Wisdom's Corner
Prepare for Jesus, part 2

In ancient times, it was not unusual for a king when he traveled to send servants ahead of them. These servants were to work on the road which the king would be traveling on. They were to level it out and remove any rocks which were on the road. This would make it much easier for the king to travel and reach his destination quicker. It would also possibly prevent any harm from coming to the king.

In Mark 1:3, we read, "The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight." The word 'prepare' in the verse is the word the greeks used for the preparation of the road for the kings.

John the Baptist was preaching to the Jews that they should prepare the way for Jesus. But John was not telling the Jews to work on the roads. John was telling them to work on their minds. John preached repentance. John was inspired by God to tell the Jews that they needed to make their minds level. They needed to get all of the bad thoughts out of their minds. They were to get all of the "rocks" out of their minds. They were to get rid of their sins. By doing all of this, they would be preparing their minds to accept what Jesus would tell them when he came.

Some Jews did what John preached to them. And those Jews accepted Christ when he came. But the majority of the Jews did not prepare their minds. They left their minds unlevel and with rocks. Thus, they did not accept Jesus. And they ended up crucifying Jesus.

Make sure you prepare your mind to accept Jesus. Read your Bible. Learn what you must do to obey God. And if any of this is hard to understand, ask an adult to help you.

Mark McWhorter

Copyright 2002

Published by The Old Paths Bible School
(http://www.oldpaths.org)