“The voice of one crying in the wilderness”
Who is John the Baptist?
He is the last of the prophets of the Old Testament, the last prophet to announce the coming of the Lord Jesus; so he is the link between the Old and New Testaments.
All four Gospels speak of him.
At the beginning of the Gospel of Mark we read: “As it is written in Isaiah the prophet, ‘Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, who shall prepare thy way; the voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight'” (Mark 1:2-3).
Likewise in the Gospel of Matthew: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight” (Matthew 3:2-3).
And also in the Gospel of Luke: “And he went into all the region about the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, ‘The voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth; and all flesh shall see the salvation of God'” (Luke 3:3-6).
Finally, in the first chapter of the Gospel of John: “And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, ‘Who are you?’
He confessed, he did not deny, but confessed, ‘I am not the Christ.’
And they asked him, ‘What then? Are you Elijah?’ He said, ‘I am not.’ ‘Are you the prophet?’ And he answered, ‘No.’
They said to him then, ‘Who are you? Let us have an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?’
He said, ‘I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as the prophet Isaiah said'” (John 1:19-23).
Through that voice crying in the wilderness, grant us, Lord, to be a voice crying out in this world, a voice that spreads your love and boldly calls for truth and justice.
Almighty God, who made Saint John the Baptist a prophet, an apostle and a martyr, we ask you, through his intercession, to make the fruits of repentance grow in us, so that, following his example, we may have no truth but the truth of Jesus and no love but the love of Jesus; and if we must die, may we die for this divine Lamb who by his death blotted out our sins and the sins of the whole world, who lives and reigns with you for ever and ever. Amen.
Prepared by Rita of the Sawt el Rab team
