Luke 3:4-6 (NASBStr)
as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet,
“ The voice of one crying in the wilderness,
‘ Make ready the way of the Lord,
Make His paths straight.
‘ Every ravine will be filled,
And every mountain and hill will be brought low;
The crooked will become straight,
And the rough roads smooth;
And all flesh will see the salvation of God. ’”
The above verses are a great definition of salvation and the gospel. John came to proclaim what Isaiah had already said the Messiah would do: save the world. Notice what the Messiah would bring to the nation. First, He would fill every ravine. Christ fills our emptiness. In those times of life when we have nothing, Jesus fills it. He is our portion. He is our all in all. The world attempts to fill their lives with stuff and the ravine still remains empty. Only Christ can fill and satisfy. Second he makes every mountain and hill low. Whatever obstacles are in our way He flattens. Or, when we think to highly of ourselves He brings us low. NO one can be exalted correctly without Christ. Whether and obstacle in our way to Him or our own pride rising like Mt. Everest, Jesus makes all things low. Third, the Messiah makes the crooked in our lives; the mistakes we have made in the creation of our lives and the journey of our steps; He makes straight. Nothing is so crooked or twisted in life that He can straighten out. And, fourth, Jesus makes the rough patches smooth. The bumps on life's road will damage the undercarriage of life, for some. But, for the believer the bumps are there and yet feel smooth under our seats. Lastly, He gives us access to God. The flesh we are now in prohibits us from seeing God. But, the final piece of salvation (glorification) is when we see Him. We behold His true glory, unaltered by the eyes of the flesh. John the Baptist came to declare this. So, too, can we. We can have it, by faith in Christ, and we can proclaim it, by faith in Christ.
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