Luke 3:21-25

Luke 3:21 (KJB)
Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened,

John had been baptizing the people as they came to him confessing their sins and then being baptized in water. Once all the people had been baptized, then Jesus came to John to be baptized. At this point Heaven was opened as Jesus was praying for the coming of the Holy Ghost upon Him. Here Luke begins to focus on Jesus receiving the Holy Spirit and how it happened.

Luke 3:22 (KJB)
And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased.

After Jesus had become baptized, he immediately went up out of the water and then the heavens being opened meant that a divine revelation was happening. The Lord Jesus then saw the Holy Spirit descend from Heaven and come upon Him. Notice that He descended like a dove. The dove represents a new era coming. Just as in Noah’s time when he sent out the dove and came back with an olive leaf in its mouth. (Gen 8:11 KJV) And the dove came in to him in the evening; and, lo, in her mouth was an olive leaf plucked off: so Noah knew that the waters were abated from off the earth. The end of judgment of the world was at hand and soon Noah and all the animals would be let go into a new world. Well the dove represents the coming of the kingdom of God and eternal salvation for all the Elect of God. The old ways of the Mosaic law will be over in three years as the Lord Jesus Christ will fulfill all the requirements of God’s Holy Law, resulting in salvation by grace.

The voice from Heaven was God the Father. Verse 22 is a killer to those who deny the trinity, especially the oneness Pentecostals and many cults. The entire Godhead was involved in this event. God speaks from Heaven that Jesus is His beloved Son in whom He is well pleased. This removes any doubt that Jesus was the Son of God and deity. This goes back to Isaiah 42. (Isa 42:1 KJV) Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. Here Jesus is referred to as His servant and His elect. God has put His spirit upon Him as we read in verse 22. God is now giving affirmation to the earthly ministry of His Son. The reason that the Christian can be pleasing to God is because we are in His Son, (Col 3:3 KJV) For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. Since God was pleased with His Son, the sacrifice Christ made on Calvary was imputed to all the Elect and that is why the Christian, not the religious person pleases God.

The Genealogy
This Genealogy differs from the one in Matthew. Matthew works forward in time and Luke works backward. Luke’s list is longer than that of Matthew. Luke has 57 names and Matthew has 41 names. Matthew goes back to Abraham while Luke’s goes back to Adam. Many of the names in the lists are not identical as Matthew may have followed the Dynastic descent while Luke followed the more genetic descent. The genealogies were given to show that Jesus descended from the line of David in the tribe of Judah plus it shows that He was incarnated into the human race. The Jews were very big on genealogies as can be seen in Nehemiah, Ezra, Chronicles and other places throughout the Old Testament. Some names given there is nothing written about them and they may be bridges to the next generation.

Luke 3:23 (KJB)
And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli,

Jesus - Son of God, Son of Man, Eternal God
Joseph - Was his earthly guardian but not the physical father of Jesus. He was a parent to Jesus and after the birth of Jesus, he and Mary 

                 had other children.
Heli - The father of Joseph. His Hebrew name is the same as Eli.

Luke 3:24 (KJB)
Which was the son of Matthat, which was the son of Levi, which was the son of Melchi, which was the son of Janna, which was the son of Joseph,

Matthat - Son of Levi
Levi - Son of Melchi
Melchi - Son of Janna
Janna - Son of Joseph
Joseph - Ancestor of Joseph - Mary’s husband

Not much is known of these in verse 24.

Luke 3:25 (KJB)
Which was the son of Mattathias, which was the son of Amos, which was the son of Naum, which was the son of Esli, which was the son of Nagge,

Mattathias - Son of Amos - Surnamed Siloah by Philo who ruled for 10 years.
Amos - Surname was Sirag
Naum - His name was Nahum
Esli - Was surnamed Haggai - He lived after the captivity
Nagge - Or Naggai - Son of Maath

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