1 In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, 2 And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. 3 For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. (Matt 3:1-3)

For me, John the Baptist was the end of the old covenant. I felt like he handed off the Baton of the Old Covenant to Jesus and His New Covenant. But how did John prepare the way for the Lord or make His paths straight. This question has always been something I never felt I had a full answer to, until recently.

I was in a small group meeting at church and the Pastor said something that I had never considered. He used the Old Testament prophesy that was proclaimed about John the Baptist and used it as something that we were called to do.

At first my mind resisted the context switch, but I have learned over the years that I should always be open to looking at scripture from different angles as long as it doesn’t lead to contradictions. God has shown me some amazing things when I allow myself to be open. So, as I pondered it for a bit, it started to feel like I was given a missing piece to a puzzle. So many things flooded my mind from scripture.

Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand

John’s message to the people was a call to repentance. I knew this, but I always felt like his message fell short. It didn’t really seem to do much to prepare the people, or make any paths straight for Jesus that I could tell. But I was looking at what Jesus had to put up with during his ministry. I never really just looked at the message itself.

Once I looked at John’s message as something that reached beyond his time on this earth, it seemed to be as valid for us today as it was for those that heard him say it.

Let’s take a look at the first sermon after the disciples receive the Holy Spirit and how many hearts were ready to receive the Gospel of Jesus. It sure sounds a lot like John’s call to repentance and I can’t help but think that maybe those that heard it might have noticed the similarity as well.

38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. 39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, [even] as many as the Lord our God shall call. 40 And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation. 41 Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added [unto them] about three thousand souls. (Acts 2:38-41)

Dominoes

Have you ever seen someone set up dominoes in such a way that when they fall it creates an amazing display to behold. That is how I feel about scripture sometimes.

“Prepare ye the way of the Lord” has become like a key that keeps opening doors in my mind to many scriptures or as a domino knocking over another, then another. I want to consider a couple of those dominos.

The word “Prepare” makes me think about a lot of scriptures like the following:

1. And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; (Eph 4:23)
2. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse [your] hands, [ye] sinners; and purify [your] hearts, [ye] double minded. (Jas 4:8,).
3. [This] I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. (Gal 5:16)

I could probably go on and on but for now I just want to bring attention to a common theme with these scriptures that seem to indicate we are responsible for how we live our lives. We could get into the works of faith or the works of the flesh or the works of the law or even the topic of righteousness, but my intention is not to go deep into doctrinal truths; I just want to consider some things.

Many have heard of the parable of the Sower. Now this parable could also lead us in so many directions, but I want to focus on the part about the “Good Ground”. And the seed that is planted in this ground, which is the Word of God. All the scriptures that seem to be telling us what to do and what not to do might have purpose that is easy to miss. It seems to me that God wants us to prepare in ourselves good ground for the Word of God to be planted, so it might produce fruit in our lives.

Now I want to consider the words “the way”. It brings to my mind scriptures like the following.

• Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in [their] heart; and they have not known my ways. (Heb 3:10)
• Shew me thy ways, O LORD; teach me thy paths. (Ps 25:4)

Let me see if I can bring this all to a point.

I have watched so many Christians wrap there beliefs on a foundation of experience, which ultimately just seems to be an excuse for unbelief. I made a commitment long time ago, that God’s Word will always be true and my experience a lie if my experience doesn’t line up with scripture. But what good is believe if it doesn’t eventually become our experience. How does someone go beyond just believing?

Can’t say I have the full answer yet, but “Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.” is like a call to Seek out how to prepare Jesus’s way in our heart and to find what paths in our lives that need to be made straight in order to allow His Word to bear fruit. John’s calling and message just might be reaching out to anyone who has an ear to hear and is willing to take the Baton into the New Covenant and run this race to win.