The quotation from Isaiah 40:3 forms part of God’s comfort to His exiled nation, telling her that her years of hard labour are over and her sins are forgiven. The prophetic voice had been relatively rare for 400 years, but now John breaks that silence as the voice in the wilderness crying out, “Prepare the way for the Lord”. The messianic salvation dreamed of long ago has come! God’s deliverance and kingly rule through Jesus is imminent! But know that the Son of God’s coming will also mean God’s wrath and judgement for some.

So how were the people to prepare, to make a straight path for the King’s coming into their hearts? First, acknowledge that everyone is a sinner and has fallen short of God’s standards. Religious observance and religious pedigree are not enough. The Pharisees and Sadducees had plenty of that. Being Abraham’s descendants is not enough. Who you are and what you have done will not count. What is required is heartfelt repentance—giving up my ways to follow His Way. If there is no genuine repentance, there will be no spiritual life in the kingdom of the Messiah King.