The Son of Adam, The Son of God - a podcast by Rev. W. Reid Hankins

Sermon preached on Luke 3:21-4:13 by Rev. W. Reid Hankins during the Morning Worship Service at Trinity Presbyterian Church (OPC) on 08/08/2021 in Novato, CA.















Sermon Manuscript







This might seem like a strange place to put a genealogy. In comparison, Matthew’s gospel puts it right at the start, which might seem to make more sense in general. But what we find here is that Luke places this genealogy into the center of a passage about the beginning of Jesus ministry. He seems to do so in such a way to further bring out how the truth that Jesus is both Son of Man and Son of God. In other words, as Jesus starts his ministry, Luke reminds us that it was important for Jesus to both God and Man. So then, today we will look at the beginning of Jesus ministry and how Luke highlights Jesus as both Son of Adam and Son of God. Jesus is indeed our perfect mediator of a new, better covenant between God and Man.







So then, let’s begin in our first point for today to briefly observe how Luke is telling us about the start of Jesus ministry in this section. Verse 23 uses this language, speaking of Jesus “when he began his ministry”. He says this to introduce the genealogy, but right before it was his baptism and right after is his wilderness temptation which he then immediately begins to teach in Galilee. Luke is explaining to us that Jesus’ baptism and wilderness temptation are key events in the start of his earthly ministry. And Luke includes Jesus’ genealogical record here to further complement what he is teaching us about this start of his ministry. Namely, we see how at the start of Jesus’ ministry there is reference to Jesus both in terms of the Spirit and the flesh. This is intimately related to Jesus being both Son of God and Son of Man.







So then, as Jesus begins his ministry, notice what Luke notes about Jesus according to the flesh. Verse 23 he tells us that Jesus was about thirty years old. We are not given a precise date, which tells us not to over think the specific age. But when we read this, we should remember back to chapter 2 and what we saw of Jesus in the temple at Passover when he was twelve years old. There too, we mentioned how Luke brought out aspects of both Jesus’ humanity and divinity. There, we saw the text emphasize how according to the flesh, Jesus was growing up, and that growing up involved learning and maturing, even though he was the Son of God. As the Son of God, he possessed all knowledge and wisdom and was already perfect. But as a human, as a Son of Adam, he had to grow up and go from a boy to a man. Already back in chapter 2, we saw how perfectly he was growing up. But he wasn’t yet ready to begin his ministry, despite his great beginnings. Then he was still just a boy. But now he had grown up. He had learned and matured. Now, as a human adult he would begin the ministry which God had called him unto. And so, this reference here to Jesus being about thirty years old reminds us of his humanity by which he had to grow up before officially beginning the ministry God had given him to do. Of course, the fact that there is the genealogical record right here, also reminds us of the humanity of Jesus – but we’ll delve more into that in a moment in our second point.







But then, as Jesus begins his ministry, notice what Luke also notes about Jesus according to the Spirit. To initiate his ministry, Jesus is baptized in verse 22. But it’s not just an outward baptism. He is baptized by the Holy Spirit to equip him for ministry. Jesus, while being a human Son of Adam, was endowed with the Spirit for such a ministry. We can thus appreciate why his baptism is a key marker here to the start of his ministry. But notice in verse 22 what goes along with that demonstration of the Spirit. God the Father speaks forth from the heavens and declares Jesus is the Son...

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