In the fifteenth year
In the first chapter of his gospel Luke has told us about the forthcoming births of Jesus and John and about how Mary and Zechariah responded to the news.
In the second, we have the birth of Jesus, the shepherds and angels (no wise men!), the dedication of the child just a few days old and the trip to Jerusalem for Passover when he was twelve.
And then, just in case we need convincing about the time and place of what happens next, Luke opens chapter 3 - the chapter that has John the Baptist crying out in the wilderness, the baptism of Jesus and Luke's version of the ancestry of Jesus - cross-referencing seven different (probably) indisputable historical facts.
By creating this Venn diagram of events, Luke seems to me to be wanting to underline his view that it is inconceivable that this event did not happen. Some may suggest the story of John crying out in the wilderness is fanciful. In today's terminology some may dismiss it as part of some conspiracy or simply as 'fake news': but for Luke, the events he recounts about John in chapter 3 of his gospel really did take place. And he 'proves' it by cross referencing no less than seven historical pieces of information.
Now whilst that is interesting in itself, it is not unreasonable to wonder why this is so important to Luke: if there is truth at the heart of what he is saying, why does he work so hard to convince his readers?
The answer to that question may be partly to do with John the Baptist and the likelihood that, even just a couple of decades after the death and resurrection of Jesus, the nature of a character like John might well have evolved into myth and legend and that Luke is very keen to reclaim the full reality of John the Baptist.
There is though, I suspect, another motive to the list that starts chapter 3 - and that's the list that ends chapter 3.
That list is, again for Luke, 'proof' that Jesus is not just the "son (as was thought) of Joseph" but the direct descendent, by a further 76 generations, of God.
In these first three chapters Luke is building his credibility as a narrator of the story of Jesus of Nazareth: the more he can provide evidence of the fundamental elements of the life of Jesus, the more we are likely to accept the more bold claims .... like the one in chapter 3 where, at Jesus' baptism, the heavens open and a voice is heard saying: "This is my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased".
Dan Tyndall
3 Dec 21
