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18 years have passed since Jesus interacted with the teachers in the temple courts at the time of the Passover
Feast when we are told that John the Baptist has started his ministry. John the Baptist was probably at least
thirty years of age since he was six months older than Jesus, and Jesus started His ministry when He was at
least thirty. It is not surprising that none of the gospels say anything of the early life of John the Baptist,
except for his birth, since we were told about only one event in Jesus’ early life. When John the Baptist
does appear on the pages of scripture, he is already preaching, and the people are seeking and following him.
Matthew, Mark, and Luke each introduce him as the one in the desert who is calling people to repent. At first
we might think that John was just a desert hermit; but people were responding to him, and the religious leaders
of the day wanted to associate themselves with him. He was powerful and prophetic. He was God’s chosen
man, and the Holy Spirit was using him. People were coming to hear his message, “Repent, for the kingdom
of heaven is at hand.” His message was that of the forerunner of the Messiah.Time of His Ministry. Only Luke tells us when John the Baptist started his ministry.
He does not give us a calendar date but tells us that John began his ministry in the desert during the reigns
of several individuals and at the time of two high priests.
Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip was tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene, in the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John, the son of Zacharias, in the wilderness. (NASB) Luke 3:1-2 If we count fifteen years after the start of Tiberius Caesar’s reign, we discover that John’s
ministry began in A.D. 29, since Tiberius Caesar ruled from A.D. 14 to A.D. 37. The reigns of Pontius Pilate,
Herod Antipas, and Herod Philip all overlap A.D. 29. This helps us determine precisely the time when John started
his ministry. Jesus’ ministry started some time later - maybe as late as A.D. 30.
The major question is how could both Annas and Caiaphas be high priests of Israel at the
same time? The answer is found in the fact that Rome did not want Annas to be the chief priest and consequently
replaced him with Caiaphas (A.D. 18 - 37). While Caiaphas was the official high priest, the Jews continued
to consider Annas to be the real high priest. That is, Israel had one official high priest and one popular
high priest.
So Luke has given us precise information. But why? Why tell us when John the Baptist started
his ministry? Why provide all of this detail? The answer is simple. Luke does not consider John the Baptist
to be a fictional character. Christians often talk about “the story of Adam and Eve,” “the
story of Moses,” or the “story of Samson.” Some consider these to be myths and stories
for children. But the truth is these are not just stories. They represent real people, people who really
existed. They did real things, and Luke believes that John the Baptist was a real person. Otherwise, why
provide us with such details about the start of John’s ministry? It is obvious that Luke considers
John the Baptist to be a real person who did real things! We will see in the next few verses that Luke will
provide us with more details. He is not finished.
Location of His Ministry. The gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke each also
provide us with different clues as to the region where John did his ministry. Matthew says that he preached
in the wilderness of Judea. |
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