Daily Bible Reading 18th April 2026 // Luke 3:19-28
19 But Herod the tetrarch, who had been reproved by him for Herodias, his brother's wife, and for all the evil things that Herod had done, 20 added this to them all, that he locked up John in prison.
21 Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heavens were opened, 22 and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”
23 Jesus, when he began his ministry, was about thirty years of age, being the son (as was supposed) of Joseph, the son of Heli, 24 the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph, 25 the son of Mattathias, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of Esli, the son of Naggai, 26 the son of Maath, the son of Mattathias, the son of Semein, the son of Josech, the son of Joda, 27 the son of Joanan, the son of Rhesa, the son of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, the son of Neri, 28 the son of Melchi, the son of Addi, the son of Cosam, the son of Elmadam, the son of Er,
There are some further points to be noted in the account of Jesus' baptism before going further in our study. For one thing, it is impressive to see all three Persons of the Trinity mentioned here - Father, Son and Holy Spirit are all alike involved in the divine work of man's redemption. Another consideration of great significance relates to the words spoken by the voice from heaven. It is important to realise - and commentators are largely agreed on this - that this is a composite statement, and that it is derived from two distinct Old Testament passages, Psalm 2:7 and Isaiah 42:1. Of Psalm 2:7, Tasker says, 'In the verse of the Psalm the Lord of Israel is pictured as crowning a Son of David as Messiah, with the words, 'Thou art My Son: this day have I begotten thee'. In the other part of the statement, which comes from Isaiah 42:1, the prophet speaks of an ideal servant of God who perfectly does His will as he treads the pathway of obedience and service. Now - and this is the real heart of the meaning of Christ's baptism - these two quotations represent the two distinct pictures given in the Old Testament of the messianic idea - that of the glorious King, and that of the suffering servant. And Jesus, in this tremendous experience of the baptism, was conscious that He was called of God to fulfil both of them in His own Person - roles that had hitherto seemed to be inconsistent with and contradictory to one another. It was a recognition - and a proclamation, for those who had ears to hear - that the seemingly divergent lines of prophecy did in fact converge and meet in Him, and that God's glorious, promised King was to be this by being His suffering servant obedient unto death. In the baptism of Jesus, and in the voice from heaven, God was pointing to a Saviour, and a Saviour who was to take the sinner's place and die the sinner's death. It was a pledge of what He was to do on the cross for our sakes.