The gospel of Mark begins with a quote from Isaiah:  "Behold, I send My Messenger ahead of You, who will prepare your way.  The voice of One crying in the wilderness, make ready the way of the Lord, make His paths straight."

This quote is mostly from Isaiah 40:3 and if you are familiar with Isaiah theology, you will remember that Isaiah can be broken up into two sections.  The first section consists of a hard look at the law and strength of God.  This is the first 39 chapters.  The second section of Isaiah looks more to the grace of God.  It begins in Chapter 40, from where Mark quotes.

We know this as historians looking back at Isaiah, but Mark's readers probably did not.  They only knew that Mark was telling them about Someone who was going to change the way they looked at EVERYTHING.

This is why Mark spends the first 8 verses of his gospel telling us about John the baptist.

John worked hard to prepare the way for Jesus - that is the lesson for us. 

Mark will run through Jesus' life quickly.  He uses the word "Immediately" 40 times.  Mark works hard to prepare our lives for Jesus - that is the lesson for us.

Prepare the way of the Lord!

What do those words mean to you?  Where will you take Jesus today?  Whose heart is in for a change?