The phrase “the voice of one calling in the wilderness” refers to a prophetic voice proclaiming God’s message and preparing the way for the coming of the Lord. It is used in two key passages in the Bible – Isaiah 40:3 and John 1:23.
Isaiah 40:3
In Isaiah 40:3, the verse says “A voice cries: ‘In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.'” This passage speaks of a messenger who calls out in the wilderness to prepare the way for God’s coming, likely referring to the return of the Jewish exiles from Babylon back to Jerusalem. The image is one of constructing a raised, level road through uneven desert terrain to facilitate the journey. The voice commands that all obstacles and impediments be removed to make a clear path for God’s coming.
In its original context, this verse refers to the voice of the prophets, and specifically Deutero-Isaiah, who declared that God was going to bring the exiled Israelites back to their homeland in Judah. The way back to Jerusalem needed to be cleared, both literally by removing physical barriers, and spiritually by calling the people to repentance and renewal of their covenant with God (Isaiah 40:1-11).
However, this verse also foreshadows the coming of John the Baptist hundreds of years later. He took on the prophetic role of being “the voice of one calling in the wilderness” to spiritually prepare the people for the first advent of Jesus the Messiah. Mark combines Isaiah 40:3 and Malachi 3:1 together to describe John’s prophetic purpose and message (Mark 1:2-8).
John 1:23
John 1:23 says “He said, ‘I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.'” This is John the Baptist speaking, quoting Isaiah 40:3 and identifying himself as the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy. John was quite literally preaching repentance in the wilderness area around the Jordan River, calling all people, but especially God’s chosen people Israel, to repent, turn back to God, and prepare themselves for the coming of the Lord Jesus.
John’s message echoed Isaiah’s, though now pointed toward the first coming of Christ rather than the return from exile. John challenged his listeners to repent of their sins and selfish ways, and to reorder their lives around the kingdom priorities of righteousness, justice, and holiness. In doing so, they would spiritually smooth out their crooked paths, fill in their ruts of sin, bring down their pride and self-righteousness, and construct a level road upon which the glory of God could be revealed in Christ.
Though John was not the Messiah, he was the divinely appointed forerunner who announced Jesus’ arrival and prepared the people to receive Christ and His message. Though John baptized with water, Jesus would baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire (Luke 3:16). John’s voice crying out in the wilderness paved the way for people to believe in Jesus when He came.
Significance of the Wilderness
It’s significant that the voice is calling in the wilderness, which has symbolic importance:
- It connects with prophecies about a coming era of comfort and redemption for God’s people (Isaiah 40:1-5).
- It evokes memories of past wilderness journeys like the Exodus, a time of divine provision and guidance.
- It suggests a contrast between the wilderness and the promised land of God’s presence.
- It represents how the coming Messiah would restore displaced and exiled people back to God.
- It depicts the spiritual barrenness of people without God.
- It aligns with John’s ministry based in the Jordan wilderness and his association with Elijah (2 Kings 1:8).
So the wilderness has symbolic resonance as the location where the prophetic voice declares that God is coming to deliver, restore, and reprove His people. The people must repent and make straight paths in their hearts to receive Him.
Straight Paths
The command to “make straight paths” has connections to other Old Testament passages that use the language of preparing a way:
- Proverbs 4:25-26 – Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm.
- Proverbs 16:17 – The highway of the upright avoids evil.
- Isaiah 26:7 – The path of the righteous is level; you make level the way of the righteous.
- Isaiah 42:16 – I will lead the blind in a way that they do not know, in paths that they have not known I will guide them.
These verses depict walking in righteousness as a straight, level, firm path of integrity and truth, sanctified and made smooth by repentance, humility, and renewal of heart. Crooked, bumpy, twisting paths represent living in wickedness and evil. The prophetic message demands repentance that reconstructs one’s moral direction in complete conformity to God’s righteous standards.
The command raises imagery of clearing obstacles out of the way and repairing pitfalls and potholes by leveling the roadbed, as one would prepare the way for an arriving king (Isaiah 62:10). Applied spiritually, it refers to clearing out anything in the human heart that would hinder someone from receiving Christ and His kingdom.
Fulfillment in Christ
John fulfilled Isaiah’s prophecy by serving as the prophetic voice commissioned to get people ready for Christ’s arrival. His message called everyone to repentance in light of the kingship of heaven being near (Matthew 3:2). He rebuked the religious hypocrisy of the Pharisees and Sadducees and provoked a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins (Luke 3:3).
John made the paths straight through his preaching about repenting from sins and bearing fruit in keeping with righteousness (Luke 3:4-14). Many believed his message and were baptized, preparing their hearts to receive Jesus. The prophecy was ultimately fulfilled in Jesus, the coming king and divine presence for whom the way was prepared. Christ embodied the salvation and future hope that John’s prophetic voice heralded was on the way.
Application for Today
This ancient prophecy continues to have relevance for believers today. God is still looking to raise up prophetic voices who call people to spiritual preparation through repentance, holiness, and righteous living in light of Christ’s kingdom. Wherever there is a desert of spiritual barrenness and moral evil, God desires to construct a level highway so that the glory of God in Christ can come bring redemption.
The body of Christ must keep making straight paths for the advance of the Gospel, just as John did for Jesus’ ministry. This requires identifying crooked ways of living, hypocrisy, and unethical compromises and confessing, forsaking, and removing them. It means allowing the Holy Spirit to do His continual work of conviction, refinement, and renewal in our hearts as believers. As we yield to God’s work in our lives, our lives can become a highway for God’s glory, ready to receive from Christ and make Him known to all.
The voice crying in the wilderness still calls today through those who faithfully preach biblical truth, declaring that the coming King is near and we must remove all obstacles to His rule and reign in our hearts. We heed that prophetic message by examining our lives, humbly confessing and repenting of sin, and conforming our thoughts, words, and actions more and more to God’s truth as the way of the Lord is made straight.