In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, while Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene,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,Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Cesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and of the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias the tetrarch of Abilene,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 the region of Ituræa and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene,
3 sermons cite this verse
… up amazing things and then just writing them down. And true to his case, this is how he sets the framework for the appearance of John the Baptist on the stage of human history. Luke 3, verse 1, in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod, tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip, the tetrarch of Iteria and Trachonitis, and Lysanias, the tetrarch of Abilene, during the high priest of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John, the son of Zechariah, in the desert, and he went into all the country preaching the good news. It's quite striking, isn't it? People say, well, what you have in the New Testament Gospels is legend. I've read legend. You've read legend as well. This doesn't read like legend. This is not legend. He's writing down here historical data, verifiable data, challengeable data. And the historical, geographical, political context in which the Gospels are written is provided for us in part so as to take away the leg of that stool in argument. And furthermore, if the Gospel writers had been determined to embellish or transform things, don't you think they would have changed the way they come across? …
And as I read these couple of verses, I want you to think if it sounds like Luke is making up a story. This is Luke chapter three, verses one and two. It says this in the 15th year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governor Judea, Herod, Tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip, Tetrarch of Aetrian, Tractonicus, and Licinius, Tetrarch of Abilene. During the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John, son of Zechariah, in the desert. Does it sound like he's making up a story? He's given an exact time here, 29 AD, 15th year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, who came to power in 14 AD. I mean, they didn't have the kind of dating system we have now. They would date it by the reign of the emperor. So he's telling it's 29 AD. All eight people are known from history. They all were known to live at this exact time, this is not a made up story. In fact, there are several more details in Luke that are eyewitness details. The book of Acts, his second work, has 84 details from chapter 13 to chapter 28, the end of the book, that are all eyewitness details. Only an eyewitness would know this. We have them all listed in chapter 10 of I don't have enough faith to be an atheist. …
… Then from the third chapter. In the 15th year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was ruler of Galilee, and his brother Philip ruler of the region of Aeturia and Trachonitis, and Lysanias the ruler of Abilene during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John, the son of Zechariah in the wilderness. He went into all the region around the Jordan proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. As it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah, the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord, make his path straight. Every valley shall be filled, Every mountain and hill shall be made low. The crooked shall be made straight. The rough ways made smooth. And all flesh shall see the salvation of God. This is the word of the Lord. I have written this to you, O Theophilus, that you may have a firm grasp. …