3The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God (Isaiah 40:3).
19And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou? 20And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ. 21And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No. 22Then said they unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself? 23He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias (John 1:19-23).
In this prophecy from Isaiah the forerunner of the Messiah is described. The forerunner would come just before the Messiah. We know from the Gospel of John that the forerunner is John the Baptist. This should cause you to ponder the intricacy and detail of God. The coming of the Messiah hinges on the actions of another-a forerunner. So, John the Baptist claims to be the forerunner to the Messiah, at first not knowing the identity of the Messiah, he was simply being faithful to his calling. John the Baptist was born therefore for a set purpose, a purpose that set the stage for the coming of Christ. The Baptist called for the repentance of God’s people. This made the environment ripe for Christ to complete His work of redemption. This intricate detail further proves the identity of the Messiah and ties His identity to the actions of the forerunner. As we have done several times over the past month lets review some of the requirements for identifying the Messiah to date. So not only is the Messiah from the lineage of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David; born of a virgin; born in Bethlehem; from Galilee; heals the blind and gives hearing to the deaf; is a teacher; is rejected by the ‘wise’; died by crucifixion; raises people from the dead; was raised Himself from the dead; Is High Priest from the order of Melchizedek; Is God; Is the Son; and now was preceded by one crying out in the wilderness.
19And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou? 20And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ. 21And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No. 22Then said they unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself? 23He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias (John 1:19-23).
In this prophecy from Isaiah the forerunner of the Messiah is described. The forerunner would come just before the Messiah. We know from the Gospel of John that the forerunner is John the Baptist. This should cause you to ponder the intricacy and detail of God. The coming of the Messiah hinges on the actions of another-a forerunner. So, John the Baptist claims to be the forerunner to the Messiah, at first not knowing the identity of the Messiah, he was simply being faithful to his calling. John the Baptist was born therefore for a set purpose, a purpose that set the stage for the coming of Christ. The Baptist called for the repentance of God’s people. This made the environment ripe for Christ to complete His work of redemption. This intricate detail further proves the identity of the Messiah and ties His identity to the actions of the forerunner. As we have done several times over the past month lets review some of the requirements for identifying the Messiah to date. So not only is the Messiah from the lineage of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David; born of a virgin; born in Bethlehem; from Galilee; heals the blind and gives hearing to the deaf; is a teacher; is rejected by the ‘wise’; died by crucifixion; raises people from the dead; was raised Himself from the dead; Is High Priest from the order of Melchizedek; Is God; Is the Son; and now was preceded by one crying out in the wilderness.
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