John the Baptist is the only prophet who was foretold by another prophet. Isaiah prophesied about John seven hundred years before John was born. Isaiah said John was coming, where he would be, and what he would do. John’s arrival was good news, not so much that John was great. Rather, the good news was that the Messiah would soon fulfill God’s promised salvation.
Isaiah called John a voice, a disembodied proclamation. When important people enter a room or city during a formal occasion, an unimportant steward announces their arrival. Jesus was announced at his birth with a star and by a voice, John, just before Jesus’ ministry began.
John not only prepared people for Jesus’ coming, he also told people to prepare their hearts and minds. We are to give Jesus a smooth and easy entry into our life and being. Before a king made a journey to a distant country, the roads he would travel were improved. Similarly, preparation for the Messiah was made in a moral and spiritual sense through the ministry of John, which focused on repentance, forgiveness of sin, and the need for a Savior. Ask, “Am I prepared to open my heart and let God’s salvation in?”
