The forerunner: a voice in the wilderness
The Old Testament
A voice of one calling: “Prepare the way for the LORD in the wilderness; make a straight highway for our God in the desert.”
Isaiah 40:3
Read the full text in a modern translation BSB
Read the full text (4 verses)
In the New Testament
This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: “A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for Him.’”
Matthew 3:3
BSB
Read the full text in a modern translation BSB
Read the full text (19 verses)
A voice cries out to prepare the way of the LORD in the wilderness. God sends his messenger ahead, and before the great day the prophet Elijah returns.
In the Christian order, the Old Testament ends with the promise that Elijah will come back. Four hundred years later John the Baptist appears in the wilderness, dressed like Elijah (compare 2 Kings 1:8 with Mark 1:6). Jesus himself says John 'is Elias, which was for to come'. Notice who, according to Isaiah and Malachi, comes after the messenger: the LORD himself.