Advent . Prepare the Way .
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Comfort for God’s People
1 Comfort, comfort my people,
says your God.2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
and proclaim to her
that her hard service has been completed,
that her sin has been paid for,
that she has received from the Lord’s hand
double for all her sins.3 A voice of one calling:
“In the wilderness prepare
the way for the Lord;
make straight in the desert
a highway for our God.4 Every valley shall be raised up,
every mountain and hill made low;
the rough ground shall become level,
the rugged places a plain.5 And the glory of the Lord will be revealed,
and all people will see it together.
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” -
John the Baptist Prepares the Way
1 In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea 2 and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” 3 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.’ -
I am sure you will agree with me that traffic is awful at this time of the year, not only because it is busy but on top of that the Road Works companies decide to dig up our roads. How do you like being stuck in traffic jams caused by roads being mended, rough places being smoothed?
John the Baptist was imagining us getting a road ready to be straight and free so that God can travel straight into our lives without finding any potholes or rough ground.
Let’s read from the Old Testament and the New Testament today.
-
Comfort for God’s People
1 Comfort, comfort my people,
says your God.
2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
and proclaim to her
that her hard service has been completed,
that her sin has been paid for,
that she has received from the Lord’s hand
double for all her sins.3 A voice of one calling:
“In the wilderness prepare
the way for the Lord;
make straight in the desert
a highway for our God.
4 Every valley shall be raised up,
every mountain and hill made low;
the rough ground shall become level,
the rugged places a plain.
5 And the glory of the Lord will be revealed,
and all people will see it together.
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” -
John the Baptist Prepares the Way
1 In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea 2 and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” 3 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.’
Imagine John the Baptist in the wilderness shouting, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.' What on earth could he have meant?
Maybe we can think about this again as advent draws to a close. What would it look like if we examined our own life journey to see what potholes and roadblocks and rough ground there may be in our own lives?
Today we can ask the Lord Jesus to help us make changes.
Matthew 3:3 ‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him.’
There are 'holes' of selfishness and meanness. The rough ground of pride and prejudice or potholes in our loving that needs filling in with loving-kindness and thoughtfulness. More than that, we need a foreman to take charge and show us the way.
Jesus is the one who says, 'I am the way'.
Perhaps there are 'potholes' in our honesty because we don't always tell the truth. These holes need mending with truthfulness and integrity more than that we need a guide to prompt us of the right things to say the right things to do.
Jesus said I am the truth.
Then there are dry times in the wilderness that hinders God from getting through to us. Maybe our lifestyle says, 'I don't need God', 'I'm OK as I am, thanks', 'I don't want to change my life.' We need a fresh encounter with the living water Jesus Christ who can refresh and reinvigorate us.
John, the Baptist in the desert, knew that time was running out. He had no time for niceties in his shouting. Soon Herod's axe would fall, and his tongue would lie silent in the grave. City people came out from Jerusalem just to see him. They were intrigued by this strange phenomenon of a wild man crying in the wilderness; "Turn from your sins, repent, prepare the way." They were fascinated by 'city' things such as his dress, his honey and locusts' diet and his wild talking.
Sometimes the preacher longs for listeners to ignore everything except the message. "Don't listen to my accent. Don't comment on my diet, don't look at my clothes.
Hear what I am saying. Repent! Not a popular idea today. Repent is so last year.
If you tell someone today, they are a sinner, you will be accused of a hate crime! The spirit of this age is in denial about sinfulness. There is an absence of guilt in today's society, making it very difficult to talk about repentance or turning away from sin. For if there is no acknowledgement of guilt, then there is no turning away from sin.
Repentance is far more than saying; "I'm Sorry", nor is it merely turning over a new leaf. Repentance is far more than simply reciting a prayer of confession that we pray each week. Repentance triggers God's amazing grace and mercy for us; it sets us free from those potholes and rough ground that have messed us up.
1 John 1:9 says, 'If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.'
Today when we hear John the Baptist crying in the wilderness, 'Get the road ready for our God', it's a good idea to listen to him, look at our own life-road, see where the potholes and rough places are, and ask God to help us put them right straight away; Even better than that invite Jesus to be your Lord and help and guide to show you the things in your life which need putting right.
Almighty God, you sent John the Baptist to prepare your people for the coming of our Lord Jesus. Help us to examine ourselves and make straight paths for you to enter into our hearts as this Advent season draws to a close. Amen
Footnote:
Notice one more thing, the crowds asked John, "Who are you?" and John said, "I'm not the Christ." And he pointed to Jesus, who could forgive and cleanse sin. John the Baptist knew his role. He was the forerunner to someone far greater (Luke 3:16). Likewise, we are to prepare the way for Jesus.
How do we do that?
By the way, we live and the words we speak (witness/testimony) by our confession and our worship.
