It was in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, (which was the thirteenth of his empire which began after…
It was in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, (which was the thirteenth of his empire which began after the death of Augustus) when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod (Antipas), the tetrarch of Galilee and his brother Philip, tetrarch of Ituraea and the region of Trachonitis and Lysanias, tetrarch of Abylene, under the priesthoods of Annas and Caiphas. The word of the Lord came to John, the son of Zacharias in the desert. (LUK 3:1,2) He by God's authority was a Nazarite who was both a priest and prophet of the Lord and baptized in the desert of Judea. (These cities were mentioned in JOS 15:1-6.) He preached the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. (MAT 3:1, MRK 1:4, LUK 3:3) By his ministry, he announced and made known to Israel, Christ who would come after him. (JHN 1:7,8,13) So John would certainly know who he was, God gave him this sign. Whomever he saw the Holy Ghost descending on and remaining, he would know that it was he that should baptize others with the Holy Ghost. (JHN 1:33)