Mr 1:3
- Mr 1:3 The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
The voice
Compare John, who is called the voice to Jesus who is called the Word. [1]
Wilderness
John was not really all that far in the wilderness. Crowds were coming to see him. But the wilderness is the place of desolation. It is a metaphor for the earth without the word of God. It is the dry land of Ge 1. [2]
the way of the Lord
As mentioned in Mr 1:2, the way is the way back. John is doing something to prepare the way back for Jesus. What would hinder his way back to Glory?
make his paths straight
'Way' and 'path' are two aspects of one thing. The path is the walk in the flesh. The way is the spiritual life. The life in the flesh, for Jesus, was filled with peril. Even more-so than for you or I.
Straight - smooth so that one does not twist his ankle. Metaphorically, so he does not stumble in sin.
Jesus was constantly faced with the temptation of who he was. We are mere humans, who by our universal sin (called original sin by some) make ourselves to be God by choosing what is good and evil for ourselves. This is the domain of God. We set ourselves at war with God without even thinking about it by going about in life living instinctively.
Jesus was very God of God. If he chose to do what he wanted, he would not sin. He is the one to whom judgement belongs. But if he grasped at what rightly belonged to him, he would forfeit being out high priest. He could not save us. He had to be tempted in every way that we are, and without advantage.
He also did not want to die. No one said he had to die except himself in the covenant he made with man before he even created man. [3]
There are many things that would continue to tempt Jesus to avoid the death on the cross. His own wilderness experience (Mt 4),his friend Peter [4] and even the death of his friend Lazarus (Joh 11), tempted him to avoid the cross.
John is helping Jesus prepare for those temptations. Can you see which elements in the events of his baptism would encourage him to have confidence in who he is and what he must do?
Next Mr 1:4
References
- ↑ Joh 1:1 ¶ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
- ↑ Ge 1:9 ¶ And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry [land] appear: and it was so.
- ↑ Re 13:8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
- ↑ Mr 8:33 But when he had turned about and looked on his disciples, he rebuked Peter, saying, Get thee behind me, Satan: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men.
