Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord

2012-11-16

“For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.” (Matthew 3:3)

Isaiah the prophet foretold John the Baptist’s preaching, as did Malachi. But what was this message that John preached? According to Isaiah, he cried out for people to prepare the way of the Lord, and make his paths straight. The lofty would be brought down, and the lowly brought up. All would see the salvation of God. Here in Matthew, he cried, “Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Essentially, these statements could summarize John the Baptist’s preaching. For us to prepare the way of the Lord, we should repent. Repent simply means change, but what? We are to change, because the kingdom of heaven is at hand. It means to turn from whatever we were trusting in before, and believing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. “At hand” means that its coming is imminent. It could come at any time. While the coming kingdom is glorious news, those who are not preparing for the coming of the Lord will experience his wrath. This is seen in Matthew 3:7-8: “O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance.”

We know that there are a series of events that precedes the Lord Jesus’ coming. But we do not know when all of these things will happen. Making his paths straight and preparing the way includes believing on Jesus Christ to be saved. Only then can we flee the wrath to come and eagerly welcome him at his coming.