A voice cries:
Isaiah 40:3-5 (ESV)
“In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD;
make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
Every valley shall be lifted up,
and every mountain and hill be made low;
the uneven ground shall become level,
and the rough places a plain.
And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed,
and all flesh shall see it together,
for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”
Isaiah heard a voice calling out to prepare the way of the Lord. God is coming. And you need to build a highway for him to travel on. Make it a level highway, filling the valleys and leveling the hills. And make it straight and smooth, a highway worthy of the creator of the universe.
The call here is not to build a literal highway for the Lord to travel down. But it is a call to prepare people’s hearts for his coming. To proclaim the coming of the Lord.
When John the Baptist came, this is the passage he quoted to explain what he was doing (Luke 3:3-6). He was preparing the way for Jesus, the Lord, preaching a message of repentance and God’s coming kingdom. And after John, the glory of the Lord was revealed in Jesus.
Proclaim the Kingdom
But it did not end there. The apostles Jesus commissioned went out into the world proclaiming the good news of the coming of the Lord. And throughout the last 2000 years, the good news has been proclaimed and hearts prepared for the coming of the Lord. Many have come to see the glory of the Lord in a personal way.
But this passage is looking even further ahead. A time is coming when every eye will see the Lord Jesus coming in glory and honor (Matt. 24:30-31). And the voice Isaiah heard calls out to us as well. Prepare the way for the Lord. Level the mountains and fill the valleys. Proclaim the kingdom of the Lord. The King is returning.
