Prepare the way

DEVOTION

PROPHESIES AND FULFILLMENTS CONCERNING CHRIST

PREPARE THE WAY

Isa 40:3-5

3 A voice of one calling: "In the desert prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God.  4 Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. 5 And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken."

NIV

Although this is concerning Christ, it is also about John the Baptist. He is the one, he is the voice calling “prepare the way for the LORD”.

Matt 3:1-3

3:1 In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea 2 and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near." 3 This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: "A voice of one calling in the desert, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.'"  

NIV

Of course John was a very special person, being made specifically for the purpose of preparing the way for Jesus. It was the whole purpose of his life. Could we say there will always be someone who prepares the way for Jesus? Certainly we would have to believe this was the one and only time when Jesus would come to earth as a man. Jesus is the glory of the LORD. He was revealed and all mankind together will see it. How did all mankind see Jesus when he came as a man? Maybe these prophetic words speak for all time, for some day every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.

Rom 14:10-12

For we will all stand before God's judgment seat. 11 It is written: "'As surely as I live,' says the Lord, 'every knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God.'"   12 So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.

NIV

All mankind will have to give an account to Jesus. We will have to answer the question of whether we accepted him or rejected him. That is all the account needed to be either the sheep or the goats. But John prepared the way for all of this, he prepared the way for Jesus. Perhaps that is the importance of the words of this prophecy. Could any of us be used to prepare the way for the Lord in somebodies life? We would have to believe we could not be wearing camel’s hair and eat locust, but we would in some sense be in the wilderness. However, if all we do is hang around with other believers, socializing with just them and hiding our worship of God within the walls of the church, we may never understand what the wilderness is, or looks like. There are people roaming around in the wilderness, or desert. They have no idea of the oasis, the rest that is available.

Rom 10:14-15

14 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15 And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"  

NIV

How beautiful are our feet? Do we walk about in the wilderness preparing the way for the Lord in someone’s life? This goes back to all the other scriptures about loving our neighbor, loving our enemies, loving people enough to go to where they are in the wilderness and preparing their hearts to see Jesus. What would the world had been like if John was not preaching about Jesus coming? People were being baptized by John in the water. They were preparing their hearts for the coming of the Lord. They were finding a way to repent through John, but found that repentance in Jesus. They were preparing their hearts for their salvation. How can we help people find that oasis in the desert they now wander in, if we don’t travel within it, speaking the words, living our faith out loud? There is so much pain, hunger and thirst in the desert, but there is rest in Jesus, he is the rest they need. He is the bread to satisfy the hunger. He is the living water that quenches their thirst. He is the rest for the weary and heavy laden. But someone has to be out there in the wilderness preaching the good news, making ready a way for the Lord. Who will that be? Here I am Lord!