DAY #91: Luke 3:15-38

Today, we are one quarter of the way through the year. If you have been daily reading through the New Testament, you are establishing a habit - a spiritual discipline that will shape your walk with God like none other. Stay the course. Day by day, the law of incrementation, God will grow you and direct you. For me, it's gut check time again. Do we continue the blog? Is it a benefit to you. Sign and and share if you will.


John’s baptism with water symbolized the washing away of sins. His baptism coordinated with his message of repentance and reformation. Baptism was an “outward” sign of an inward commitment. John’s baptism did not give salvation; it prepared a person to welcome the coming Messiah and receive His message and His baptism.

"Threshing" was the process of separating the grains of wheat from the useless outer shell called chaff. This was normally done in a large area called a threshing floor, often on a hill, where the wind could blow away the lighter chaff when the farmer tossed the beaten wheat into the air.

A winnowing fork is a pitchfork used to toss wheat in the air in order to separate wheat from chaff. The grain is the part of the plant that is useful; chaff is the worthless outer shell. Chaff is burned because it is useless; grain, however, is gathered. “Winnowing” is often used in the Bible to picture God’s judgment. Those who refuse to live for God are chaff, the useless outer husk of the grain. By contrast, those who repent and reform their lives are like grain. Those who refuse to be used by God will be discarded because they have no value in furthering God’s work. Those who repent and believe, however, hold great value in God’s eyes because they are beginning a new life of productive service for him.

While John proclaimed the Good News and warnings of judgment, he also apparently had a no-nonsense attitude toward the morality of the day. He publicly criticized Herod Antipas, ruler of Galilee, because he had married Herodias, his brother’s wife. So Herod was committing both adultery and incest. John publicly protested these sins, as well as many other wrongs Herod had done, and so he greatly angered both Herod and Herodias. Herod put John in prison, presumably to silence him.

One day, when many people were being baptized, Jesus came for baptism too. If John’s baptism was for repentance from sin, why was Jesus baptized? Jesus didn’t need to admit sin—he was sinless (John 8:46; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Hebrews 4:15; 1 John 3:5). Jesus was baptized for the following reasons: (1) to confess sin on behalf of the nation, as Isaiah, Ezra, and Nehemiah had done (Isaiah 6:5; Ezra 9:2; Nehemiah 1:6; 9:1); (2) to inaugurate his public ministry to bring the message of salvation to all people; (3) to identify with the penitent people of God, thus with humanness and sin; (4) to give an example to follow.

The Spirit descended and a voice from heaven proclaimed the Father’s approval of Jesus as his divine Son: “You are my beloved Son, and I am fully pleased with you.” The opened heavens, the dove, and the voice revealed to John the Baptist that Jesus was God’s Son, come to earth as the promised Messiah to fulfill prophecy and bring salvation to all who believe.

Although many Bible readers either skip over the extensive genealogies in the Bible or read through them quickly, it is important to pause at these genealogies and recognize their significance. Unlike Matthew, who provides a genealogy to Abraham (Matthew 1:1-17), Luke provides a genealogy that reaches back to the beginning of human history—to Adam himself.

This is the point: Jesus is not only the fulfillment of the promises given to Abraham and to King David , but the embodiment of perfect humanity.

Luke accomplished his goal for this genealogy—to establish for his Gentile readers Jesus’ direct connection, not only with the promises recorded in the Jewish scriptures, but also with the entire human race. Jesus came for all people.

SO WHAT? (what will I do with what I have read?)

I am once again impressed by the breaking of self that God desires to bring about in every one of us. If we desire to be used by God, He will prune us. It seems to me that this process of sanctification, becoming more like Christ, is necessary in the life of every believer - but so few embrace this life.

Lord, I want to be used by You. I know that road is lonely at times and painful at times, but I want my life to count. I want You to use me to bring others to You and build others for You.

Less of me and more of you. I must decrease and You must increase.

Lord, when I get weary and tired, give me Your power. Sustain me. Work in the lives of the folks at COV. Build them, encourage them, provide for them, protect them.

"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples." John 15:1-8 (NIV)