And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli,
Parallel translations
- WEB Jesus himself, when he began to teach, was about thirty years old, being the son (as was supposed) of Joseph, the son of Heli,
- BSB Jesus Himself was about thirty years old when He began His ministry. He was regarded as the son of Joseph, the son of Heli,
- NKJV Now Jesus Himself began His ministry at about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, the son of Heli,
- NASB When He began His ministry, Jesus Himself was about thirty years old, being, as was commonly held, the son of Joseph, the son of Eli,
- NLT Jesus was about thirty years old when he began his public ministry. Jesus was known as the son of Joseph. Joseph was the son of Heli.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Jesus begins His ministry at about thirty, supposed to be Joseph's son. Luke's genealogy traces His true, divinely ordered lineage.
Overview
Luke notes Jesus' age and the phrase 'as was supposed,' guarding the truth of the virgin birth—Joseph was His legal but not biological father. The figure of about thirty was a fitting age for taking up a public office. The genealogy that follows roots Jesus in real human history. Faithful interpreters note that Luke's list differs from Matthew's, commonly explained as Luke tracing Mary's line or Jesus' legal Davidic descent.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 17
- Luke 4:22And all bare him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth. And they said, Is not this Joseph’s son?
- Matt 13:55Is not this the carpenter’s son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?
- Num 4:3From thirty years old and upward even until fifty years old, all that enter into the host, to do the work in the tabernacle of the congregation.
- John 6:42And they said, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? how is it then that he saith, I came down from heaven?
- Matt 4:17From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
- Mark 6:3Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him.
- Matt 1:16And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.
- Gen 41:46And Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh, and went throughout all the land of Egypt.
- Acts 1:1The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach,
- Num 4:47From thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old, every one that came to do the service of the ministry, and the service of the burden in the tabernacle of the congregation,
- Luke 3:23–27And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli,
- Matt 1:6And Jesse begat David the king; and David the king begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Urias;
- Matt 1:1The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
- Num 4:35From thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old, every one that entereth into the service, for the work in the tabernacle of the congregation:
- Num 4:39From thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old, every one that entereth into the service, for the work in the tabernacle of the congregation,
- Luke 3:31Which was the son of Melea, which was the son of Menan, which was the son of Mattatha, which was the son of Nathan, which was the son of David,
- Num 4:43From thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old, every one that entereth into the service, for the work in the tabernacle of the congregation,
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Christ at the center
Luke shows Jesus the Savior for all — outsiders, the poor, the nations — the one who, on the Emmaus road, opened all the Scriptures to show they were about himself.
How Luke 3:23 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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