#DailyDevotion The Baptist Prepares The Way For The LORD Our God
Mark 1 BEGINNING THE GOOD NEWS about Jesus Christ, God’s Son: 2It is written in the prophet Isaiah: Look! I will send My messenger ahead of You to prepare the way for You. 3A voice will be calling in the wilderness: “Prepare the way for the Lord; make the paths straight for Him.” 4So John the Baptizer came into the wilderness, preaching that people repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of sins. 5All Judea and all the people of Jerusalem were coming out to him. As they confessed their sins, he baptized them in the Jordan River. 6John was dressed in camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist. And he lived on grasshoppers and wild honey.
Or, “In the beginning.” Sound familiar? It should. It’s how Genesis starts. This tells us that this Good News about Jesus Christ is a beginning, a beginning of a new creation, or as Peter quotes the Old Testament, “a new heavens and a new earth.” Adam was God’s son that he created, cf. Luke’s genealogy of Jesus. Jesus is God’s Son from all eternity, uncreated before all worlds and everything was made through and by him. Now Jesus has become a son of Adam, a son of David, who is also God’s Son.
There was a messenger sent to prepare the way for the LORD Jesus Christ. Do you think it strange I capitalize LORD here? It is because Jesus is the all capitalized LORD of the Old Testament though I admit the last three letters there are written in small capital letters but my program won’t do that. So all big capital letters to remind you and the unbelieving Jews, Jesus is their LORD who covenanted with Abraham, rescued them from the Egyptians and settled them in the land He had promised Abraham.
Now I bring this up because the passage quoted from the Old Testament here from Isaiah 40, “Prepare the way for the LORD” is speaking of the God of Israel, as it says, “make a straight highway in the desert for our God.” And again, “Here is your God!” This LORD, this God is none other than Jesus Christ of Nazareth. And how do we prepare the way, what did John do? He preached we should repent, he heard confessions, and he baptized for the forgiveness of sins. So too today, we prepare for Jesus second Advent and make straight his path in the same way. We preach to people to be repentant, to confess their sins and receive absolution, and we baptized them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
So look at the 10 commandments and see where you have fallen short. Read Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount and be convicted. Ask yourself have you loved your enemies as yourself. Confess where you have fallen short. Be baptized if you haven’t been already. Regularly confess your sins to your pastor and receive Jesus’ absolution. Participate in Jesus’ body and blood. Let the Spirit change your life into Christ’s life. The Baptist’s work isn’t done. The Church continues it until the Last Day.
Merciful God and Father, you prepared the way for our LORD Jesus Christ to come into the world to save sinners through the Baptist. Continue to prepare the way for Jesus’ second Advent through his Church and may the His way be prepared in our hearts to receive him as the LORD. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.