Rēad to Read …Again
Daily Reading: Isaiah 36-41
Isaiah 40:3
The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
When Jesus bursts on the scene in Matthew why did some of the Jews accept Him as Messiah and some reject Him? Have you ever thought about that? They all saw His miracles; if they didn’t see Him personally, no doubt they heard about Him. For the news of Christ and His good works must have echoed throughout Israel.
The priests rejected Him, except perhaps for a few. Yet, the common people heard Him gladly (Mark 12:37). Why? What was the difference? I believe that the difference was simply this: some believed the Word of God, and some did not. Those who did believe received Him, those who did not believe rejected Him. Today’s verse contains a clear-cut prophecy of John the Baptist. We know that Isaiah was speaking about that man in today’s verse because the Bible states this in Matthew 3:3. For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
Isaiah’s mention of John the Baptist was not the only time he was mentioned in the Old Testament. Another prophecy of him can be found in the very last book of the Old Testament, the very last few verses. Malachi 4:5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:. The study of John the Baptist’s ministry throughout the Bible could be a lifelong study in and of itself, but suffice it to say that several prophets in the Old Testament prophesied of him and that the New Testament testifies of him.
When John stepped up and proclaimed: …Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. (John 1:29), those that believed the Scriptures realized that he was the forerunner of the Messiah (coupled with other proofs). By connection, they believed in the Lord Jesus as the Christ. Of course this was not the only prophecy they believed. Where the Messiah would be born; that His mother would be a virgin; even the time of His birth as given by Daniel, and all the other clear-cut prophecies of Emmanual that were fulfilled in the life and ministry of Jesus of Galilee, all speak of Him being the long-awaited King of the Jews. Yet, some did not believe the Word of God. They probably knew it, as the Jews were well acquainted with the writings of the Scriptures, but they did not believe.
The same is true today. Every person that has a smartphone, which seems like everybody, has free access to any number of free Bible apps. The Bible, the Word of God, is free for anyone who wants it. The Word of God is widely circulated and there is no end of Bible preachers and teachers on electronic media platforms. But the simple ease of having the Bible does not necessarily result in people reading the Bible. Many are willingly ignorant of its teachings for they never read it, do not attend churches that teach and preach it, nor consider it as even being relevant.
Just like in the days of Jesus, some receive Him because they know and believe the Word of God, and some do not. It just really is that simple. One of the greatest statements about the Word of God is Isaiah 40:8. The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever. Based on this one verse, if a person would judiciously choose what to believe about eternity it would be reasonably logical to believe God’s Word. For It will stand forever. No other book can rightly make that claim. But even in this logic, some will believe, and some will not.
Dr. William T. Howe
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