corrupt times; and as Maimonides says a, there can be but "one high priest" בכל העולם, "in all the world"; and besides, is contrary to their canons, which were then in being, and still remain; one b of which runs thus, אין ממנין שני כהנים גדול...

Luke 3:1. Now in the fifteenth yea of the reign of Tiberias Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judaea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of Ituraea and of the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias the tetrarch of Abilene, Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests, the word of God came unto John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness. And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins; as it is written in the book of the words of Esaias the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Every valley shall be filed and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth; and all flesh shall see the salvation of God. Then said he to the multitude that ca...

II. THE BEGINNINGS OF HIS MINISTRY -- CHAPTER 3-4:13 CHAPTER 3 _ 1. The Ministry of John the Baptist. (Luke 3:1 .)_ 2. His Testimony to Christ and his Imprisonment. (Luke 3:15 .) 3. The Baptism of the Lord Jesus. (Luke 3:21 .) 4. The Genealogy of Mary, the Mother of our Lord. (Luke 3:23 .) Luke 3:1 Eighteen more years of silence follow. It is broken by the voice of the forerunner, John, who preached at Jordan the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. He is not reported here preaching “the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” He

JOHN THE BAPTIST. Mark 1:1 *, Matthew 3:1 *. also Mark 6:17 *, Matthew 14:3 *. Lk. now (to Luke 9:50) follows the Marcan account of the Galilean ministry of Jesus and its antecedents; he adds material from Q and other sources. LUKE 3:1. On the chronology, see pp. 652f.; PONTIUS PILATE, p. 609; HEROD (Antipas) and PHILIP, p. 609. ABILENE was the district round Abila between Mt. Hermon and Anti-Lebanon, north-west of Damascus. Caiaphas was really high-priest