“Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, while Annas and Caiaphas were high priests, the word of God came to John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness. And he went into all the region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins…” Luke 3:1-3

I have been reading the Gospel of Luke and the early chapters are an amazing story. It is, in fact, the Greatest Story Ever Told! We have the appearance of an Angel visiting Zacharias announcing the birth of John the Baptist. Zacharias is mute until the birth of John and, even as his neighbors and relatives protested, Zacharias wrote on a tablet, “His name is John.” Immediately his tongue was loosed and he spoke, praising God. There is the announcement of the birth of Jesus to Mary, and Mary’s visit to her cousin, Elizabeth, the mother of John. We try to imagine how all these people must have felt and how these things affected their day to day lives.

In Luke chapter 2 the birth of Jesus is recorded and the encounters that Joseph and Mary have with Simeon and Anna when they go to the temple on the eighth day for the circumcision and offering of sacrifice according to the Law of Moses. It is a fascinating story.

In chapter 3 we read about the beginning of the ministry of John the Baptist, “the voice of one crying in the wilderness.” We are told that he began his ministry in the fifteenth year of Tiberius Caesar. Tiberius was born Tiberius Claudius Nero on 16 November 42 BC. His mother, Livia Druscilla, would later divorce her husband Nero and marry Octavian, later known as Augustus Caesar. His name then became Tiberius Julius Caesar and he reigned as emperor from 14 AD to 37 AD.

Thus we know that John began his preaching ministry around the Jordan region in the year 29 AD. According to historians Tiberius was a reluctant ruler and really preferred that the Senate in Rome would carry on without him. By 29 AD a man named Sejanus, who was closely aligned with Tiberius, began a purge of senators in Rome who opposed him and began schemes to have himself proclaimed emperor. In 31 AD Sejanus was summoned to a meeting of the Senate, where a letter from Tiberius was read condemning Sejanus and ordering his immediate execution. Sejanus was tried, and he and several of his colleagues were executed within the week.

During these tumultuous times in the Roman Empire John the Baptist began preaching in the wilderness of Judea. His message was one of repentance. He most likely shocked many people when he proclaimed to some who came to him for baptism, “Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?” (Lk. 3:7) People began asking him what they should do, and, without exception, he told them of changes that they needed to make in their behavior. He said things like, “He who has two tunics, let him give to him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise” (Lk. 3:11). He told the tax collectors to collect no more than what was appointed and he told the soldiers not to bully people or accuse them falsely and to be content with their wages. John preached a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. However, John pointed the people to one coming after him who was mightier than he was and who would baptize them with the Holy Spirit and fire. What a marvelous story of Good News!

-Scott Gage