December 18
“‘Behold, I send My messenger, and he will prepare the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple, even the Messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight. Behold, He is coming,’ says the Lord of hosts,” Malachi 3:1.
Chapter 3 of the prophet Malachi begins with the words, “Behold, I send My messenger, and he will prepare the way before Me.” Through the prophet Malachi, who wrote about 400 years before Jesus was born, the Lord is repeating what was written about 300 years prior to Malachi by the prophet Isaiah: “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God,’” Isaiah 40:3.
The evangelist Mark begins his Gospel account by quoting the two prophets. He writes, “As it is written in the Prophets . . . ” and then he quotes the prophet Malachi: “Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, who will prepare Your way before You.” Then immediately Mark quotes the prophet Isaiah: “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; make His paths straight,’” Mark 1:2-3.
Having quoted both of the prophets, Malachi and Isaiah, the evangelist Mark then identifies the messenger who came to prepare the way of the coming of the promised Messiah. The messenger was John the Baptist, who was Jesus’ forerunner. Mark writes, “John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins . . . And he preached, saying, ‘There comes One after me who is mightier than I, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to stoop down and loose,’” Mark 1:4,7.
The evangelist Matthew also identified John the Baptist as Jesus’ forerunner by stating that John was the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke: “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; make His paths straight,’” Matthew 3:3.
The evangelist Luke likewise identifies John the Baptist as the one of whom Isaiah wrote. Then he quotes a larger portion of the prophet Isaiah: “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; make His paths straight. Every valley shall be filled and every mountain and hill brought low; the crooked places shall be made straight and the rough ways smooth; and all flesh shall see the salvation of God,’” Luke 3:4-6.
The evangelist John speaks of the ministry of John the Baptist in which he identified Jesus as God’s Son and the promised Savior. Pointing to Jesus, John the Baptist said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world . . . I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God,” John 1:29, 34.
Yes, both the person and the work of both the forerunner and the Savior of whom all the prophets spoke and wrote are testified to by all four evangelists. God kept His promises to send a Savior for all people, for all sinners, such as you and I are. He prepares our hearts through His Law, which shows us our sins, and through the Gospel, where the Holy Spirit calls us to accept Jesus Christ as God’s Son and our only Savior, who suffered and died on Calvary’s cross to wash our sins away and who rose from the grave to conquer death and the devil for all. This is the Good News in this glorious Christmas season!
Hark, the Herald’s voice is crying, In the desert far and near,
Bidding all men to repentance, Since the Kingdom now is here.
Oh, that warning cry obey! Now prepare for God a way;
Let the valleys rise to meet Him, And the hills bow down to greet Him.
Make ye straight what once was crooked, Make the rougher places plain;
Let your hearts be true and humble, As befits His holy reign.
For the glory of the Lord, Now o’er earth is shed abroad,
And all flesh shall see the token, That His Word is never broken. Amen.