Luke 3:16-22 NIV

The Pulpit Commentary - Luke 3:16

I indeed baptize you with water; but One mightier than I cometh. To refute this growing conviction that he was the Messiah, John tells the people plainly tidal Another far greater than he was coming. He, John, certainly washed (baptized) those who came to him, but his washing was merely symbolical— it could not purify them; his work had been to stir them up to repentance, to arouse them to change their lives. But the One who was coming, before whom he (John) was unworthy to stand and... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Luke 3:17

Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and will gather the wheat into his garner . But not only, taught John, was Messiah's work to consist in baptizing those who sought his face with the mighty baptism of the Holy Ghost and fire, there was another terrible aspect of his mission. The useless, the selfish, the oppressor, and the false-hearted,—these were to be separated and then destroyed. When will this separation and subsequent destruction take place? The... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Luke 3:18

And many other things in his exhortation preached he unto the people . These words tell us that the above was merely a "specimen" of John the Baptist's preaching, trenchant, fearless, practical, piercing the hearts of all classes and orders of the people who thronged to hear the earnest, fiery appeals of the great desert preacher. In this and in the next two verses St. Luke once more gives us a little picture of the events which were spread over a considerable area or' time. It is here... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Luke 3:20

He shut up John in prison . It did not enter into St. Luke's plan to write any detailed account of the circumstances which led to the death of the Baptist. The story (related at length by St. Matthew) was, no doubt, well known in all the Gentile Churches. He simply mentions the act which consigned the dauntless preacher to the dungeons of Herod's palace-fortress, close to the Dead Sea; it was termed Macha, or Machaerus. In closing his little sketch of the work of his Master's great pioneer,... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Luke 3:21-22

The baptism of Jesus . read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Luke 3:21-22

Now when all the people were baptized . This is the shortest account of the first three Gospels of this event. Two circumstances related are, however, peculiar to St. Luke—the fact that he ascended "praying" from the water, and the opening words of this verse, which probably signify that on this day Jesus waited till the crowds who were in the habit of coming to John had been baptized. Jesus also being baptized . There is a curious addition to the Gospel narratives of the baptism of the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Luke 3:21-22

The baptism of Jesus, and the descent of the Holy Ghost. The narrative of the meeting between Jesus and John is given at greater length, and with more completeness of detail, by St. Matthew (see homiletics on Matthew 3:13-17 ). But the account of St. Luke suggests some points of interest. I. THE IDENTIFICATION OF JESUS WITH THE PEOPLE . "When all the people were baptized, Jesus also having been baptized." In this, as in other things, "he is made like to his brethren."... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Luke 3:21-22

God's good pleasure in us. There are some preliminary lessons we do well to learn before we approach the main one; e.g. : 1 . That piety will sometimes prompt us to do that which we are under no constraint to do. Jesus was not under any obligation to be baptized with the baptism of repentance. Moreover, he could not be said to be enrolling himself as a disciple of John. But he felt that "it became him" to do what he did ( Matthew 3:15 ); probably his abstention would have been far... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Luke 3:21-38

The baptism and genealogy of Jesus. From the general features of the remarkable ministry of the Baptist, summed up as it is for us in the preceding verses, we now pass to the most notable instance of baptism performed by him. This was the baptism of Jesus. We are expressly told that it was when the movement under John had become national, when all the people ( ἅπαντα τὸν λαόν ) had submitted to the rite, with, of course, the Pharisaic exceptions already noticed ( Luke 7:30 ), that... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Luke 3:16-18

See the notes at Matthew 3:11-12. read more

The Pulpit Commentary - Luke 3:16

The Pulpit Commentary - Luke 3:17

The Pulpit Commentary - Luke 3:18

The Pulpit Commentary - Luke 3:20

The Pulpit Commentary - Luke 3:21-22

The Pulpit Commentary - Luke 3:21-22

The Pulpit Commentary - Luke 3:21-22

The Pulpit Commentary - Luke 3:21-22

The Pulpit Commentary - Luke 3:21-38

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Luke 3:16-18

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