The Promised MessiahSample

The Promised Messenger

Read: Isaiah 40:1–3; Malachi 3:1; Mark 1:1–13

SOAP: Mark 1:2–3

As it is written in the prophet Isaiah, “Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way, the voice of one shouting in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make his paths straight.’”

Into the Text

God promised to send a redeemer. When humans sinned, He did not leave us to pay the penalty on our own. He promised to send a Messiah, a Chosen One, who would live a perfect, sinless life and who would take on the punishment we deserved.

For centuries, God’s people waited for this Messiah. Sometimes they followed God, sometimes they went their own way. But no matter how badly they sinned or ran from God, His promise never changed. A Messiah was coming, no matter how broken, sinful, or helpless God’s people were.

God also promised to prepare His people for this coming Messiah. He wanted His people to be ready to recognize the Messiah when He arrived, so God said He would send a messenger beforehand. This messenger would alert the people to the nearness of the Messiah’s arrival and exhort them to repent and turn their hearts back to God.

God spoke through the prophets Isaiah and Malachi to let His people know that this messenger would come in the wilderness, and he would let the people know when the Messiah was coming and who He was. A man named John was that messenger.

John’s father was a priest. He was an important man, well-known in the community and among the elders of Jerusalem. John was different; he lived in the wilderness and ate locusts and wild honey. But he was God’s messenger. He cried out from the wilderness, and many people came out to the wilderness to hear his message and be baptized.

John was the fulfillment of God’s promise. John was not the Messiah, but he was the messenger who announced to God’s people that their Messiah was coming.

God did not have to let His people know what He was about to do. He could have sent His Messiah to them without warning. But their hearts needed to be prepared so they were ready to receive the Messiah. God is always preparing us for what He has for us—whether that be trials, blessings, or meeting Jesus for the first time. God always keeps His promises, and we can trust His perfect timing.