"A voice of one calling: In the desert prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God. Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it." Isaiah 40:3-5.
This prophecy was fulfilled in the coming of John the Baptist. His ministry was the ministry Isaiah prophesied. He was a wild man who lived in the desert, ate locusts and wild honey for food, and had a nazarite vow from birth that forbid him to drink alcohol or cut his hair. To him was given the job of forerunner. He was to prepare the people for Jesus' arrival.
Of note is the fact that preparatory work needed to be done. As ground needs to be cultivated to grow good crops, so does the heart have to be cultivated to effectively receive and grow the Kingdom of God. Jesus told us a parable to enhance this message saying that seed can be thrown upon any soil - but only the soil that is prepared (free of rocks, free of thorns and weeds, adequately tilled, etc) will actually produce a harvest. So it is with the Word and Kingdom of God. And though the call to preparation was John's, the work of preparation belongs to each individual. Those who wish to properly receive and grow the Kingdom of God will heed the invitation and do the work of "preparing the way for the Lord."
There were (and still are) those who claimed to desire the Kingdom. In John's day they came out to be baptized by him as a means to give evidence to this claim. But John did not accept their desire to undergo the symbol of baptism as proof of their desire for God. Rather, he demanded proof of their sincerity before he would consent to grant them the symbol. To them he said,
" Produce fruit in keeping with repentance." Luke 3:8
John was not looking for perfection from them, only evidence through their deeds and attitudes that they realized and embraced the call for a change of heart and mind. John was sent to tell mankind that God's way was straight, and men had made it crooked. He was sent to say that God's way was equality, and they had grown weeds of institutionalized and systemic inequity. John was sent to say that God's way was safe and smooth and they had placed rocks and stones along the path so that it became treacherous and hard. These principles were the preparatory classes on the Kingdom of God which Christ Jesus was about to bring to bear on earth in Human form.
This prophecy speaks to us of the Kingdom of Heaven Itself. John was sent to prepare the human heart for the coming of the King and the Kingdom - because the King and Kingdom were at hand. The kingdoms of men, the hearts and ways of men do not operate, or think or reason, in the manner of the Kingdom of God. His thoughts and ways are as high above our thoughts and ways as the heavens are above the earth.
The ways of mankind enjoy and strive to secure the priviledge of being the one "on top." We couldn't have conceived of a God who would come to us as a person on the bottom rung.
The cultures of sin and the mind of satan have long been operative in this world. They have segregated and separated those whose Father is God, into groups determined by wealth, ethnicity/race, and gender. Wherever there was difference, there was an exploitation, a fear and distrust, a chasm between humanity. This disease spread quickly and became insanely pervasive to the point that many argued (and still do) that such divisions and separations were designed and ordained and sanctioned by God Himself! It was seen as a natural order and defended as Divinely Inspired.
Then the Word of the Lord came to John the Baptist and he became a herald of tidings from God regarding the Kingdom of Heaven. These tidings would begin the necessary work of uprooting false beliefs in order to make way in our heart and world for the Kingdom of God which was coming and is to come. That Kingdom would not tolerate inequity. That Kingdom would not entertain division. God would reveal (again) that He has never been nor ever will be a respecter of persons. And those who want to be part of His Kingdom must prepare their hearts for this radical equality and radical love in order to prepare a place for Christ to reside. To prove the point He did not come as a conquoring King, but as a simple Servant.
Every valley must be raised. Those regarded as "low" in society or by individual must be raised up in our estimation. Slaves, gentiles and women would top the list of those considered "low" to John's audience. Jesus deliberatly identified Himself with those of low degree. He treated the outcasts of society with the same, and in some cases more, respect that those of rank. In particular His treatment of women was revolutionary. As it concerned them, he acted in direct opposition to the teachings/customs of His day. They received respect, honor, and equality from Him... as did the gentiles, as did the lepers, as did the poor.
Every mountain and hill made low. Humility is the heart cry of the Kingdom of God, arrogance is disallowed. No amount of wealth or status should pervert our heart to pride. Those mountains and hills of pride must be made low. Jesus deliberately chose to come to us as someone on our level, not as someone "above" us. He chose the humble way. He chose the level ground. In His actions there is nothing to indicate he treated anyone with deference.
Christ brought us to the level ground where equality dwells. There is equality in God the Trinity which is why He wants to see equality in those who borrow His Image. It is the desire of God's heart that all mankind "see", perceive, receive and experience, His Salvation, His Glory. The Kingdom of God is not for an elite group: it is for everybody and everybody is equal in His sight. God's love is for everyone. His offer is for everyone. Intimacy and friendship with the Almighty Father is for everyone. It is not a desire that will only be fulfilled in the by and by - but one that Jesus taught us to pray would be fulfilled here and now! To the degree that we hold fast to our prejudices and opt not to become a warrior for the equal treatment of all humanity we obstruct the view of God's Kingdom for others and are blind to It ourselves.
As Christians we must be the strongest advocates for the equal treatment in all circumstances and places for those falsely humbled by gender, race or poverty. That is the cry of God's heart. This is a vital part of the justice He speaks to us of in Micah 7:8,
"He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God."
It is also the freedom cry of Galatians where Paul said, "There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." Galatians 3:28.
Moreover, we must constantly tend the soil of our heart to make sure that nothing has made its way in there, or surfaced, that hinders God's Kingdom and will be done on earth (in us) as it is in heaven. We must always make sure that the place we have made for Jesus to dwell within us is "homey" and "heavenly." That will be made manifest in our actions, and choices; in the battles we choose to fight, and those we choose to surrender. It will effect our world and the world around us. So it should be until He comes.
