Prepare for Promise
(Luke 3:1-6)
Prepare for the Promise: A Gospel Lesson from Luke 3:1-6
As we light the candle of Peace this Second Sunday of Advent, we are reminded of the call to preparation. Luke 3:1-6 introduces us to the beginning of John the Baptist’s ministry, a voice in the wilderness preparing the way for the coming Messiah. In these verses, we find profound truths about how God works to pierce the darkness, remove obstacles, and bring peace through Christ.
What’s in a Name?
Luke begins this passage with a list of political and religious leaders whose names evoke tyranny and darkness. Names like Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate, and Herod remind us of the oppression and evil that marked the world when Jesus’ ministry began. Much like names such as Hitler or Osama bin Laden in modern memory, these names were synonymous with suffering and injustice.
Yet, even as Luke highlights the powers of darkness, he points us to the humble beginnings of God’s kingdom. From the greatest to the least, Luke contrasts the pride of these rulers with the humility of John the Baptist, a lone prophet in the wilderness. Here, we see that God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. The least in the Kingdom of God will be the greatest.
A Breach in the Darkness
Amid this tyranny, God moves. The Word of God comes not to the halls of power but to John in the wilderness. This reminds us that no matter how dark the world seems, God’s light is never extinguished, and men’s evil never thwarts his plans.
God initiates salvation. He comes to us because we are unable to come to Him. Just as John’s ministry began in the wilderness—a place of desolation and struggle—God often meets us in our wildernesses, those dark and barren places in our lives.
Through the lens of Advent, this truth is clear: Christ’s coming requires us to look into the darkness of our hearts and the world, trusting that God will use even the brokenness of this world to accomplish His good purposes (Romans 8:28).
Preparing the Way
John’s mission was to prepare the people for Jesus through a message of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. Repentance, meaning “to change your mind,” doesn’t remove sin but exposes it, preparing us to receive the forgiveness and liberation that Jesus brings.
Just as John prepared the people to meet Jesus, we, too, must prepare our hearts. Repentance is hard—it requires us to confront the sin we often want to hide. Yet, this is the path to freedom. When we repent of sin and expose it, we are primed and ready to have it removed by Jesus. For this reason, John prepared the people with repentance and proclaimed, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the world's sin!” (John 1:29).
True love calls us to repentance, not to condemn but to open the door to the forgiveness and healing found only in Christ.
Removing Obstacles
John’s ministry prepared the way, but Jesus removed the obstacles. Luke uses Isaiah’s words to paint a peaceful portrait of what Jesus’ ministry will accomplish: filling ravines, lowering mountains, straightening crooked paths, and smoothing rough roads.
Each metaphor reflects Christ’s work in our lives:
• Filling Ravines: Just as water will fill up the dry river beds, so Jesus will quench the thirst of our parched souls, restoring us to righteousness (Matthew 5:6).
• Leveling Mountains: He removes the pride and self-made barriers that keep us from God by lowering the places where heaven meets earth, signifying that God comes down to us since we cannot climb to Him.
• Straightening the Crooked: Christ will keep us from wandering by guiding us in righteousness. Because of sin, we end up in places God never intended us to be. Jesus straightens those crooked paths to lead us to green pastures and still waters (Psalm 23:2).
• Smoothing Rough Roads: The road to salvation will be made smooth for us by the rugged cross that Jesus bore. All who trust in Him and follow Him on the straight and narrow will tread upon a smooth path paved by Jesus’ salvific work.
When we feel lost, burdened, or stuck in life’s dead ends, Jesus clears the way, making our paths straight (Proverbs 3:5-6).
Can you see it?
With every portrait painted, we are meant to see something. With this portrait of peace (all obstacles removed), we are meant to see the Lord's salvation (Luke 3:6). God’s ultimate goal is to reveal His love and salvation to all people. Through Jesus, every obstacle that separates us from God is removed.
Paul captures this beautifully in Romans 8:38-39: “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Prepare for the Promise
John’s ministry reminds us that repentance is the key to preparing for Christ's peace and promise. Repentance leads to salvation by exposing our sins and our need for a Savior. As we confess our sins, Jesus removes them (1 John 1:9), along with every obstacle that keeps us from God’s love.
This Advent, let us prepare our hearts. Let us repent, change our minds, and agree with God that we cannot save ourselves. As we do, we trust the promise of forgiveness in Christ, the Savior who comes to take away the sin of the world (John 1:26).
