Verse Lens · Concise explanation
Luke 3:1 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 1. 1Now 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 Ituraea and of the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias the tetrarch of Abilene,
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
Luke 3:1 anchors Luke 3:1's part of Luke 3:1–3:6 in its own wording: “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…”.
Read It With
- Luke 3:1–3:6
Read Luke 3:1 with 3:1–3:6. Luke 3:1 anchors Luke 3:1's part of Luke 3:1–3:6 in its own wording: “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…”. The complete unit's controlling movement is: Luke names imperial, regional, and priestly authorities, then locates God's word with John in the wilderness, where he proclaims repentance and baptism as Isaiah's way-preparing voice.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Luke 3:1 anchors Luke 3:1's part of Luke 3:1–3:6 in its own wording: “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…”. This selected detail moves Luke 3:1–3:6 from its initiating question or action toward the unit's response and prepares Luke's next movement.
What Remains True
Luke 3:1 anchors Luke 3:1's part of Luke 3:1–3:6 in its own wording: “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…”. Read inside Luke 3:1–3:6, this contribution supports the unit's proportionate truth: Luke names imperial, regional, and priestly authorities, then locates God's word with John in the wilderness, where he proclaims repentance and baptism as Isaiah's way-preparing voice. Its use remains accountable to affected people and the unit's explicit boundary.
How It Can Shape Life
- When teaching Luke 3:1, explain this exact contribution inside Luke 3:1–3:6, identify the unit's source-controlled uncertainty, and refuse this misuse before proposing action: The chronology does not justify false precision, and the wilderness proclamation does not turn rulers, priests, or Jewish institutions into timeless enemies.
Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Luke 3:1–3:6 — God's Word Comes to John in a Ruled LandSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and coverage.
Exact location: Luke 3:1–3:6, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Open source ↗Greek textual evidence
The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition
Michael W. Holmes, editor; Society of Biblical Literature and Logos
Society of Biblical Literature and Logos Bible Software, 2010
Supports: Greek wording and sentence relations; the edition is not treated as a complete apparatus.
Exact location: Faithlife SBLGNT official repository, data/sblgnt/text/Luke.txt, 3:1–3:6
Open the Luke Greek text file ↗open translation and translator notes
NET Bible First Edition Notes: Luke
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2006
Supports: Verse-level translation, syntax, KJV-language clarification, historical notes, Synoptic parallels, and textual alternatives.
Exact location: NET Bible First Edition Luke PDF, exact tn/tc/sn entries attached to Luke 3:1–3:6
Open source ↗