5. Prelude to Ministry

Lesson #5 Prelude to Ministry

(3: 1 4: 13)

1 Prelude to Ministry

With Johns birth in Chapter 1, we moved seamlessly to Jesus birth in Chapter 2. As Lesson #4 opened, Luke set the scene, both historically and geographically. Historically, the scene opened when Caesar Augustus (in Rome) issued a decree that a census be taken of the enHre Roman.

Consequently, Mary and Joseph made their way 100 miles south from Nazareth to Bethlehem, Josephs ancestral home and the town of David, where Jesus will was born, fullling the prophecy of Micah 5: 1-2.


As we enter Lesson #5 Jesus is about thirty years of age (3: 23). Eighteen years have ashed by between the closing of chapter 2 and the opening of chapter 3, eighteen years during which Jesus grew up in Nazareth.

As chapter 3 opens, Luke again anchors his narraHve in historical Hme and place, creaHng verisimilitude: In the Beenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when PonGus Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and TrachoniGs, and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene, during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas . . . (3: 1-2): it is now A.D. 27-29.


As Luke anchored the birth of John the BapHst (1: 5) and Jesus (2: 1-2) in historical Hme, so does he anchor the public ministries of John and Jesus (3: 1-2) in historical Hme, establishing the narraHves sense of verisimilitude.


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Prelude to Ministry 5

Tiberius Caesar succeeded Augustus as emperor in A.D. 14, and he reigned unHl his death in A.D. 37, the enHre period of Jesus adult life.

PonHus Pilate was prefect of Judea from A.D. 26 to 36.

Herod AnHpas, the son of Herod the Great (37 -4 B.C.), ruled over Galilee and Perea from 4 B.C. to A.D. 39, Jesus enHre lifeHme.

Philip, the brother of Herod AnHpas, ruled over the territory north and east of the Sea of Galilee from 4 B.C. to A.D. 34, Jesus enHre lifeHme.

Lysanias is menHoned as tetrarch of Abilene, but nothing else is known about him.

Annas was high priest from A.D. 6-15. He was deposed by the Roman government in A.D. 15 and succeeded by his son-in-law, Caiaphas, who was high priest from A.D. 18-36.

We then focus directly on John himself and on

his message:



He went throughout the whole region of the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah:

A voice of one crying out in the desert: Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths. Every valley shall be filled and every mountain and hill shall be made low. The winding roads shall be made straight, and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.

(3: 3-6)

Jericho! 5 miles to Jordan River; 8 miles to Qumran

Qumran! Home of the Dead Sea Scrolls

Dead Sea

Jordan ! River


The scene takes place on the east bank of the Jordan River, opposite Jericho.

"John bapHzing here.

Israel Jordan

Signicantly, Johns messageand the quote from Isaiah 40: 3-5is the exact message being proclaimed in the Community Rule of the Essenes at Qumran:

When these things shall come to pass in the Community of Israel, according to these rules, they shall withdraw from the city of the men of iniquity [i.e., Jerusalem] to go into the wilderness to clear the way of the Lord as it is wriTen: In the wilderness clear the way of the Lord, make level in the desert a highway for our God.

(1QS 8: 12-15)


Photography by Ana Maria Vargas

Dead Sea Scrolls, Community Rule, Qumran. Israel Museum, Jerusalem.


Not me.

Prelude to Ministry

It seems quite likely that John the BapHstand perhaps Jesus, as wellwere inuenced by Essene

thinking.

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I wonder if John was part of the community at Qumran?

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The Essenes were one of four major divisions in Judaism at the Hme of Jesus: Sadducees, Pharisees, Essenes and Zealots.

Essenes

The Essenes were a separaHst group, highly criHcal of the Sadducees and to a lesser degree criHcal of the Pharisees. They are rst menHoned by Pliny the Elder (A.D. 23-79) in his Natural History, where he writes that they do not marry and possess no money.

Josephus (A.D. 37-95) discusses the Essenes in greater detail in his History of the Jewish War, where he says they are celibate; have no possessions; live in community; pracHce extreme forms of asceHcism, including frequent ritual immersion; await the coming of the righteous one; and have a decidedly apocalypHc vision of the future.

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Cleansing ones self by ritual immersion dates back to the puricaHon laws in LeviHcus. Scripture presents many examples:

1. A man or woman with a bodily discharge must wait seven days and then cleanse him/her self by immersion in living water (LeviHcus 15);

2. In the David & Bathsheba story, when David sees Bathsheba she had been purifying herself from her monthly uncleanness (2 Samuel 11);

3. The prophet Elisha tells Naaman, the commander of Arams military, to dip himself seven Hmes in the Jordan to cleanse himself of leprosy (2 Kings 5);

4. Jesus tells the leper he cures to present himself to the priest and oer the gio prescribed, which includes ritual immersion. (Luke 5: 12-16).

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Ritual immersion at Qumran, however, went considerably beyond the scriptural prescripHons. Ceremonial puricaHon was an integral part of community life among the Essenes, as indicated by the Community Rule.

Ritual immersion was used for:

1. IniHaHon 2. Annual renewal 3. Daily puricaHon


Qumran, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in 1946/47. This is Cave #4.



The Scriptorium of Qumran, where the Dead Sea scrolls were copied.



The Essenes pracHced ritual immersion in a Mikevh, or ritual bath. There were ten mikvaot at Qumran.



This is a Mikevh at Masada, Israel.


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John the BapHst took ritual immersion even further than ritual puricaHon, however. Johns bapHsm was an iniGaGon rite, requiring a candidate:

1. to reect upon the condiHon of his soul; 2. to feel remorse for his sins; 3. to confess his sins; 4. to repent of his sins; 5. to show the fruits of his repentance; 6. to prepare for the coming of the

Righteous One, [e.g., Christ]; and 7. to be incorporated into the covenant

community by being bapHzed, fully immersed in water (Greek, baptizo = to dip).

John is bapHzing people on the east side of the Jordan River, opposite Jericho, and he has a ery message!

Read Luke 3: 7-20.



Masa PreH. St. John the BapGst Preaching (oil on canvas), 1665. Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco.

Hedium

Masada

Herods Fortresses

Herodium !

Masada !

" Machaerus


Tel of Machaerus, located in Jordan, 15 miles southeast of the Jordan River,

as it empHes into the Dead Sea.

Archaeological excavaHons on the top of Machaerus.


Lukes gospel presents a very brief version of Jesus bapHsm.

Read Luke 3: 21-22.



After all the people had been baptized and Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, heaven opened and the holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.

(3: 21-22)

Andrea del Verrocchio and Leonardo da Vinci. The BapGsm of Christ (oil on panel), c. 1475. Uzi Gallery, Florence.


Jericho! 5 miles to Jordan River; 8 miles to Qumran

Qumran! Home of the Dead Sea Scrolls

Dead Sea

Jordan ! River


Jesus bapHsm takes place on the east bank of the Jordan River, opposite Jericho.

"Jesus bapHsm here.

Israel Jordan


Standing on the east bank of the Jordan River as it ows south into the Dead Sea.



Modern-day bapHsmal site in Jordan, the tradiHonal site of Jesus bapHsm.



Walking to a very nice teaching site near John the BapHsts spring.



Dr. Creasy teaching about Jesus bapHsm onsite.



Jordan is famous for its mosaics, and this one rests where Jesus was bapHzed.


NoHce the mosaics similariHes with the del Verrocchio/da Vinci BapGsm of Christ that we saw earlier.


Aoer Jesus bapHsm, but before his temptaHon, Lukes gospel inserts Jesus genealogy, one very dierent from Maxhews.

Recall that Maxhew begins his gospel with a 3-part genealogy:

1. Abraham to David 2. David to the Babylonian capHvity; and 3. the Babylonian capHvity to Christ.


Moving from Abraham through David and the kings of Judah emphasizes Jesus linear descent from Abraham and establishes his claim to Jewish kingship.

Luke, however, begins his genealogy with Jesus, and he works backward, ending not with Abraham, but with Adamand ulHmately, with God! In doing so, Luke emphasizes Jesus kinship with all of humanity, not just with the Jewish kingship, leading to the universality of the gospel message.

Maxhew and Luke present genealogies that are similar in some ways, but radically dierent in others.


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Overall Maxhews list descends from Abraham to Jesus and uses the formula A was the father of B; B was the father of C.

Lukes list ascends from Jesus through Adam to God and uses the formula A, (son) of B, (son) of C.

Since Lukes genealogy extends beyond Abraham to Adam and to God, his list is naturally longer, 77 names compared to Maxhews 41.

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Pre-monarchical Period (c. 2100 B.C. - 1010 B.C.)

During the period between Abraham and David, Maxhew and Luke agree, although some manuscripts of Luke place Arni and Admin between Hezron and Amminadab, while Maxhew has only Ram.

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Monarchical Period (1010 B.C. - 586 B.C.)

During the period between David and the Babylonian capHvity the lists are totally dierent, agreeing only on David. Luke lists 21 names, Maxhew 15. Of the 21 listed by Luke, only David and Nathan occur in the Hebrew Scriptures.

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Post-monarchical Period (586 B.C - 6/5 B.C.)

During the period from the Babylonian capHvity to the birth of Jesus, Luke lists 22 names, Maxhew 13.

The lists only agree on the rst two and last two names (ShealHel and Zerubbabel/Joseph and Jesus). These four are the only names for which there is any biblical informaHon. The others do not occur anywhere in the Hebrew Scriptures.

NoHce the major dierences.

Since Luke emphasizes Jesus relaHonship to the enHre human family, he naturally extends his genealogy back to Adamand, indeed, to God, reinforcing the voice from heavens claim at Jesus bapHsm that he is the Son of God (Luke 3: 22).

Since Maxhew emphasizes Jesus Jewish roots, he begins with Abraham. From Abraham to David, Maxhew and Luke agree. But at David the lists separate.


Maxhew traces Jesus descent through Solomon, Davids son to Bathsheba and heir to his throne; Luke traces it through Nathan, one of four sons born to him by Bathsheba (the four sons were Shimea, Shobab, Nathan and Solomon).

(1 Chronicles 3: 5).

The lists converge again in the post-monarchical period with ShealHel and Zerubbabel, and then they separate again.

The most glaring dierence is with Jesus grandfather: Maxhew lists him as Jacob, while Luke lists him as Heil.


Not me.

Prelude to Ministry

Holy cow, this is complicated!

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Im gesng a headache! I think Ill chew on a bone.

Two explanaHons have been oered to explain the dierences in the genealogies:

1. both Maxhew and Luke present Josephs genealogy, but there was a levirate marriage at one or more points in the line, and;

2. Maxhew gives Josephs lineage, while Luke gives Marys.

Frankly, neither argument is very convincing; both contain daunHng complexiHes and glaring weaknesses. Untangling the two makes untying the Gordian Knot look easy by comparison!


Complexity need not imply error, however.

More likely, the twin genealogies oer dierent perspecHves on Jesus ancestors, each composed for its own purpose within the narraHve framework.



Luke

Onward to the temptaHon!

Boscelli. The TemptaGons of Christ (fresco), 1481-1482. SisHne Chapel, VaHcan.



Jericho ! " Jesus bapHsm

Judean wilderness


The Judean wilderness, place of Jesus temptaHon.


Simon Bening. Command this stone to become bread (illuminaHon), 16th century.


The TemptaGons of Christ [kingdoms of the earth, center] (mosaic), 12th century. St. Marks Cathedral, Venice.


Pinnacle of the Temple (tempera on wood), 1308-1311. Museo dellOpera del Duomo, Florence.


The Temple in Jesus day, as he would have seen it from the Mt. of Olives. (1.50 scale model of 1st-century Jerusalem, Israel Museum.)



Eastern Wall


Southern side of the Temple.

Place of TrumpeHng ! (pinnacle of the temple)


Southern wall

Stones that fell from the Temple when it was destroyed in A.D. 70.



Southwestern corner !


The Pinnacle stone that fell from the top of the southwest corner [replica].



Original pinnacle stone. The inscripHon reads, Place of trumpeHng. Israel Museum, Jerusalem.


Duccio di Buoninsegna. The TemptaGon of Christ (tempera on panel), 1308-1311.

The Frick CollecHon, New York.


TiHan. Adam and Eve (oil on canvas), 1550. Prado Museum, Madrid.

NoHce the parallels between the temptaHons of Adam & Eve (Genesis 3: 1-7) and those of Christ (Luke 4: 1-13):

Adam & Eve 1. Good for food 2. Pleasing to the eye 3. Gaining wisdom Christ 1. Stones to bread 2. Throw yourself down 3. Kingdoms of the world


1. John the BapHst may have been inuenced by the thinking of the Essene community at Qumran. What evidence suggests this?

2. What was the purpose of Johns message and of his bapHzing people?

3. Can you reconcile Jesus two dierent genealogies, one in Maxhew and a dierent one in Luke? If so, how?

4. Why does Maxhew open his gospel with a genealogy and Luke places his between Jesus bapHsm and temptaHon?

5. How many temptaHons did Jesus suer during his 40 days in the wilderness?


Copyright 2015 by William C. Creasy

All rights reserved. No part of this courseaudio, video, photography, maps, Hmelines or other mediamay be reproduced or transmixed in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any informaHon storage or retrieval devices without permission in wriHng or a licensing agreement from the copyright holder.


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5. Prelude to Ministry

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