Luke 3:15

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Luke 3:15

(15) All men mused in their hearts . . .—The surmise which St. Luke thus records is not given by St. Matthew or St. Mark, but it agrees with what we find in St. John (John 1:19), and explains the reference to the “mightier” one which in the other Gospels comes in somewhat abruptly. On the answer itself, see Notes on Matthew 3:11-12. St. Luke’s report includes the chief features of those of St. Matthew and St. Mark, but it omits the characteristically vivid “stooping down” to unloose which we... read more

William Nicoll

Expositor's Dictionary of Texts - Luke 3:1-38

Luke 3:2 Prophets have passed for something as well as priests in making God's will known; and Established Church priesthoods have not been generally on particularly good terms with prophets. The only occasion on which the two orders are said to have been in harmony was when the prophets prophesied lies, and the priests bore rule in their name. Froude. Luke 3:2 The young who are of healthy, lively blood and clean conscience have either emotion or imagination to fold them defensively from an... read more

William Nicoll

Expositor's Bible Commentary - Luke 3:1-38

Chapter 6THE VOICE IN THE WILDERNESS.WHEN the Old Testament closed, prophecy had thrown upon the screen of the future the shadows of two persons, cast in heavenly light. Sketched in outline rather than in detail, still their personalities were sufficiently distinct to attract the gaze and hopes of the intervening centuries; while their differing, though related missions were clearly recognized. One was the Coming ONE, who should bring the "consolation" of Israel, and who should Himself be that... read more

Arno Clemens Gaebelein

Arno Gaebelein's Annotated Bible - Luke 3:1-38

II. The Beginnings of His Ministry -- Chapter 3-4:13 CHAPTER 3 1. The Ministry of John the Baptist. (Luke 3:1-14 .) 2. His Testimony to Christ and his Imprisonment. (Luke 3:15-20 .) 3. The Baptism of the Lord Jesus. (Luke 3:21-22 .) 4. The Genealogy of Mary, the Mother of our Lord. (Luke 3:23-38 .) Luke 3:1-14 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... read more

John Calvin

Geneva Study Bible - Luke 3:15

3:15 {2} And as the people were in expectation, and all men mused in their hearts of John, whether he were the Christ, or not;(2) If we would rightly and fruitfully receive the sacraments, we must neither rest in the signs, neither in him that ministers the signs, but lift up our eyes to Christ, who is the author of the sacraments, and the giver of that which is represented by the sacraments. read more

L.M. Grant

L. M. Grant's Commentary on the Bible - Luke 3:1-38

A VOICE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS (vs.1-20) The first two verses of this chapter establish the precise time of the appearance of John the Baptist in his ministry, so that the reality of it cannot be disputed, and they indicate that this solemn call of Israel to repentance was at a time when wickedness was prospering in high places. Tiberius Caesar was notorious for his cruelty to the Jews, specially bitter toward them, though other religions meant nothing to him either. Pontius Pilate's... read more

James Gray

James Gray's Concise Bible Commentary - Luke 3:1-38

PREPARATION FOR PUBLIC MINISTRY MINISTRY OF JOHN THE BAPTIST John the Baptist’s ministry is the first event here (Luke 3:1-22 ). Also he quotes more fully from Isaiah 40:0 than the preceding evangelists, and for the purpose of giving the words, “all flesh shall see the salvation of God.” The quotation is from the Septuagint, and is in harmony with Luke’s objective towards the verses, as he distinctively shows that the grace of God in Christ is for all people who will accept it, and not for... read more

Joseph Parker

The People's Bible by Joseph Parker - Luke 3:1-38

The Descent of the Holy Ghost Luk 3:22 It is that "bodily shape" that creates all the difficulty in some lumbering and wooden minds. How to connect spirit and body is the profound and insoluble problem. Some persons can believe in matter; they think they see it. Others have a dim notion of the possibility of there being a force in creation that might be called Mind or Spirit. But how to connect the two, how to get the Holy Ghost into a bodily shape, that is the puzzle, the problem, the... read more

Robert Hawker

Hawker's Poor Man's Commentary - Luke 3:3-22

(3) And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins; (4) 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. (5) Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth: (6) And all flesh shall see the salvation... read more

George Haydock

George Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary - Luke 3:15

Many reasons might have induced the people to think that John was the Christ: 1. The wonders that took place at his birth and conception, his mother being very old, and without any prospect of offspring: 2. the excellence of his preaching, his mortified life, and the novelty of his baptism; and thirdly, the report which them generally prevailed among the Jews, that the Messias was already come; on account of the coming of the magi, and the murder of the infants by Herod: both which... read more