Luke 3:34
the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor,
the son of Jacob
This phrase connects Jesus to Jacob, also known as Israel, the patriarch whose twelve sons became the tribes of Israel. The name "Jacob" in Hebrew is "Ya'akov," meaning "supplanter" or "holder of the heel." Jacob's life was marked by struggles and transformation, symbolizing the journey of faith and the fulfillment of God's promises. His inclusion in Jesus' genealogy emphasizes the continuity of God's covenant with Israel and the fulfillment of the promises made to the patriarchs.

the son of Isaac
Isaac, whose name means "laughter" in Hebrew, was the child of promise born to Abraham and Sarah in their old age. His life is a testament to God's faithfulness and the miraculous nature of His promises. Isaac's near-sacrifice by Abraham on Mount Moriah is a profound foreshadowing of Christ's sacrificial death. This connection highlights the theme of substitutionary atonement and God's provision of a sacrificial lamb, ultimately fulfilled in Jesus.

the son of Abraham
Abraham, originally Abram, is a central figure in the Bible, known as the "father of many nations." His name means "father of a multitude" in Hebrew. God's covenant with Abraham included the promise that through his offspring, all nations would be blessed. This promise finds its ultimate fulfillment in Jesus Christ, who brings salvation to all people. Abraham's faith and obedience serve as a model for believers, illustrating the righteousness that comes by faith.

the son of Terah
Terah, Abraham's father, represents the transition from idolatry to the worship of the one true God. His name, possibly meaning "station" or "delay," reflects the period of waiting and preparation before God's call to Abraham. Terah's journey from Ur to Haran sets the stage for Abraham's call to the Promised Land. This highlights the theme of leaving behind the old life and stepping into God's promises, a journey that every believer is called to undertake.

the son of Nahor
Nahor, Terah's father, is part of the genealogical line that traces back to Shem, one of Noah's sons. His name means "snorting" or "snoring," possibly indicating rest or a period of dormancy. Nahor's inclusion in the genealogy underscores the continuity of God's plan through generations. It reminds us that God's purposes unfold over time, often through ordinary lives and seemingly insignificant events, culminating in the extraordinary revelation of Jesus Christ.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Jacob
Also known as Israel, he is a patriarch whose twelve sons became the leaders of the twelve tribes of Israel. His life is marked by struggles and a transformative encounter with God.

2. Isaac
The son of Abraham and Sarah, Isaac is a patriarch known for his role in the binding account and as the father of Esau and Jacob. His life represents God's promise and faithfulness.

3. Abraham
Known as the father of faith, Abraham is a key figure in the Bible. God made a covenant with him, promising that he would be the father of many nations.

4. Terah
The father of Abraham, Nahor, and Haran. He began the journey from Ur to Canaan but settled in Haran.

5. Nahor
The grandfather of Abraham, Nahor is part of the genealogy that traces the lineage of Jesus, emphasizing God's plan through generations.
Teaching Points
God's Faithfulness Across Generations
The genealogy in Luke 3:34 reminds us of God's unwavering faithfulness to His promises, as seen through the lives of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

The Importance of Heritage
Understanding our spiritual heritage can strengthen our faith. Just as Jesus' lineage is traced back to the patriarchs, we too are part of a spiritual lineage through faith in Christ.

God's Sovereign Plan
The inclusion of these patriarchs in Jesus' genealogy highlights God's sovereign plan in history, working through imperfect people to bring about His purposes.

Living by Faith
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob each had moments of faith and failure. Their accounts encourage us to live by faith, trusting in God's promises even when circumstances are challenging.

The Role of Family in God's Plan
The genealogy underscores the role of family in God's redemptive plan, encouraging us to value and nurture our own families in faith.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does the genealogy in Luke 3:34 demonstrate God's faithfulness to His promises?

2. In what ways can understanding our spiritual heritage strengthen our faith today?

3. How do the lives of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob inspire you to trust in God's sovereign plan?

4. What lessons can we learn from the faith and failures of these patriarchs in our own walk with God?

5. How can we actively participate in God's redemptive plan within our own families and communities?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Genesis 12-25
These chapters detail the life of Abraham, highlighting God's covenant and promises, which are foundational to understanding the lineage mentioned in Luke 3:34.

Genesis 25-35
These chapters cover the lives of Isaac and Jacob, showing the continuation of God's promises through their lineage.

Matthew 1:1-17
This genealogy of Jesus also traces His lineage through Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, emphasizing the fulfillment of God's promises through Jesus.
The Baptism and Genealogy of JesusR.M. Edgar Luke 3:21-38
A Binding Corner-StoneBishop Cowper.Luke 3:23-38
From Christ According to the SpiritBishop Cowper.Luke 3:23-38
GenealogiesC. E. Drought, M. A.Luke 3:23-38
Our Lord's DescentJames Foote, M. A.Luke 3:23-38
Sacred and Secular Jewish NamesBiblical things not generally known., Bishop Harvey Goodwin.Luke 3:23-38
The Divine Root of the Human PedigreeS. Cox, D. D.Luke 3:23-38
The Double Genealogies of Christ as the Son of DavidArchdeacon Farrar.Luke 3:23-38
The Genealogical TableJ. Parker, D. D.Luke 3:23-38
The Genealogies in Matthew and LukeF. Godet, D. D.Luke 3:23-38
The Genealogy of ChristJ. Ossian Davies.Luke 3:23-38
The Two Genealogies of Jesus ChristG. D. Beardman.Luke 3:23-38
ThoughtsAmerican Homiletic ReviewLuke 3:23-38
Why have We Joseph's Genealogy, not Mary's?G. W. Butler, D. D.Luke 3:23-38
People
Adam, Addi, Aminadab, Amminadab, Amos, Annas, Aram, Arphaxad, Boaz, Booz, Caiaphas, Cainan, Cosam, David, Eber, Eli, Eliakim, Eliezer, Elmodam, Enoch, Enos, Enosh, Er, Esaias, Esli, Esrom, Heber, Heli, Herod, Herodias, Hezron, Isaac, Isaiah, Jacob, Janna, Jared, Jesse, Jesus, Joanna, Johanan, John, Jonan, Jorim, Jose, Joseph, Joses, Joshua, Judas, Kenan, Lamech, Levi, Lysanias, Maath, Mahalaleel, Mahath, Maleleel, Mathusala, Mattatha, Mattathias, Matthat, Melchi, Melea, Menan, Methuselah, Naasson, Nachor, Nagge, Nahor, Nahshon, Nahum, Nathan, Naum, Neri, Noah, Noe, Obed, Peleg, Perez, Phalec, Phares, Pharez, Philip, Pilate, Ragau, Reu, Rhesa, Sala, Salah, Salathiel, Salmon, Saruch, Sem, Semei, Serug, Seth, Shealtiel, Shelah, Shem, Simeon, Terah, Thara, Tiberius, Zacharias, Zechariah, Zerubbabel, Zorobabel
Places
Galilee, Ituraea, Jordan River, Judea, Trachonitis
Topics
Isaac, Jacob, Judah, Nachor, Nahor, Terah, Thara
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Luke 3:34

     5078   Abraham, significance

Luke 3:21-38

     2078   Christ, sonship of

Luke 3:23-38

     2535   Christ, family of
     5082   Adam, significance
     7230   genealogies

Library
St John the Baptist
Chester Cathedral. 1872. St Luke iii. 2, 3, 7, 9-14. "The Word of God came unto John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness. And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. . . . 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? Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance. . . . And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the
Charles Kingsley—All Saints' Day and Other Sermons

John the Preacher of Repentance
'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, 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
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions Of Holy Scripture

John's Witness to Jesus, and God's
'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 thoroughly purge His floor, and will gather the wheat into His garner; but the chaff He will burn with fire unquenchable.
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions Of Holy Scripture

John's Rebuke of Herod.
Preached May 15, 1853. JOHN'S REBUKE OF HEROD. "But Herod the tetrarch, being reproved by him for Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, and for all the evils which Herod had done, added yet this above all, that he shut up John in prison,"--Luke iii. 19, 20. The life of John the Baptist divides itself into three distinct periods. Of the first we are told almost nothing, but we may conjecture much. We are told that he was in the deserts till his showing unto Israel. It was a period probably, in which,
Frederick W. Robertson—Sermons Preached at Brighton

Elucidations.
I. (In the body of a dove, cap. iii. p. 523.) The learned John Scott, in his invaluable work The Christian Life, [7283] identifies the glory shed upon the Saviour at his baptism, with that mentioned by Ezekiel (Cap. xliii. 2) and adds: "In this same glorious splendor was Christ arrayed first at his Baptism and afterward at his Transfiguration....By the Holy Ghost's descending like a Dove, it is not necessary we should understand his descending in the shape or form of a Dove, but that in some glorious
Tertullian— On the Flesh of Christ

Genealogy According to Luke.
^C Luke III. 23-38. ^c 23 And Jesus himself [Luke has been speaking about John the Baptist, he now turns to speak of Jesus himself], when he began to teach, was about thirty years of age [the age when a Levite entered upon God's service--Num. iv. 46, 47], being the son (as was supposed) of Joseph, the son [this may mean that Jesus was grandson of Heli, or that Joseph was counted as a son of Heli because he was his son-in-law] of Heli, 24 the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Appendix vii. On the Date of the Nativity of Our Lord
So much, that is generally accessible, has of late been written on this subject, and such accord exists on the general question, that only the briefest statement seems requisite in this place, the space at our command being necessarily reserved for subjects which have either not been treated of by previous writers, or in a manner or form that seemed to make a fresh investigation desirable. At the outset it must be admitted, that absolute certainty is impossible as to the exact date of Christ's Nativity
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

Fate of the Enemies of Jesus.
According to the calculation we adopt, the death of Jesus happened in the year 33 of our era.[1] It could not, at all events, be either before the year 29, the preaching of John and Jesus having commenced in the year 28,[2] or after the year 35, since in the year 36, and probably before the passover, Pilate and Kaiapha both lost their offices.[3] The death of Jesus appears, moreover, to have had no connection whatever with these two removals.[4] In his retirement, Pilate probably never dreamt for
Ernest Renan—The Life of Jesus

Jesus at Capernaum.
Beset by an idea, gradually becoming more and more imperious and exclusive, Jesus proceeds henceforth with a kind of fatal impassibility in the path marked out by his astonishing genius and the extraordinary circumstances in which he lived. Hitherto he had only communicated his thoughts to a few persons secretly attracted to him; henceforward his teaching was sought after by the public. He was about thirty years of age.[1] The little group of hearers who had accompanied him to John the Baptist had,
Ernest Renan—The Life of Jesus

The Distinction of the Holy Spirit from the Father and from his Son, Jesus Christ.
We have seen thus far that the Holy Spirit is a Person and a Divine Person. And now another question arises, Is He as a Person separate and distinct from the Father and from the Son? One who carefully studies the New Testament statements cannot but discover that beyond a question He is. We read in Luke iii. 21, 22, "Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon
R. A. Torrey—The Person and Work of The Holy Spirit

The Doubting Soul More Particularly Assisted in Its Inquiries as to the Sincerity of Its Faith and Repentance.
1. Transient impressions liable to be mistaken for conversion, which would be a fatal error.--2. General scheme for self-examination.--3. Particular inquiries--what views there have been of sin?--4. What views there have been of Christ?--5. As to the need the soul has of him;--6. And its willingness to receive him with a due surrender of heart to his service.--7. Nothing short of this sufficient. The soul submitting to Divine examination the sincerity of its faith and repentance. 1. IN consequence
Philip Doddridge—The Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul

A New Age and New Standards
As the Kingdom Comes Ethical Standards Must Advance Every approximation to the Reign of God in humanity demands an advance in the social relations of men, that is, an advance in ethics. Every really epochal advance must have it or slip back. There must be, first, better obedience to the moral principles already recognized and accepted by society; second, an expansion of the sway of ethical duty to new fields and wider groups of humanity; and third, a recognition of new duties and the assimilation
Walter Rauschenbusch—The Social Principles of Jesus

Luke.
Lucas, Evangelii el medicinae munera pandens; Artibus hinc, illinc religione, valet: Utilis ille labor, per quem vixere tot aegri; Utilior, per quem tot didicere mori!" Critical and Biographical Schleiermacher: Ueber die Schriften des Lukas. Berlin, 1817. Reprinted in the second vol. of his Sämmtliche Werke, Berlin, 1836 (pp. 1-220). Translated by Bishop Thirlwall, London, 1825. James Smith (of Jordanhill, d. 1867): Dissertation on the Life and Writings of St. Luke, prefixed to his Voyage and
Philip Schaff—History of the Christian Church, Volume I

The First Ministry of the Baptist.
(LUKE III.) "Hark, what a sound, and too divine for hearing, Stirs on the earth and trembles in the air! Is it the thunder of the Lord's appearing? Is it the music of his people's prayer? "Surely He cometh, and a thousand voices Shout to the saints, and to the deaf and dumb; Surely He cometh, and the earth rejoices, Glad in his coming who hath sworn, I come." F. W. H. MYERS. The Preaching of Repentance--His Power as a Preacher--His Message--Warning of Impending Judgment--The Wages of Sin Thirty
F. B. Meyer—John the Baptist

Pontius Pilate
BY REV. PRINCIPAL WALTER F. ADENEY, D.D. In spite of the fact that he condemned Jesus to death, the Gospels present us a more favourable portrait of Pontius Pilate than that which we derive from secular historians. Josephus relates incidents that reveal him as the most insolent and provoking of governors. For instance, the Jewish historian ascribes to him a gratuitous insult, the story of which shows its perpetrator to have been as weak as he was offensive. It was customary for Roman armies to
George Milligan—Men of the Bible; Some Lesser-Known

Questions.
LESSON I. 1. In what state was the Earth when first created? 2. To what trial was man subjected? 3. What punishment did the Fall bring on man? 4. How alone could his guilt be atoned for? A. By his punishment being borne by one who was innocent. 5. What was the first promise that there should be such an atonement?--Gen. iii. 15. 6. What were the sacrifices to foreshow? 7. Why was Abel's offering the more acceptable? 8. From which son of Adam was the Seed of the woman to spring? 9. How did Seth's
Charlotte Mary Yonge—The Chosen People

Quirinius the Governor of Syria
WE come now to the last serious difficulty in Luke's account of the "First Enrollment". He says that it occurred while Quirinius was administering Syria. The famous administration of Syria by Quirinius lasted from about AD. 6 to 9; and during that time occurred the" Great Enrollment" and valuation of property in Palestine. [94] Obviously the incidents described by Luke are irreconcilable with that date. There was found near Tibur (Tivoli) in AD. 1764 a fragment of marble with part of an inscription,
Sir William Mitchell Ramsay—Was Christ Born in Bethlehem?

One Argument which Has Been Much Relied Upon but not More than Its Just Weight...
One argument which has been much relied upon (but not more than its just weight deserves) is the conformity of the facts occasionally mentioned or referred to in Scripture with the state of things in those times, as represented by foreign and independent accounts; which conformity proves, that the writers of the New Testament possessed a species of local knowledge which could belong only to an inhabitant of that country and to one living in that age. This argument, if well made out by examples, is
William Paley—Evidences of Christianity

Second Stage of the Roman Trial. Jesus Before Herod Antipas.
(Jerusalem. Early Friday Morning.) ^C Luke XXIII. 6-12. ^c 6 But when Pilate heard it [when he heard that Jesus had begun his operations in Galilee], he asked whether the man were a Galilaean. 7 And when he knew that he was of Herod's jurisdiction [Herod was tetrarch of Galilee--Luke iii. 1], he sent him unto Herod, who himself also ["also" includes both Pilate and Herod, neither of whom lived at Jerusalem] was at Jerusalem in these days. ["These days" refers to the passover season. Pilate had come
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

The Messianic Call
Matt. iii. 13 TO iv. 11; Mark i. 9-13; Luke iii. 21, 22; iv. 1-13; John i. 30-34 85. In the circle about John all classes of the people were represented: Pharisees and Sadducees, jealous of innovation and apprehensive of popular excitement; publicans and soldiers, interested in the new preacher or touched in conscience; outcasts who came in penitence, and devout souls in consecration. The wonder of the new message was carried throughout the land and brought great multitudes to the Jordan. Jesus
Rush Rhees—The Life of Jesus of Nazareth

Private Property and the Common Good
Private Property Must Serve Social Welfare A glance across history or a simple acquaintance with human life in any community will show us that private property is at the same time a necessary expression of personality and stimulator of character, and, on the other hand, a chief outlet and fortification of selfishness. Every reformatory effort must aim to conserve and spread the blessings of property, and every step toward a better social order will be pugnaciously blocked by its selfish beneficiaries.
Walter Rauschenbusch—The Social Principles of Jesus

Not that Light, but a Witness.
(John I. 8.) "Nothing resting in its own completeness Can have worth or beauty; but alone Because it leads and tends to farther sweetness, Fuller, higher, deeper than its own. "Spring's real glory dwells not in the meaning, Gracious though it be, of her blue hours; But is hidden in her tender leaning To the summer's richer wealth of flowers." A. A. PROCTOR. Resentment of the Sanhedrim--The Baptist's Credentials--Spiritual Vision--"Behold the Lamb of God"--The Baptism of the Spirit The baptism and
F. B. Meyer—John the Baptist

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