More Words from the Wilderness
Proclaiming and preparing
Following up from my post about how God’s word is revealed in the wilderness — for Israel, for Jesus, and for us — I recently mulled over the introduction for the Gospel of Mark (chapter 1, verses 1-2; emphasis added):
This is the Good News about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God. It began just as the prophet Isaiah had written:
“Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,
and he will prepare your way.
He is a voice shouting in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord’s coming!
Clear the road for him!’”
The first thing that strikes me is that Mark is quoting from two Old Testament prophets; the first part of the quote is from Malachi 3:1, and the second one is from Isaiah 40:3. He doesn’t even mention Malachi. It’s like Malachi is the little brother of Isaiah, who gets all the credit.1
What makes it more ironic is that the Hebrew word for “my messenger” is literally malachi. And maybe that shows how humble Malachi was in his own calling, that though he was God’s messenger for this specific prophecy, he spoke of a greater messenger to herald the coming of the Lord Himself (“he will prepare the way before Me”). And this greater messenger was John the Baptist, who prepared God’s people for Jesus’ coming (Luke 1:17; John 1:23).
So, putting the posts together, we have these words from God, coming out of the wilderness:
Israel received God’s Law (the Torah) when in the wilderness.
Jesus relied on and quoted God’s word when satan tempted Him in the wilderness.
John the Baptist proclaimed (from the wilderness) the coming of the Son of God, in order to prepare God’s people to receive Him.
In our own wilderness experiences, we are more likely to receive a word from God.
I’d love to hear your thoughts!
Or maybe it’s me reading into this, from my own wounds and resentments.