Teaching Summary: A Witness to the Light: Prepare the Way for the Lord

Isaiah 40:1–5, Matthew 4:16, John 1:1–5, John 1:6–8, John 1:19–23, Revelation 22:20, Isaiah 9:2

Today is the first Sunday of Advent, and I need to confess something. I’ve already been listening to Christmas music. I’ve tried to stick with the softer stuff—cozy jazz instrumentals—and avoid the full-on Mariah Carey treatment, but I’ve still rushed Christmas. Which is why I need Advent. Advent slows us down. Advent reminds us that before the celebration comes the preparation.

Listen to the words of Isaiah the prophet: “Comfort, comfort my people, says your God… A voice of one calling: ‘In the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, and the rugged places a plain. And the glory of the Lord will be revealed.’”

Some of us this morning are living in the discomfort of a wilderness season. And Isaiah tells us what to do in the wilderness: Prepare the way for the Lord. Isaiah uses imagery that everyone in the ancient world understood. When a king was coming to your city, you prepared the way. You didn’t wait around. You didn’t hope the roads were good enough. You mobilized everyone. Low places were filled in. High places leveled. Crooked roads straightened. Rough paths smoothed. Because the last thing anyone wanted was for the condition of the roads to delay—or even prevent—the king’s arrival. People prepared the way because they wanted the king to come. With the king came protection, provision, and presence. Isaiah is saying, God is coming to comfort his people, so prepare the way for him.

Advent is not just counting down to Christmas. Advent is when God’s people lean into our longing, when we let ourselves feel the ache of waiting. Matthew says, “The people living in darkness have seen a great light.” Some of us feel that darkness today. If that’s you, hear this: A Light is coming. John opens his Gospel by saying, “In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.” And then he says, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” That is our Advent hope.

A few verses later, John introduces us to the one who prepared the way for Jesus. “There was a man sent from God whose name was John. He came as a witness to the light… He himself was not the light.” Religious leaders traveled to the desert to ask John who he thought he was, and he said, “I am not the Christ.” They pressed him: “Are you Elijah? Are you the Prophet?” He said no. They said, “Then who are you?” John replied with Isaiah’s words: “I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’” Seven hundred years after Isaiah, a voice appears in the wilderness saying the same thing, which means the Light was on his way.

Advent hope is not wishful thinking. Advent hope is confident preparation. We don’t prepare because Jesus might come. We prepare because he will. Our hope is not in the possibility of his arrival—it is in the promise of his arrival. The story of Advent is this: A promise is made—the Savior is coming. We begin our hopeful preparations. And Jesus arrives—the Light shines in our darkness. Everything we long for—healing, purpose, forgiveness, relationship, joy, peace, love—is fulfilled when Christ comes.

So what does it mean for us to prepare the way for the Lord? Let’s start with what it does not mean. It does not mean proving yourself to God. It does not mean working harder or pretending everything is fine or trying to become the hero of your own story. Preparing the way is not about self-improvement. It is not about being good enough or strong enough. Preparing the way is something deeper.

Isaiah tells us that mountains must be made low. That is the work of humility. Mountains are the places where we elevate ourselves, where we cling to pride or self-sufficiency. Preparing the way means letting the Holy Spirit bring those places low. Isaiah also says valleys must be lifted up. That is the work of courage. Valleys are places of discouragement, fear, shame, and despair—places where we lose hope. Preparing the way means letting the Holy Spirit fill those low places and lift us again.

Isaiah talks about rough ground being made level. Those are the patterns, habits, and hidden areas that pull us away from Jesus. Preparing the way means turning around and returning to him. And Isaiah says rugged places must become a plain. Those are the unhealed wounds, unresolved tensions, and broken relationships in our lives. Preparing the way means letting the Holy Spirit heal what is wounded and restore what is broken.

So between now and Christmas, I want to call us to devote ourselves to waiting and waymaking. Advent invites us to wait—not rush past our longing, not sprint toward celebration, not pretend everything is already right. And waiting is harder the more we long for God to come, but waiting is part of our preparation. And while we wait, we pray: Come, Lord Jesus. Come into this situation. Come into this conversation. Come into this fear. Come into this decision. Come into my home. Come into my broken places. We pray, and we prepare.

Whether you feel low like a valley or high like a mountain, whether your life feels rough or your path feels crooked, hear this: The King is coming. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. Prepare the way of the Lord. Come, Lord Jesus.