Luke 3

Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, 2in the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the Word of God came to Yahya1 son of Zakariyya2, in the wilderness. 3He came into all the region around the Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for remission of sins. 4As it is written in the book of the words of Shaya3 the prophet,

“The voice of one calling out in the wilderness,
‘Make ready the way of the LORD.
Make straight his paths.
5Every valley will be filled.
Every mountain and hill will be brought low.
The crooked will be straightened,
And the rough places made smooth.
6All flesh will see GOD’s salvation.'” 4

7Yahya said therefore to the multitudes who went out to be baptized by him, “You offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say among yourselves, ‘We have Ibrahim for our father;’ for I tell you that God is able to raise up children to Ibrahim from these stones! 9Even now the axe also lies at the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bring forth good fruit is cut down, and thrown into the fire.”

10The multitudes asked him, “What then must we do?”

11He answered them, “He who has two coats, let him give to him who has none. He who has food, let him do likewise.”

12Tax collectors also came to be baptized, and they said to him, “Teacher, what must we do?”

13He said to them, “Collect no more than that which is appointed to you.”

14Soldiers also asked him, saying, “What about us? What must we do?”

He said to them, “Extort from no one by violence, neither accuse anyone wrongfully. Be content with your wages.”

15As the people were in expectation, and all men reasoned in their hearts concerning Yahya, whether perhaps he was AL-MASIH5, 16Yahya answered them all, “I indeed baptize you with water, but he comes who is mightier than I, the latchet of whose sandals I am not worthy to loosen. He will baptize you in the Holy Spirit and fire, 17whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly cleanse his threshing floor, and will gather the wheat into his barn; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

18Then with many other exhortations he preached the Injil 6 to the people, 19but Herod the tetrarch, being reproved by him for Herodias, his brother’s wife, and for all the evil things which Herod had done, 20added this also to them all, that he shut up Yahya in prison. 21Now it happened, when all the people were baptized, ‘ISA7 also had been baptized, and was praying. The sky was opened, 22and the Holy Spirit descended in a bodily form as a dove on him; and a voice came out of the sky, saying “You are my beloved SON8. In you I am well pleased.” 

23‘ISA himself, when he began to teach, was about thirty years old, and was thought to be the son of Yusuf, of Heli,
24of Matthat, of Levi, of Melki, of Jannai, of Yusuf,
25of Matthias, of Amos, of Nahum, of Esli, of Naggai,
26of Maat, of Matthias, of Gemein, of Yusuf, of Joda,
27of Joanna, of Rheda, of Zerubbabel, of Shealtiel, of Neri,
28of Melki, of Addi, of Cosam, of Elmadam, of Er,
29of Yusha, of Eliezer, of Jobim, of Matthat, of Levi,
30of Simeon, of Judah, of Yusuf, of Jonas, of Eliakim,
31of Melua, of Menna, of Mattatha, of Nathan, of Dawud,
32of Jesse, of Oben, of Boaz, of Salmon, of Nahshon,
33of Amminadab, of Ram, of Hezron, of Perez, of Judah,
34of Yaqui, of Isaaq, of Ibrahim, of Terah, of Nahor,
35of Serum, of Reu, of Beleg, of Eber, of Shelah,
36of Cainan, of Arphaxad, of Shem, of Nuh, of Lamech,
37of Methuselah, of Idris, of Jared, of Mahalalel, of Kenan,
38of Enosh, of Seth, of Adam, of God.

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  1. 3:2 Yahya, this Arabic name and the English name John (for John the Baptist/Baptizer) are both derived from the Hebrew name Yochanan, which means “YAHWEH is gracious”. (YAHWEH is God’s personal name revealed to Prophet Musa in the Taurat, Exodus 3:15 – God said moreover to Musa, “You shall tell Bani-Israel this, ‘YAHWEH, the God of your fathers, the God of Ibrahim, the God of Ishaq, and the God of Yaqub, has sent me to you.’ This is my Name forever, and this is how I am to be remembered to all generations.”) ↩︎
  2. 3:2 Zakariyya, this Arabic name is derived from the Hebrew name Zechariah, which means “YAHWEH remembers.” (YAHWEH is God’s personal name revealed to Prophet Musa in the Taurat, Exodus 3:15 – God said moreover to Musa, “You shall tell Bani-Israel this, ‘YAHWEH, the God of your fathers, the God of Ibrahim, the God of Ishaq, and the God of Yaqub, has sent me to you.’ This is my Name forever, and this is how I am to be remembered to all generations.”) ↩︎
  3. 3:4 Shaya, is derived from Isaiah (Hebrew) which means “YAHWEH is salvation.” (YAHWEH is God’s personal name revealed to Prophet Musa in the Taurat, Exodus 3:15 – God said moreover to Musa, “You shall tell Bani-Israel this, ‘YAHWEH, the God of your fathers, the God of Ibrahim, the God of Ishaq, and the God of Yaqub, has sent me to you.’ This is my Name forever, and this is how I am to be remembered to all generations.”) ↩︎
  4. 3:4-6 Quoting the Taurat, Shaya 40:3-5 which says: The voice of one calling out in the wilderness, “Make ready the way of YAHWEH; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley will be filled. Every mountain and hill will be brought low. The crooked will be straightened, and the rough places made smooth: and the glory of YAHWEH will be revealed, and all flesh will see it together; for the mouth of YAHWEH has spoken it.” ↩︎
  5. 3:15 AL-MASIH – an Arabic title equivalent to the Messiah (Hebrew) or Christ (Greek), all of which mean the Anointed One, that is, God’s Chosen One. In ancient times, divinely-appointed kings, priests and prophets were anointed with oil to signify their appointment to office. All of them point ahead to God’s ultimate Anointed One, the Messiah, AL-MASIH.  Al-Kitab unanimously points to ‘ISA Ibn Maryam as the only person worthy to bear the title AL-MASIH. He is the one whom God sent into this world to save people from sin, and to usher in God’s Kingdom at his Second Coming. ↩︎
  6. 3:18 Injil, this Arabic word is derived from Euangel (Greek) and means “good news” or “Gospel” (old English for ‘good news’). Depending on context, Injil can refer to, 
    1. the whole Christian New Testament containing 27 books, 
    2. the first 4 books of the New Testament, that is, the Injil according to Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, or,
    3. the message or “good news” of forgiveness of sins through ‘ISA AL-MASIH. ↩︎
  7. 3:21 ‘ISA – The names ‘ISA (Arabic), ISHO (Syriac) and JESUS (Greek, IESOUS) are all derived from the Hebrew name YEHOSHUA, which means “YAHWEH saves.” (YAHWEH is God’s personal name revealed to Prophet Musa in the Taurat, Exodus 3:15 – God said moreover to Musa, “You shall tell Bani-Israel this, ‘YAHWEH, the God of your fathers, the God of Ibrahim, the God of Ishaq, and the God of Yaqub, has sent me to you.’ This is my Name forever, and this is how I am to be remembered to all generations.”) ↩︎
  8. 3:22 SON, a title of the Messiah, ‘ISA AL-MASIH, revealed through Prophet Dawud in the Zabur 2:7-9, which says: I will tell of the decree. YAHWEH said to me, “You are my SON. Today I have become your FATHER. Ask of me, and I will give the nations for your inheritance, The ends of the earth for your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron. You shall dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.” ↩︎