“I
will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then
suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger
of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,” says the Lord Almighty.”
Malachi 3:1
God promised through the
prophet Malachi that he would send a messenger
before the Messiah that would prepare the people for His coming. This messenger
would ‘prepare the way for the Lord’ by
preparing hearts to receive Him.
This prophecy is proclaimed
to be fulfilled before Jesus’ birth by Zechariah, John the Baptist’s father, who
was ‘filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied’:
“And
you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High;
for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the
way for him,
to give his people the
knowledge of salvation
through the forgiveness of their sins.” Luke 1:76-77
All three of the
Synoptic gospels declare John the Baptist to be the fulfillment of the
prophecy. He is the messenger that would prepare the people for the Messiah’s
ministry.
“This is he who was
spoken of through the prophet Isaiah:
“A voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him.’ “ Matthew
3:3
John the Baptist’s role of preparing the people was to preach,
‘Repent, for the kingdom of God is near’ (Matthew 3:2), preaching ‘a baptism
for the forgiveness of sins’ (Mark 1:2-4 and Luke 3:2-6) that would come
through Jesus Christ, the Messiah.
Our role in observing the Advent season is to prepare the way for
the Lord as well – in our own hearts, in the heart of our home, and in the
lives of the people we encounter every day. To declare “Joy to the world, the
Lord is come”!
Joy to the world, the Lord is come!
Let earth receive her King.
Let every heart prepare Him room.
And Heaven and nature sing,
And Heaven and nature sing,
And Heaven, and Heaven, and nature sing!
Written by Isaac Watts, 1791, Inspired by Psalm
98
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