Have you ever had that terrible sinking feeling of being unprepared? As a student maybe there was a test you did not study for. As an adult maybe the tax deadline came, and you were not ready. Proper preparation is the key to many things going right.
If you have been part of planning a big event, then you know just how important good preparation is. It is vital to everything that is planned. A sports team will win or lose the championship based on their off-season preparation.
Mark begins his Gospel with the greatest preparations of all. Preparing the way for Jesus.
The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God
It is written in Isaiah the prophet:
"I will send my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way"—
"a voice of one calling in the desert,
'Prepare the way for the Lord, (Mark 1:1-3)
Mark wrote his Gospel to help people know Jesus. In this gospel we are confronted with a call to action. He portrays Jesus calling others to action. Mark presents his gospel in a way that all of us who read his gospel are called to action.
The preparation for Jesus was written long before in the prophets. The Old Testament scriptures told us about a coming Messiah. There was an expectation for the coming messiah because the prophets prepared the people for this.
Mark focuses on two scriptures, Isaiah 40:3 and Malachi 3:1.
A voice of one calling:
"In the desert prepare
the way for the LORD;
make straight in the wilderness
a highway for our God. (Isaiah 40:3)
"See, 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)
The New Testament is connected to and fulfills the Old Testament. These scriptures speak not only of the coming Christ, but the one who comes before to prepare the way. So, these are two of the most important scriptures that tell us of the one who will prepare the way for Jesus.
A voice was needed, and voice was heard. It was that of John the Baptist. Jesus is the promised deliverer and John is the promised forerunner. There was a period of silence after the book of Malachi. Now the silence is broken. The prophetic succession continues. Scripture is fulfilled. A forerunner, a messenger a voice is now on the scene, and it is John the Baptist who fulfills the role to prepare the way for Jesus.
John fulfilled two prophesies of scripture. He was the promised forerunner and he appeared in the wilderness. Now the prophesy of the one who was to prepare the way was fulfilled. It was now, “the fullness of time.”
Make straight paths for him.' "And so John came, baptizing in the desert region and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. John wore clothing made of camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. (Mark 1:4-6)
John’s purpose was to point to someone beyond himself. In the time of Isaiah’s prophecy there was preparation when a king would travel. A team would go before the king and cut down trees, fill in valleys, bring down mountains and straighten crooked roads. The way was prepared so the king could travel on a smooth road.
You may have seen preparations for a dignitary to arrive to a place. There is much work in advance that takes place. The roads are prepared, and the potholes are filled. The dignitary is to travel on smooth roads. The preparations are all the more elaborate when it is preparation for royalty passing through.
John prepared the way for the King of Kings. He made the way straight through his preaching and call to repentance. John had a mission to prepare the way for Jesus.
What a figure John was appearing from the solitary life of the desert. His camel hair garment, his leather belt and his eating locust and wild honey were part of his wilderness lifestyle. John was willing to denounce any sin at any price. Momma don’t let your babies grow up to be prophets. People like John get their heads chopped off.
John fit the Old Testament mold of a prophet. He renounced the religion of his day. He called the religious leaders a brood of vipers. John preached with authority of “Thus sayeth the Lord.” John preached with that burning conviction.
Even King Herod did not scare John the Baptist. John preached against his sin. As a matter of fact, Herod was scared of John Mark 6:20 says Herod feared John.
John preached repentance. A call to turn from the life of sin. Baptism followed repentance. Finally, after 400 years there was a voice. Something new was about to happen. John was the forerunner. John preached, "Prepare you for the one who comes." The Bible says, “There has been no one born that is greater. Yet when asked if he was the Christ, he denied it passionately and said, I am not even worthy to unlatch the sandal of the one who comes after me. “
And this was his message: "After me will come one more powerful than I, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit." (Mark 1:7-8)
John preached Christ. John denied his own worthiness. That honor belongs to Christ alone. John proclaimed the most profound message of all “The Kingdom of God is at hand.”
When John saw Jesus he said, behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. When Jesus was born the angels announced good news of great joy a savior was born. There was another preparation of thirty years before John meets Jesus in the wilderness.
John announces the purpose of Jesus to take away our sin. From the time Adam and Eve disobeyed God in the wilderness until the closing words of Malachi that announced the coming forerunner it became clear. There was no system that man could reach God. He must come down to us, Immanuel, God with us.
John baptized with water. His baptism is ceremonial, outward only. Jesus would come and He baptizes with the Holy Spirit. Only Jesus is worthy to save you from sin. He came to die on the cross. His resurrection can be a reality in your life.
The way to God is prepared.
Scripture prepares us.
John prepared us.
Jesus has arrived.
Now is your responsibility. Prepare your heart and trust totally in Jesus.
