Preparing the Way: Lessons from John the Baptist

by Margaret Hanoian

Luke 3:1-6 – The Proclamation of John the Baptist

3 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was ruler[a] of Galilee, and his brother Philip ruler[b] of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias ruler[c] of Abilene, 2 during the high-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. 3 He went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, 4 as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah, The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: “ Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. 5 Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth; 6 and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.”’

Here are my thoughts on this passage:

Timeline
I felt like just skipping over verses 1 and 2, which lists the kings and leaders of the time (blah, blah, blah). But a little bit of research gave me some perspective. Luke likes to be very specific in his gospel and to put things into historical perspective. The list of people point to a time around 30 AD, confirmed by archeology! The leaders mentioned were cruel and corrupt, pointing out how much the world needs to change.

Repentance
I usually associate repentance with Lent, but here John is telling us to repent before Jesus comes so we can be ready for him. During my research, I was reminded that repentance is not just feeling sorry, but turning away from the wrong path and onto the right path. This is my real take-away from the passage. As I experience the anticipation of Advent, I will try to “do the next right thing”, as a friend of mine says. I’ll think about what’s right for me, my family, my community, and my world. Be kind. Connect with others, even when it’s hard. Speak up against wrong. I hope that I succeed and that it makes Christmas even more meaningful.

Quoting Isaiah
In this section, John quotes Isaiah. The message seems to be that God can do amazing things, like filling valleys. The verse that really struck me was the last one “and all flesh shall see the salvation of God”. To me this emphasizes that God is for everyone on the earth, not just Jews or Christians.