Bible Strands
Luke 3:23
Jesus Himself was about thirty years old when He began His ministry. He was regarded as the son of Joseph, the son of Heli,
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Luke addresses his reader immediately after the baptismal theophany and the heavenly voice. The statement occurs at the precise moment Jesus transitions from private preparation to public ministry and before the genealogical list resumes.
The words — ἀρχόμενος (archomenos) translates literally to "beginning" and ὡσεὶ (hōsei) means "about," establishing the approximate age of commencement. The text explicitly notes He was regarded as Joseph’s son, recording social recognition rather than biological claim.
The thread — The age of thirty corresponds to the service qualification in Numbers 4:3 and echoes the Nazareth crowd’s recognition in Luke 4:22 and Matthew 13:55. These passages collectively anchor Jesus’ human timeline and documented lineage within established Jewish and Old Testament frameworks.
Why it lands — The verse requires accepting Jesus’ full participation in ordinary human chronology and social identification. It demands that readers treat His recorded earthly parentage as the factual basis for His authorized work.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
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,
Cross-references
- Matthew 13:55 “Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t His mother’s name Mary, and aren’t His brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas?
- Luke 4:22 All spoke well of Him and marveled at the gracious words that came from His lips. “Isn’t this the son of Joseph?” they asked.
- Numbers 4:3 men from thirty to fifty years old—everyone who is qualified to serve in the work at the Tent of Meeting.
- John 6:42 They were asking, “Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How then can He say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?”
- Acts 1:1 In my first book, O Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach,
- Genesis 41:46 Now Joseph was thirty years old when he entered the service of Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph left Pharaoh’s presence and traveled throughout the land of Egypt.
- Matthew 1:16 and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.
- Matthew 4:17 From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”
- Mark 6:3 Isn’t this the carpenter, the son of Mary and the brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? Aren’t His sisters here with us as well?” And they took offense at Him.
- Numbers 4:35 everyone from thirty to fifty years old who came to serve in the work at the Tent of Meeting.