What do we feel when we are told that one is coming to us? Perhaps there is anticipation for the arrival of this one we’d hoped for so long to see. Perhaps it is unbelief, after all, we’ve waited and waited and they’ve never shown up before. Why would they now? Perhaps we are nervous about the arrival of this person. We are not alone in our feelings. Consider these:
Isaiah prophesied (40:3) of the coming of one who would come as a voice crying in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord, and make straight the highway in a desert. What would that mean for those who had been waiting for so long for the coming of a Messiah? Did anyone believe when they heard Isaiah’s words?
Did they take heed, or did they ignore the message?
Malachai (3:1) prophesied the same, These foretold of the coming of John the Baptist, who would become an evangelist, telling people about Christ,preaching repentance, turning hearts toward Him, and baptizing them in the name of the Lord. Did anyone look forward to the coming of one who would come before the Messiah to teach of him? Did they prepare themselves, in heart and mind?
In Luke we are told of the angel of the Lord, Gabriel, who told Zacharias that his wife, Elizabeth, would bear a son, in their advanced age, and that they should call “John”. Zacharias, a priest and man of God, could not embrace such a thought, was fearful, and was struck dumb for his unbelief.
Elizabeth was visited by the angel Gabriel, as well, and she accepted his message as a blessing from God. For about three quarters of the year, Zacharias could not speak. His son was born, and as was the Jewish custom, the family gathered for the celebration of the baby’s circumcision. They asked what the child would be named, expecting that he might be named for his father. Zacharias wrote on his tablet that his name should be John. This act proved that he’d come to believe the angel’s message. His mouth was opened, he praised God! He was filled with the Spirit of God. Zacharias then addressed his son, saying, “And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways.”
The prophesies had been fulfilled. John had arrived, and would be raised by parents who found favor with God. He would go forth in a ministry, living in the wilderness, dressed in hides and skins, feeding on locusts and honey. He would, indeed, become the voice crying in the wilderness, preparing the way of the Lord. He would speak of one who would become the Savior of all humanity.
Do we hear John’s message this Christmas? As we prepare for our Christmas celebrations, are we preparing our hearts for the arrival of Jesus? Do we hear the Voice asking us to prepare the way of the Lord? Are we giving those words of life to those who are lost in the wilderness of sin? This year, may we all become like John the Baptist, inviting others to meet the Lord Jesus and to enter into a newness of life in Him.
“Prepare ye the way of the Lord.”
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