The Prophet

John 1:19-23 – Now this was John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Messiah.” They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” He answered, “No.” Finally they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”  John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’”

Deuteronomy 18:15 – The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him.

Malachi 4:5 – “See, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes.

Isaiah 40:3 – A voice of one calling: “In the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

Application:

• ·         At Horeb the people requested that Moses take the message from God and deliver it to them. But now that Moses is to leave them, he says that another spokesman will take his place, and then another will be necessary for the next generation. This is therefore a collective reference to the prophets who will follow.
• ·         As Elijah came before Elisha, so “Elijah” will be sent to prepare God’s people for the Lord’s coming. John the Baptist ministered “in the spirit and power of Elijah”. And some feel that Elijah may also be one of the two witnesses.
• ·         “Prepare the way” means clear obstacles out of the road. The language has in view the ancient Near Eastern custom of sending representatives ahead to prepare the way for the visit of a monarch. The picture is that of a preparing a processional highway for the Lord’s coming to Jerusalem.

All Scripture verses taken from NIV