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Good News: Preparing the WAY! (Sermon Audio)

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This is the audio from the August 6, 2023 sermon, “Good News: Preparing the Way”, shared by Tom Lemler at the Deer Run Church of Christ.

Text: Luke 3:1-18, Isaiah 40

“A voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’”
Luke 3:4 (NIV)

Today I began a series from the gospel of Luke as we gaze deeply into God’s Word to find the good news of Jesus shared with us by Luke the physician.  As Jesus arrives on the scene “in the fullness of time”, John fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah as the “voice of one calling in the wilderness”.  When we think of Jesus coming to earth, it is easy to think of John preparing the way or even Jesus Himself being the One to prepare the way.  However, when we look at the actual wording of the quote from Isaiah that Luke uses, we find that John is the one calling in the wilderness and it was those who heard his words that were to be involved in preparing the . . .

  • Warning: (Luke 3:1-9, Isaiah 40:6-8)

    • John’s role in calling people to prepare the way for the coming of God included a warning as to the dangers of not being prepared.  When God called Isaiah to speak to His people, the message was to be one of comfort.  Yet, even with a call to comfort the people God begins by telling him to cry out a warning about the brevity of life.  John’s warning was similar in that the time was near for the judgment of God to fall upon those who failed to produce good fruit.  When we heed God’s call to be involved in preparing the way for others to know Jesus, we do so with a warning that nothing is more important than being right with God.

  • Answer: — (Luke 3:10-14, Isaiah 40:9-11)

    • God’s Word tells us that we should always be ready to give an answer for the hope that lies within us and to do so with gentleness and respect.  As John taught people what it looked like to prepare the way for the arrival of Jesus, he was prepared with answers to the questions that arose from people paying attention to the warnings.  These answers were the practical application of how to treat one another with love and respect.  Isaiah gave a similar answer in describing the response to the warning being an acknowledgement of a good shepherd who cared for his flock with gentleness and concern.  When we heed God’s call to be involved in preparing the way for others to know Jesus, we do so with the answer of God’s goodness seen through our life.

  • Y: — (Luke 3:15-18, Isaiah 40:28-21)

    • I know, Y is a letter and not a word but in this case it represents the why of preparing the way.  The why has a lot to do with both the warning and the answer.  While the why given by Luke describes the gathering of those who belong to God, it also describes the eternal destruction of those who rejected God.  Luke said that all of this, along with many other words, was proclaiming good news to those who would hear.  Isaiah tells a similar story when chapter 40 concludes with the statement that all people grow weary but those who wait, or put their hope, on the Lord will have renewed strength and rise as on wings of eagles.  When we heed God’s call to be involved in preparing the way for others to know Jesus, we do so with the purpose of seeing others come to know the good news of Jesus.

Today, how will you be involved in preparing the WAY?