“Comfort ye, comfort ye My people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her that her warfare is accomplished.” Isaiah 40:1
In the gospel according to Matthew, at the time when John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, Scripture tells us that, “This is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias (Isaiah), saying, ‘The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make His paths straight.'” (3:3) Isaiah wrote concerning John the Baptist approximately seven hundred years before his coming, or appearance in history. And yet, there is no coincidence between the message to Jerusalem, and that to the people of Israel in Jesus’ day. Both needed to hear the message of repentance, the certainty of forgiveness, and the emphatic proclamation that the time had come to leave all in the past behind with its errors, sins, and suffering, to embrace “…the way of the Lord,” with the promise that “…the glory of the Lord shall be revealed.” (Is. 40:5) In both instances it must be seen that God wills to communicate His comfort, and consoling grace, to all who have suffered because of their sins, cleansing them, and restoring them to fulness of fellowship with Him. The message is wondrously filled with hope and provision, and a clear revealed way forward. The cry is to be heard throughout the land in Isaiah’s day, as well as in the days of John the Baptist. The message in Isaiah’s day was based upon the “word of our God,” and it was one of “good tidings.” Thus the instruction to the herald is this: “Get thee up into the high mountain…” for the purpose that all should hear. There, “…lift up thy voice with strength, lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, “Behold your God.” (40:9) This is the great promise of blessing, the revelation again of the knowledge of God through the preaching of His messenger, and the manifestation of His presence in the midst of the people. The promises associated with this message of good tidings in Isaiah’s day were several: the Lord would come with strong hand, His arm of authority ruling for Him. He would bring with Him in that personal revelation of Himself to the heart, and nation, His reward, and His work. He promised to feed His flock, providing daily for His sheep, His people.
The message of John the Baptist was similar. There was great clarity of the calling in Isaiah’s day, and so there would be in John’s. Both men came crying out to the people on behalf, and by the power, of the Spirit of God, a message that was so important, that at all costs it must be proclaimed. John would preach a message of repentance, a fundamental change that must occur in heart and mind towards the things of God, especially concerning God Himself. This man John was the herald of the coming of the King and His kingdom. His earnest admonition to the people by his cry was: “…Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make His paths straight.” (Matt. 3:3) Why are John’s words here so similar to those of Isaiah? God is using both men to call the people’s attention to the ways and thoughts of God as opposed to those of sinful men. Why? God alone can and will, deal thoroughly with sin, the very plague of death, which deprives the believing sinner of Life. But what are the intended results of such a message? For both men, at different times in history, the objective is ultimately the same, the promise that the glory of the Lord would be revealed. John would go even so far as to say, “I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but He that cometh after me (Christ) is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: He shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit, and with fire.” (Matt. 3:11)
God revealed His glory in Isaiah’s day, also, when Christ baptized with the Spirit.
Dear Father, Strengthen us to receive. In Jesus’ name, Amen.