Advent 22: The Voice Crying in the Wilderness
Mark 1:1-8
“The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
As it is written in Isaiah the prophet,
“Behold, I send my messenger before your face,
who will prepare your way,
the voice of one crying in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight,
John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with camel’s hair and wore a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey. And he preached, saying, “After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
Mark 1:1-8
Intersecting Roads
If you read through the Gospel of Mark, you realize he moves quickly through everything. In fact, the word most connected with Mark is “immediately.” It’s like he doesn’t have any time to slow down. He has to get to it right now. So, when we see him quoting Scripture like this, we shouldn’t be surprised. In this one quotation, he’s actually quoting from two different books of the Old Testament. He doesn’t have time to stop and tell you how they’re connected, but thankfully we do.
The first part of this is from Malachi 3:1.
“Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me.”
In this context, God’s people have been crying out for justice, asking God where he is. God replies by telling them he will come and will bring justice with him. So they can be certain, he lets them know he will send his messenger first. When we read this we must remember that God is sending this messenger to prepare for his actual coming. Mark tells us that God is personally coming to his people, and John the Baptist will prepare the way for him.
Next is a quote from Isaiah 40. We should notice that Mark strings both of these together as one coherent quote. He tells us that Malachi and Isaiah were talking about the same thing. So, what’s happening in Isaiah?
A voice cries; “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.”
In Isaiah, the context is pretty similar. God’s people were crying out to him for relief. Don’t forget, this word is coming to a group of people who were constantly under oppression. They wanted deliverance. They wanted to finally feel like God’s people again.
Isaiah 40 is a word from God to his people. He tells Isaiah to speak gently to them to give them comfort. But why should they be comforted? They should be comforted because they are God’s chosen people, loved by him.
The next couple of chapters spell out God’s blessings for them. He reminds them that he is the God who is there for them. You cannot compare him to false gods and idols who are nothing. He is the great God over all the Earth, and he will save them.
First Things, First
God wanted his people to know he was coming to be with them, but first, he would send someone to prepare the way. See what Mark is saying here? He is saying that Jesus is God. Don’t miss that. God promised to come, and he came. And just so we are clear who Jesus is, God sent us a messenger to come before him to make way for him.
Now that we are clear who all the players are, what are we supposed to do to prepare for his arrival? Mark makes this super clear. We are supposed to respond with confession and repentance. This is what John proclaimed. God is coming, so repent and be ready for his arrival.
Reflection
As we look forward to Christmas day and the celebration of the birth of Jesus, we should stand back and marvel at the way God worked in all things. Throughout the Old Testament, he had a consistent message of hope that would bring peace to the world. He loved his people so much that he made promises to them. And then, so nobody would miss it, when the fullness of time had come, he graciously sent John the Baptist to prepare the way.
Let’s talk about it:
- It’s been 2,000 years since the first Advent of Jesus, but many are still not ready for him. Are you ready? Are you living a life characterized by confession and repentance?
- 2. As we get ready to celebrate the first Advent, are we busy preparing for the next?
- 3. We cannot forget that just as surely as Jesus came the first time, he will come again. But this time, he isn’t going to send John the Baptist to help the world get ready. He doesn’t have to. He has already sent us. How are you helping to prepare the way for the Lord?
Free Advent Bible Study
Let’s stand back and marvel at God’s grace and sovereignty, and focus on God this Christmas. May we join with the angels singing, “Glory to God in the highest” (Luke 2:14).
Join this 25-day Advent journey, The Things Concerning Himself, as we worship Christ and celebrate his coming.
Zach Mabry is the worship pastor and one of the main teachers at Snowbird. He also directs our year-round Snowbird Institute program. He has a Master of Divinity from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and serves as an adjunct professor for Liberty University. Zach is a teaching pastor at Red Oak Church, a local church in the Andrews area.