Mr 1:2 As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.

Mr 1:3 The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.

Mr 1:4 John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.

Mr 1:5 And there went out unto him all the land of Judaea, and they of Jerusalem, and were all baptized of him in the river of Jordan, confessing their sins.

Mr 1:6 And John was clothed with camel’s hair, and with a girdle of a skin about his loins; and he did eat locusts and wild honey;

Mr 1:7 And preached, saying, There cometh one mightier than I after me, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and unloose.

Mr 1:8 I indeed have baptized you with water: but he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost.

Mr 1:9 ¶ And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan.

Mr 1:10 And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him:

Mr 1:11 And there came a voice from heaven, [saying], Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

Mr 1:2 As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.

It is written in the prophets

Mark references more than one prophet and merges their prophecies as though they were one. This troubles some, but get used to it. Mark understands that God is the sole author and that all the prophecies speak of Christ. They can be merged like transparencies laid on top of each other, where each has only a part of the picture.

Mal 3:1 ¶ Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts.

Isa 40:3 ¶ The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

messenger:

Mal 4:5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:

Before your face

"In your presence". The messenger and the Lord will meet. Not only did they meet, but their ministries overlapped as did those of Elijah and Elisha. Jesus preached repentance just like John ^[1] until John was put into prison when he began to teach of the grace of the kingdom ^[2].

Which will prepare the way before thee

The purpose of the forerunner is to prepare the 'way' of the Lord. This suggests that the one following is the Lord. Isaiah speaks in 3rd person of the Lord coming. But the prophecy of Malachi above is spoken by the Lord in first person; "He shall prepare the way before ME."

The way

There are two words closely related in Hebrew:

Way 02015 הפך haphak - turn back, overthrow

Path 0734 ארח ‘orach - Highway

The way is the way back. Jesus said he was the way, ^[3]

Consider then that John was doing something to prepare the way back for Jesus. He had left his high estate as God of very God, and was found in the form of a man. ^[4]

Next: Mr 1:3

1. ↑ Mt 4:17 From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
2. ↑ Mr 1:14 ¶ Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God,
3. ↑ Joh 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
4. ↑ Php 2:7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:

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

1. ↑ Joh 1:1 ¶ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2. ↑ 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.
3. ↑ 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.
4. ↑ 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.