Thursday August 29
Prepare the Way of the Lord
Luke 1:76-80
76 And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest; For you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways, 77 To give knowledge of salvation to His people By the remission of their sins, 78 Through the tender mercy of our God, With which the Dayspring from on high has visited us; 79 To give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, To guide our feet into the way of peace." 80 So the child grew and became strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his manifestation to Israel.
After Zacharias gives his praise and prophesy about the Jesus the Messiah in verses 67-75, he turns his attention to his newborn son, John. I can imagine the excitement in the room as the family, friends and neighbors of Zacharias and Elizabeth are gathered around them and they are hearing Zacharias speak for the first time in nine months. A wonderful miracle has taken place with them having a child in their old age. Zacharias is proclaiming that the Messiah has come bringing hope and salvation to the people of Israel! But what about this newborn baby John. What is he going to do? What part does he have in the coming and revelation of the Messiah?
It is as if Zacharias looks down on this beautiful baby in the arms of his wife and speaks directly to him. “And you child….”. Then he proceeds to tell him that he would be called “the prophet of the Highest”. This was prophesied centuries earlier by Isaiah to sinful nation telling them that one day they would find comfort in their coming Messiah. "Comfort, yes, comfort My people!" Says your God. "Speak comfort to Jerusalem, and cry out to her, That her warfare is ended, That her iniquity is pardoned; For she has received from the LORD'S hand Double for all her sins." The voice of one crying in the wilderness: "Prepare the way of the LORD; Make straight in the desert A highway for our God” (Isaiah 40:1-3; John 1:23).
Four hundred years earlier the prophet Malachi also had proclaimed in the last book of the Old Testament: "Behold, I send My messenger, And he will prepare the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, Will suddenly come to His temple, Even the Messenger of the covenant, In whom you delight. Behold, He is coming," Says the LORD of hosts” (Malachi 3:1). John would become known as John the Baptizer preaching to the people down by the Jordan River (John 1). He prepared the way for the ministry of Jesus with this message of and baptism of repentance.
When Jesus showed up at the Jordan River thirty years later to begin His three years of ministry, John saw Him coming and proclaimed, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). John went on to say: “And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God" (John 1:34).
Zacharias went on to say that John would tell the people that Jesus would “Give knowledge of salvation to His people by the remission of their sins” (v. 78). Remission means "to send away, to dismiss, as a debt." All of us are in debt to God because we have broken His law and failed to live up to His standards (Luke 7:40-50). Furthermore, all of us are spiritually bankrupt, unable to pay our debt. But Jesus came and paid the debt for us (Ps. 103:12; John 1:29).
This all because of the “tender mercy of our God, with which the Dayspring from on high has visited us” (vv. 78-79). It would be the dawning of a new day in the world. Dayspring means "sunrise." The people were sitting in darkness and death, and distress gripped them but when Jesus came He brought light, life, and peace. (Matt. 4:16).
Instead of enjoying a comfortable life as a priest, John lived in the wilderness, disciplining himself physically and spiritually, waiting for the day when God would send him out to prepare Israel for the arrival of the Messiah. People like Simeon and Anna (Luke 2:25-38) had been waiting for this day for many years, and soon it would come.
Today, God calls us to believe His Good News. Those who believe it experience His joy and want to express their praise to Him. It is not enough for us to say that Jesus is a Savior, or even the Savior. With Mary, we must say, "My spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior" (Luke 1:47).
Like John, today we are also called to “prepare the way of the Lord”, by calling our family, friends, neighbors, and anyone who will listen, to repentance and salvation by sharing the “Good News of Jesus”!
God bless!
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