At this time a message from God came to John son of Zechariah, who was living in the wilderness. Then John went from place to place on both sides of the Jordan River, preaching that people should be baptized to show that they had repented of their sins and turned to God to be forgiven.
Isaiah had spoken of John when he said, “He is a voice shouting in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the LORD’s coming! Clear the road for Him! The valleys will be filled, and the mountains and hills made level. The curves will be straightened, and the rough places made smooth. And then all people will see the salvation sent from God.'”
Luke 3:2-6
This passage is another one of those “nothing” sort of passages where there doesn’t seem much being said. Just a bridge to what is to follow. Right? Wrong! There is much packed into these few verses. You need to be thinking deeply and willing to investigate some things here. Take time to look at it for yourself now. Ask yourself some questions about the text before you to help your study. You see if you can come up with the questions to ask. Life is not a matter of having the right answers; it’s a matter of asking the right questions. So go do it.
Also make sure you take note of what Luke is doing. Although he is a Gentile, he being very Jewish. He is anchoring what he has to say in the Old Testament. Don’t be like most Bible readers. When they see an Old Testament reference they pay no attention to it at all. Or if they notice it they think, “oh yes that is in the Old Testament somewhere”. But they don’t take the time to go and look it up. In this case Luke has told you where it is. Well he has said Isaiah said it. So go and find it and look up the passage at least.
Rather than go on with the text now I will not make any more comments and will leave you to do your own work. Have fun.
But do take note of the fact that Luke has kept these two stories in parallel since the beginning of his gospel. These two boys belong together. Jesus and John are inseparable. Find out why. Make sure you pay close attention to the details of this short passage. Even if we had not had all the help from the angelic visitation mentioned by Luke, we know something big is about to happen. From the input of angels of course it is clear to us that something cosmic is happening. From this section here we know we are dealing with the events surrounding Messiah. That is inescapable. This is the moment for which the cosmos and creation has been waiting. Go dig into it and find out all you can.
The human race crave the experience of awe and wonder. And there is no reality more breathtaking than Jesus.
Anon
When Christ is great, our fears are not. As awe of Jesus expands, fears of life diminish.
Max Lucado
The universe is full of magical things patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper.
Eden Phillpotts
You are heir to the entire universe — what a difference that should make!! Let it sink in.
Ian Vail
Take some time out to take it all in; if you can.
Ian Vail
Before you move out and move on, you must prepare the way; move up a gear.
Ian Vail