John the Baptist told people to “Prepare the way of the Lord.” There’s no record of Jesus walking around saying, “Man, these roads are terrible. Why didn’t anyone fix things up for me?” The preparation he wanted was spiritual instead of physical. Jesus didn’t care about having better roads to walk on, but he did care about people having better hearts to receive him.

Table of contentsThe Old Testament Prophesied a King Was ComingWhen Kings CameIs This What Jesus Really Wanted?Jesus Wants Heart Construction Versus Road ConstructionPrepare the Way of the Lord by RepentingPrepare the Way of the Lord By Providing a Straight PathPrepare the Way of the Lord By Being JoyfulPreach to Your SoulThe Joy of ChristmasPrepare the Way of the Lord By Being HumblePrepare the Way of the Lord By Acting JustlyPrepare the Way of the Lord By Smoothing Out Rough EdgesSeeing Jesus Is Seeing "the Salvation of God"Jesus' Robe, Crown, Scepter, and Servants

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John the Baptist told people to “Prepare the way of the Lord.” Jesus wanted people to prepare for him spiritually versus physically.

On November 30th, Ron DeSantis, governor of Florida and presidential candidate, debated Gavin Newsom, governor of California. Governor DeSantis criticized how Governor Newsom prepared San Francisco for China’s president, Xi Jinping’s, visit. Governor DeSantis held up a map of San Francisco that showed areas Governor Newsom wanted cleaned up. Because it is so disgusting, I won’t tell you what Governor Newsom wanted cleaned up from the streets of San Francisco, but I will read part of what Governor DeSantis said:

“When a communist dictator [came] to town. Then [Governor Newsom] cleaned up the streets. [He] lined the streets with Chinese flags. [He] didn’t put American flags there. [He] cleaned everything up. So, [he’s] willing to do it for a communist dictator, but [he’s] not willing to do it for [his] own people.”

Governor DeSantis was upset Governor Newsom prepared San Francisco for a Chinese president, but not for the American people. I mention this because it is a present-day example of the practice described in this morning’s verses: preparing for the arrival of an important or powerful person. In our day, we do it for presidents, and in the ancient world, they did it for kings.

The Old Testament Prophesied a King Was Coming

When Jacob was blessing his twelve sons, he said to Judah:

Genesis 49:10 The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him; and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.

In ancient times, scepters represented a ruler or king’s power. This is a prophecy a king would come from the tribe of Judah. Jesus is the fulfillment of this prophecy, which is why he’s called the Lion of the tribe of Judah. We learn more in David’s day when God made a covenant with him about his son:

2 Samuel 7:13 I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son…16 And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.’”

Jesus fulfills this prophecy, so he’s also called the Son of David. Listen to the way the angel Gabriel described Jesus’ birth to Mary:

Luke 1:32b The Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

Gabriel told Mary that Jesus’ birth was the coming of the prophesied King.

When Kings Came

The Old Testament also prophesied what people were supposed to do when that King came:

Isaiah 40:3 A voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. 4 Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain.”

This describes what happened in the ancient world when kings came. They sent messengers, or forerunners, ahead to announce their coming. The people would begin preparations. They would get busy picking up trash and cleaning up the town until it was good as new…or at least as good as a town could be in the ancient world.

The people also prepared the roads to the town so the king would be comfortable while he was being carried in his coach. People would fill in potholes, smooth out rough spots, flatten hills, fill in valleys, and straighten out curves.

When the king arrived, messengers ran ahead shouting, “The king is coming! The king is coming!” Banners waved, and people lined the streets cheering as the king made his grand entrance.

Is This What Jesus Really Wanted?

Now, let’s be honest about something that might bother you. I’m talking about kings being spoiled and coddled. All these poor people are already working hard to stay alive. The ancient world was a tough place to live. Now, they are using resources and spending time to pamper a king…who is already pampered.

So, you’re thinking, “This is what Jesus wanted? I don’t like the way this makes him sound. Didn’t Jesus say, “The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28). But we think, “This sounds like the coming king is being served a lot and not serving much.”

We get into trouble with scripture when we interpret physically what should be interpreted spiritually. For example, when Jesus preached the parable of the two builders, was he really concerned about the foundations of our homes and whether they’re built on rock or sand? No, he’s concerned about the foundation of our lives, marriages, and families and whether they’re built on something firm – a rock – or something shifting, like sand.

In the Parable of the Sower, was Jesus really trying to help us agriculturally by ensuring we don’t throw seeds on paths, shallow soil, or thorny areas where they won’t grow? No, he was concerned about whether our hearts are fertile for God’s Word. And these verses are similar.

Jesus Wants Heart Construction Versus Road Construction

I think we know Jesus didn’t really care about roads and towns being prepared for him because there’s no record of him walking around saying, “Man, these roads are terrible. Why didn’t anyone fix things up for me? Look at all the trash on the streets. Couldn’t anyone have done a simple walkthrough and picked up a bit?”

The people had to get ready for Jesus. It was so important God sent a man – John the Baptist – ahead to prepare the way for him. But that preparation wasn’t physical. The preparation Jesus wanted – and still wants – is spiritual. Jesus didn’t care about having better roads to walk on, but he did care about people having better hearts to receive him.

And this is what we sing: "Let earth receive her King; LET EVERY HEART PREPARE HIM ROOM, and heaven and nature sing, and heaven and nature sing, and heaven, and heaven and nature sing." These lyrics are all about preparing our hearts to receive the King!

We can see what John the Baptist did to prepare the way for King Jesus 2,000 years ago, and it’s the same thing we do to prepare for his coming today:

Luke 3:2 during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness. 3 And he went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

Now, if we interpreted these verses physically versus spiritually, which is to say we interpreted them incorrectly, what would we expect John to say? “The King is coming. Pretend like you have family coming over for the holidays! Pick up all the trash. Clean up the town. Make it look as good as new. Prepare the roads. Fill in the potholes. Smooth out the rough spots. Flatten the hills. Fill in the valleys. Straighten out the curves.” Instead, what did John do? He baptized people!

That doesn’t seem like it has much to do with preparing the way for a king, does it? So, let’s briefly talk about this. The Greek word for baptize literally means immerse or submerge. This is why John spent his time in the region around the Jordan so that he could immerse people in the water. The type of baptism John performed differs from the baptisms we perform when we baptize people in the name of Jesus. We baptize people so they can identify with his death, burial, and resurrection. But Jesus hadn’t died, been buried, or resurrected yet.

Let me show you two examples in Acts revealing people had received John’s baptism but hadn’t been baptized in the name of Jesus:

Acts 18:25 He (this is Apollos) had been instructed in the way of the Lord. And being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, though HE KNEW ONLY THE BAPTISM OF JOHN.

Apollos hadn’t experienced a Christian baptism yet.

Acts 19:1 And it happened that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the inland country and came to Ephesus. There he found some disciples. 2 And he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” 3 And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” They said, “Into John's baptism.” 4 And Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus.” 5 On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

They had only received John’s baptism. That wasn’t enough, so they had their second baptism to identify with Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection.

Acts 19:4 tells us something else important John said that isn’t recorded in Luke: he commanded people to “believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus.” Even though Luke doesn’t record John commanding people to believe, from Acts 19:4, we can tell he was doing that when baptizing. So,