Both Matthew and Luke include genealogies in their gospels. But while Matthew opens his gospel this way, Luke’s genealogy is sandwiched between his descriptions of Jesus’ baptism and his temptation in the wilderness. Why interrupt the flow of the tale to insert fifteen verses of “so-and-so was the son of so-and-so”? The answer may be in the way the genealogy ends, with the declaration that Jesus was “the son of Adam, the son of God” (vs. 38)—a statement which helps set up the story of the temptation that follows in chapter 4.

John the Baptist’s influence was growing. According to the Fourth Gospel, some of the Jewish leaders went out to the wilderness to quiz him, wanting to know if he was the Messiah, or the reincarnation of Elijah, or the prophet Moses had foretold long ago. John denied being any of these and pointed forward to Jesus instead, without naming him. Still, it’s not surprising that the people themselves had begun to wonder if John was the Messiah (3:15-17).

As Luke begins chapter 3 (vss. 1-3), the spotlight shifts from the boy Jesus to the adult John the Baptist, preaching a message of repentance given to him by God in the wilderness. But before narrative what John said and how people responded, Luke sets up the social and political context. It’s as if to say that the wilderness isn’t just a place on the map.