--- title: "Luke 3 - Study King James Bible with cokes commentary on the holy bible" description: "Read Luke 3 with cokes commentary on the holy bible commentary. 1 Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Cæsar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judæa, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother P" image: "/_app/immutable/assets/missing.C7wGMEZ6.jpg" url: "https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/cokes-commentary-on-the-holy-bible/luke/3" --- [ Read](/kjv/luke/3)[ Commentary](/study/luke/3)[ Interlinear](/interlinear/luke/3) Audio 1 Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Cæsar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judæa, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of Ituraea and of the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias the tetrarch of Abilene, 2 Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests, the word of God came unto John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness. 3 And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins; 4 As it is written in the book of the words of Esaias the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. 5 Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways *shall be* made smooth; 6 And all flesh shall see the salvation of God. 7 Then said he to the multitude that came forth to be baptized of him, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to *our* father: for I say unto you, That God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. 9 And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: every tree therefore which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. 10 And the people asked him, saying, What shall we do then? 11 He answereth and saith unto them, He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do likewise. 12 Then came also publicans to be baptized, and said unto him, Master, what shall we do? 13 And he said unto them, Exact no more than that which is appointed you. 14 And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, And what shall we do? And he said unto them, Do violence to no man, neither accuse *any* falsely; and be content with your wages. 15 And as the people were in expectation, and all men mused in their hearts of John, whether he were the Christ, or not; 16 John answered, saying unto *them* all, I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire: 17 Whose fan *is* in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and will gather the wheat into his garner; but the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable. 18 And many other things in his exhortation preached he unto the people. 19 But Herod the tetrarch, being reproved by him for Herodias his brother Philip’s wife, and for all the evils which Herod had done, 20 Added yet this above all, that he shut up John in prison. 21 Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened, 22 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. 23 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, 24 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, 25 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, 26 Which was *the son* of Maath, which was *the son* of Mattathias, which was *the son* of Semei, which was *the son* of Joseph, which was *the son* of Juda, 27 Which was *the son* of Joanna, which was *the son* of Rhesa, which was *the son* of Zorobabel, which was *the son* of Salathiel, which was *the son* of Neri, 28 Which was *the son* of Melchi, which was *the son* of Addi, which was *the son* of Cosam, which was *the son* of Elmodam, which was *the son* of Er, 29 Which was *the son* of Jose, which was *the son* of Eliezer, which was *the son* of Jorim, which was *the son* of Matthat, which was *the son* of Levi, 30 Which was *the son* of Simeon, which was *the son* of Juda, which was *the son* of Joseph, which was *the son* of Jonan, which was *the son* of Eliakim, 31 Which was *the son* of Melea, which was *the son* of Menan, which was *the son* of Mattatha, which was *the son* of Nathan, which was *the son* of David, 32 Which was *the son* of Jesse, which was *the son* of Obed, which was *the son* of Booz, which was *the son* of Salmon, which was *the son* of Naasson, 33 Which was *the son* of Aminadab, which was *the son* of Aram, which was *the son* of Esrom, which was *the son* of Phares, which was *the son* of Juda, 34 Which was *the son* of Jacob, which was *the son* of Isaac, which was *the son* of Abraham, which was *the son* of Thara, which was *the son* of Nachor, 35 Which was *the son* of Saruch, which was *the son* of Ragau, which was *the son* of Phalec, which was *the son* of Heber, which was *the son* of Sala, 36 Which was *the son* of Cainan, which was *the son* of Arphaxad, which was *the son* of Sem, which was *the son* of Noe, which was *the son* of Lamech, 37 Which was *the son* of Mathusala, which was *the son* of Enoch, which was *the son* of Jared, which was *the son* of Maleleel, which was *the son* of Cainan, 38 Which was *the son* of Enos, which was *the son* of Seth, which was *the son* of Adam, which was *the son* of God. [Luke 2](/study/luke/2) [Luke 4](/study/luke/4) ## Commentary To verse 1 ***[Luke 3:1](/kjv/luke/3/1)*****.*****Now in the fifteenth year,*****&c.—** Though the evangelist has told us in what year the Baptist made his first public appearance, he has not intimated in what period of his ministry Jesus came to be baptized; (see [Luke 3:21](/kjv/luke/3/21).) wherefore, seeing the Baptist's fame had spread itself in every corner, and brought people to him from all quarters, it is probable that he had preached at least several months before our Lord arrived at Bethabara. If so, as it is natural to think that John came abroad in the spring, Jesus could not be baptized by him soonerthan in the summer or autumn. The reign of Tiberius had two commencements; one when Augustus made him his colleague in the empire, and another when he began to reign alone after Augustus's death. If, as historians tell us, Tiberius's pro-consular empire began about three years before Augustus died, that is to say, August 28, in the year of our Lord, 11, and from the building of Rome 764, the whole ofthat year would, by common computation, be reckoned the *first*of Tiberius; and consequently, his *fifteenth year,*though really beginning August 28, in the year of our Lord 24, and from the building of Rome 778, would be reckoned from the January preceding. Supposing then, that the Baptist begantopreachinthespring of this fifteenth year, according to common computation, and that Jesus came to him in the summer or autumn following, the latter would be, at his baptism, thirty years of age, a few days more or less, provided we fix his birth to September, from the building of Rome 748, that is, a little more than a year before Herod died;—or, but twenty-nine years of age, if we suppose that he was not born till September, from the building of Rome 749, that is, a few months only before Herod died. At this period Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea: after the death of Herod the Great, Augustus confirmed the partition which that prince by his latter will had made of his dominions among his children. According to this partition, Archelaus obtained Judea, Samaria, and Idumea, with the title of *Ethnarch;*for though his father had called him *king*in his testament, the emperor would not allow him that dignity, till he should do something for the Roman state which deserved it. Archelaus, after a tyrannical reign of ten years, was deposed for his mal-administration; and his country was made a province of the Roman empire, under the name of Judea. Properly speaking, indeed, Judea was an appendage to the province of Syria, being governed by a procurator, subject to the president of that province. Yet the procurators of Judea were always vested with the power of presidents or governors; that is to say, gave final judgment in every cause, whether civil or criminal, without appeal, unless to the emperor, by whom Roman citizens, in whatever part of the empire they lived, had a right to be tried, if they demanded it. Judea therefore was in effect, a distinct province or government from Syria. Accordingly, the evangelists give its procurators, when they have occasion to mention them, the title of *governors,*as that which best expressed the nature of their dignity. The proper business of a *procurator*was, to take care of the emperor's revenues in the province belonging to him; as the *quaestor's*business was to superintend the senate's revenuein the province belonging to him. But such procurators as were the chief magistrates of a province, had the dignities of governor and *quaestor*united in their persons, and enjoyed privileges accordingly. By virtue of the partition above-mentioned, *Herod Antipas,*another of the first Herod's sons, governed Galilee and Perea, or *the country beyond Jordan,*with the title of Tetrarch; which, according to some, was the proper denomination of the *fourth*dignity in the empire; or, as others think, the title of one who had only the fourth part of a country subject to him; though in process of time it was applied to those who had any considerable share of a kingdom in their possession. This is the Herod, under whose reign John began his ministry, and by whom he was beheaded. It was to him likewise that Pilate sent our Lord, in the course of his trial. St. Luke tells us, that *Philip's*dominions were Iturea and Trachonitis: but Josephus says, they were Auranitis and Trachonitis. Reland reconciles the historian with the evangelist, by supposing that *Iturea*and *Auranitis*were different names of the same country. The Itureans are mentioned with the Hagarites, 1Ch 5:19 and half the tribe of Manasseh is said to have seized upon their territories. *Jetur,*the son of Ishmael, the son of Hagar, was their father, and gave them their name. *Trachonitis*was situated between Palestine and Coelo-Syria; its ancient name was *Argob,*[Deuteronomy 3:13](/kjv/deuteronomy/3/13). It was full of rocky hills, which in Herod the First's time afforded shelter to bands of robbers, whom he was at great pains to extirpate. *Abilene*was a considerable city of Syria, whose territories reached to Lebanon and Damascus, and were peopled with great numbers of Jews. ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#website","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com","name":"Real Bible Believers","description":"RBB","publisher":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#/schema/person/e966585dde703268e7f6ae890ea98509"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/search?q={search_term_string}","query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/cokes-commentary-on-the-holy-bible/luke/3#primaryimage","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/_app/immutable/assets/missing.C7wGMEZ6.jpg","contentUrl":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/_app/immutable/assets/missing.C7wGMEZ6.jpg","width":672,"height":448,"caption":"Real Bible Believers"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/cokes-commentary-on-the-holy-bible/luke/3#webpage","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/cokes-commentary-on-the-holy-bible/luke/3","name":"Luke 3 - Study King James Bible with cokes commentary on the holy bible","isPartOf":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/cokes-commentary-on-the-holy-bible/luke/3#primaryimage"},"author":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#/schema/person/e966585dde703268e7f6ae890ea98509"},"description":"Read Luke 3 with cokes commentary on the holy bible commentary. 1 Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Cæsar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judæa, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother P","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/cokes-commentary-on-the-holy-bible/luke/3#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/cokes-commentary-on-the-holy-bible/luke/3"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/cokes-commentary-on-the-holy-bible/luke/3#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/","name":"Home"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study","name":"Study Bible"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/cokes-commentary-on-the-holy-bible","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/cokes-commentary-on-the-holy-bible","name":"cokes commentary on the holy bible"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/cokes-commentary-on-the-holy-bible/luke","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/cokes-commentary-on-the-holy-bible/luke","name":"Luke"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":5,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/cokes-commentary-on-the-holy-bible/luke/3","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/cokes-commentary-on-the-holy-bible/luke/3","name":"3"}}]},{"@type":["Person","Organization"],"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#/schema/person/e966585dde703268e7f6ae890ea98509","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#personlogo","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/android-chrome-512x512.png","contentUrl":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/android-chrome-512x512.png","width":512,"height":512},"logo":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#personlogo"},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/RBiblebeliever","https://www.facebook.com/RBibleBelievers"]}]} ```