PREPARE THE WAY OF THE LORD PART ONE

Luke 3:1 ( ESV )

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¹In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene,

·         The Jews were looking for a Messiah but it for sure would not come from the political arena. No one could qualify for that position among these men who were the leaders of the day. Let us look at this cast of characters.

·         Tiberius Caesar-After being raised to supreme power he became cruel and vindictive. Christ would die during his reign.

·         Pilate- He was known for his cruelty to the Jews and had certain Galileans killed in Luke 13:1. He had emperor worship enforced. He would also listen to the voices of men over the voice of God.

·         Herod-A ruler over Galilee who would leave his first wife for his brother Phillip’s wife. He was a cruel and perverted man who was willing to hand over the life of John the Baptist so that he could be with his niece.

·         Lysanias-What is amazing is how little was known about him and how many doubted his existence until recent archaeological finds.

Luke 3:2 ( ESV )

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²during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas,^£the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness.

·         They would also not find their Messiah through their high priest. The irony of this passage is that Annas means the humble one. He would be taken down by the Roman Procurator of Judea and later on his son-in-law was appointed to the position.  So both he and Caiaphas would be called the high priest by the people. Caiaphas acted as the high priest and Annas was the president of the Sanhedrin.

·         Yet the messenger who would proclaim the Messiah to come would be a lowly prophet by the name of John who had been out of the public eye and in the wilderness. Yet the time had come for a message of hope and change through this one.

Luke 3:3-6 ( ESV )

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³And he went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

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⁴As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, ^£“The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord,^£ make his paths straight.

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⁵ Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall become straight, and the rough places shall become level ways,

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⁶ and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’”

·         Baptisms were not new for the Jews as Mosaic laws had prescribed various kinds for uncleanness and defilement. (Lev. 11-15 and Numb. 19) Yet this one was different in that it was symbolically preparing people to be aware that Messiah was coming.

·         The people’s hearts and mind were being challenged about their need to repent. They needed to be forgiven and pardoned. This baptism was to symbolize and testify of the forgiveness of Christ that was received. The water did not save them but the people were humbling themselves before God and preparing their hearts for the Messiah to come.

·         These words are from the book of Isaiah are from Isaiah 40:3-5 talking about John the Baptist and his message of the Messiah.

·         John proclaimed with a loud voice this message as one who had walked and would walk in the solitary places. The idea of the word prepare is drawn from the custom of sending people in front of kings on their journey and their job was to make the roads passable for them to go on. Note what he says every mountain and hill shall be made low and the crooked shall be made straight. John would not do this physically but he was spiritually preparing people to meet their God. He was telling them that Messiah would come and they should prepare their hearts to meet him. (We as believers today are to shout out to the world, “Believe in Christ, put your faith in Him and Him alone who can save you.)

·         The beauty of this message is that it was not a message for just the Jews but for all of mankind. The salvation of God is coming was his message but our message today is that the Salvation of God has come. Jesus is willing to save man if they are willing to believe in Him. 

·         I am reminded of the words of Amos the prophet who told the people of his time. “Prepare to meet Your God.” Amos 4:12. I ask of you today like Amos and John the Baptist, “Are you ready to meet Your God?”