The 40th chapter of Isaiah is very beautiful. It is a poem about the time and coming of Christ (Isa 40:1-11), followed by an exhortation to recognize him as the likeness and true image of Almighty God (Isa 40:12-31, Col 1:15, Heb 1:3).

The first part foretells a "voice calling" to prepare the way for the coming of Christ the Lord. (Isa 40:3). This will occupy our attention in this lesson.

Isaiah 40:3 Interpreted in the Gospels

Isaiah 40:3 refers to the great John the Baptizer. He was the "voice calling in the wilderness". This is made clear by Matthew who interprets this verse for us (Mtt 3:1-3).

The same interpretation is given by the writers of the other gospel accounts (Mrk 1:2-4, Lke 3:2-6, Jhn 1:19-23).

We note that in the gospel of John it is John the Baptizer himself who bears witness that he is the "voice crying in the wilderness" of whom Isaiah spoke.

John the Baptizer was a special herald of Christ the Lord. His preaching in the wilderness paved the way for the ministry of Jesus Christ. Jesus was of much higher rank than John. John's ministry was to prepare people for Christ, and lead them to Christ. John himself was clear about this (Jhn 1:15,19-23,29-36).

Malachi’s Messenger, the Elijah to Come

Malachi, the last book of the Old Testament, also prophesies of a messenger of the Lord (Mal 3:1-3). Jesus himself interpreted this passage for us, and applied it to John the Baptizer (Mtt 11:1-15).

You will notice that Jesus also says of John the Baptizer that "he himself is Elijah who is to come". This is another reference to Malachi --to the closing words in fact, of Malachi and of the Old Testament (Mtt 11:14, Mal 4:5-6).

Jesus refers to this matter again later in Matthew, in a response to a question from his disciples (Mtt 17:9-13).

The angel Gabriel, who appeared to Zacharias confirms this interpretation, and provides us with more information as to the sense in which John was Elijah. Gabriel says that John came "in the spirit and power of Elijah" (Lke 1:11-19). John the Baptizer was not Elijah himself, but the antitype of Elijah who preached with the same spirit and the same power as Elijah. In that sense he was the Elijah to come.

The question of whether or not John was Elijah (literally) is settled by John the Baptizer himself. When asked, "Are you Elijah?" he answered, "No I am not".(Jhn 1:19-21)

Voice in the Wilderness

The story of John the Baptizer is of great encouragement to us. He was a voice quite literally crying in the wilderness, since he preached in the wilderness of Judea (Mtt 3:1). However it is evident that there was in his time a religious or spiritual wilderness too. The people were in confusion much as people are today. All who preach the gospel of Christ are voices crying in the wilderness. However John preached with great spirit and power despite all that was against him. He lost his head, but he never lost heart. Just as he preached in the spirit and power of Elijah, so we should preach in the spirit and power of John. For it was from God that both Elijah and John received their power, and it is from God that we will receive ours.

You might think it arrogant to compare ourselves to such great lights as John and Elijah. However, did you not read what Jesus said? We do not compare ourselves with these lights in any spirit of arrogance, but with the awe-inspiring understanding that Jesus gives us when he says, "Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen one greater than John the Baptizer, yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he" (Mtt 11:11).

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