NOTES for Luk 3:1-38
As he moves into the main part of his Gospel, Luke weaves into a single narrative the continuation of John the Baptist's story, the beginning of Jesus Christ's ministry, and His two genealogies. Two indeed! In this paradox the joyful Good News is revealed: Jesus is called the Son of God twice—within human history, that is, in the genealogy proper that ascends from Joseph to God, and in divine revelation, when the Father's voice sounded from heaven during His baptism. This means that history and revelation merge into a single whole in the life of one Man, and now God's word will sound from human lips. It also means that the words and deeds of Jesus of Nazareth, which the reader will encounter in the following chapters, truly reveal God: He is found in the very midst of earthly events, on the streets and plains of Palestine and—in the reader's heart.