Prepare the Way of the Lord
John the Baptist… This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: “A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’” (Matt 3:1-3)
A child is asking why, in world cup, little boys accompany the football teams to the pitch, and with much well manned decorations anthems are sung, then handshakes, then the coin tossing… and finally the whistle, and the match is on. All that is serious stuff in preparation for the real game. Similarly, though more scaringly, it is the usual thing to see security vehicles clearing the way for the approaching Presidential convoy. The King is coming: Prepare the way! Today we hear John the Baptist introduce himself as the herald, the forerunner, the announcer before the real deliverance action takes to stage.
In ancient times, as Barnes observes, it was customary in the march of armies to send messengers before them to proclaim their approach; to remove obstructions; to make roads, level hills, fill up valleys. Isaiah (40:3), describing the return from Babylon, uses language taken from that custom. In the vast deserts that lay between Babylon and Judea a messenger is represented as lifting up his voice, and, with authority, commanding a public road to be made for the return of the captive Jews, with the Lord as their deliverer. When John the Baptist uses these words to announce Jesus Christ as the coming Messiah and Deliverer, he points us to the ultimate fulfillment of Isaiah’s words. Then came the first Advent – the first coming of the Messiah; Jesus Christ was born and lived and ministered powerfully in Palestine. We now expectantly await his second Advent, when he will deliver God’s people out of the ’Babylon’ of this world and usher in the everlasting peaceful Kingdom. The King is coming: Prepare the way!
What will it be like? It will be a kingdom of total peace and joy. Isaiah describes this peace graphically: there will be no hostility between wolf and lamb, leopard and goat, lion and calf, children and animals. Instead, with much delight and warmth, those who were hostile to each other will now eat and fellowship together joyfully! Even for nations and people once hostile to one another, peace is restored in the Kingdom.
The Kingdom has an assured population, and no one will fluke without qualifying. As he warned the Pharisees and Sadducees, a Replacement concept is introduced by John the Baptist: they thought that being descendants of Abraham could qualify them, but John says that God is able to raise from stones children for Abraham! (Matt 3:9) Later on Jesus would warn Israelites that some Gentiles from East and West would fellowship with Abraham, edging our presumptuous Jews (Matt 8:11-12). This replacement concept should shake into sense any who feel over-confident that their place in the Kingdom is assured without actively and adequately preparing their hearts. The King is coming. Prepare the way!