By Ronald R. Day, Sr. -- This study needs to be updated.
Malachi 3:1 - Behold, I am sending My messenger, and He will clear the way before Me [[or, more literally, my face, presence]]. And the Lord whom you are seeking shall suddenly come to His temple, even the Angel of the Covenant, in whom you delight. Behold, He comes, says Jehovah of Hosts. -- Green's Literal.
The two prophecies above speak of John the Baptist and his work. There are aspects of each that help us to understand the other. In Isaiah 40:3, the message that was to be given was a directive to the people of Israel, that they should prepare the way of Jehovah. In Malachi, it is stated that the messenger was to prepare the way before Jehovah's face.
Many, in seeing the application of John the Baptist as being the forerunner of Jesus, have thought that these scriptures offer proof that Jesus is Jehovah. This idea, however, is due, in part, to a misreading of what these scriptures are actually saying.
In Malachi 3, two messengers are referred to. The first is the messenger who turns the way toward Jehovah's face, and then there is the other messenger, spoken of as the “messenger of the covenant. The Hebrew translated “messenger” in both instances is malak, angel. Neither of these are of the order of spirit beings that are normally referred to as “angels”, but both are messengers for Jehovah. The Hebrew word translated “way” [Strong’s #1870] is a form of the word often transliterated a derek, meaning:
way, road, distance, journey, manner
road, way, path
journey
direction
manner, habit, way
of course of life (fig.)
of moral character (fig.)
http://www.biblestudytools.com/lexicons/hebrew/nas/derek.html
Jehovah was about bring about the fulfillment of his prophecies upon Israel, which would being about the destruction of Israel. The avoid that destruction, the people of Israel needed to repent. The record shows that only a few repented, and thus only a few were ready for the Messiah whom Jehovah sent to them.
Jehovah, through the prophet Malachi, was foretelling that the work that was being assigned to John the Baptist was to turn the moral character of the people before the presence of face of Jehovah. This John the Baptizer did by preaching to the people of Israel the message of repentance toward Jehovah, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God who sent and raised Jesus up as his prophet, the God and Father of Jesus. -- Exodus 3:14,15; Deuteronomy 18:15-20; Isaiah 61:1; Mark 1:4; Acts 3:13-26; 13:24; 19:4; Ephesians 1:3.
Although it is possible that John’s preaching of repentance was based on the coming sacrifice (Romans 3:25; 5:12-19; 8:3; Hebrews 9:28; 10:10; 1 Peter 3:18) of the one who was coming after him, John was not preaching that the people should repent toward Jesus, but he was preaching, as did the disciples, “repentance toward God,” as shown by Acts 20:21. The preparing, or turning, of the way before or towards the face/presence of Jehovah, was actually toward the God of Jesus, not toward Jesus himself. It to the God and Father of Jesus that Israel (as well as the world) needed to be reconciled, not to Jesus. -- Romans 5:10; 2 Corinthians 5:18,19.
The Lord (adon) whom Israel was seeking was the Messiah, who came suddenly to his temple. The word suddenly should be better rendered as unexpectedly. He came unexpectedly to test and prove Israel as a people, and as such he came to the temple in Jerusalem, but more specifically, Jesus came to his temple, his church, which has been given to him by his God. — Ezekiel 32:2-24; John 10:11-17,29; Ephesians 2:20-22; John 6:37,39; 10:29.
In Isaiah 40:3, we find that John is being foretold as the voice in the wilderness. John, himself, is not being depicted as preparing the way, as many have falsely assumed; he is the one declaring to the people to prepare the way; this he did by his preaching to the people repentance toward Jehovah, by which, the way of the people were being made straight, justified, before Jehovah, that they believed in the words of God as spoken through John the Baptizer.
Matthew 3:1-3
In those days, John the Baptizer came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea [as foretold in Isaiah 40:3], saying [to children of Israel], “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!” [in effect, prepare the way of Jehovah] For this is he who was spoken of by Isaiah the prophet, saying, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make ready [form of Greek, transliterated, Hetoimazos (Strong’s #2090), corresponding with Hebrew Strong’s #6457, to turn, as to change one’s course in life, repent] the way [Greek course of conduct] of [before] Jehovah, Make his paths straight.” — Holy Name supplied.
Matthew 3:3
houtos gar estin ho rheetheis dia eesaiou tou
THIS FOR IS THE (ONE) SPOKEN OF THROUGH ISAIAH THE
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propheetou legontos phwnee bowntos en tee
PROPHET SAYING VOICE OF ONE CRYING OUT IN THE
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ereemw hetoimasate teen hodon kuriou eutheias
WILDERNESS MAKE YOU READY THE WAY OF LORD, STRAIGHT
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poieite tas tribous autou
BE MAKING THE ROADS OF HIM.
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Like most quotations of the Old Testament in the New Testament, this is not a direct quote of Isaiah 40:3, but an indirect adaptive quote.
John, in effect, tells the people: “Make ready the way of [or for, on behalf of] Jehovah, Make his paths [more literally, paths of/for him”] straight.” The method by which John the Baptist tells the people this message is by his preaching to the people: “Repent, for the Kingdom of the Heaven is at hand!” (Matthew 3:1-3; see also Acts 20:21, which shows that repentance is toward God.) In other words, ‘The Royal Majesty from heaven is at hand!’ Neither Jehovah’s paths, nor Jesus’ paths, needed to be make straight, since both are without sin. It is the paths of the sinful people, the people of Israel, who belong to Jehovah, that needed to be made straight towards Jehovah, and, thus, the method in which the people make ready [turned] the ways [figurative of moral character] of Jehovah, and make his ways straight is through repentance toward Jehovah, being made straight, just, through belief and obedience, in preparation for the one coming in Jehovah’s name, the one who spoke for Jehovah, the one appointed as King by Jehovah. — Deuteronomy 18:15-19; Psalm 2:2,6; 45:6,7; 110:1,2; Isaiah 9:6,7; 61:1; Daniel 7:13,14; Matthew 21:9; 23:39; 28:18; Luke 24:19; John 4:25; 5:43; 8:28; 10:25; 12:49,50; Acts 2:34-36; 3:17-26; 5:30,31; Ephesians 1:22; Philippians 2:9-11; Hebrews 1:2,9; 3:1,2.
Some often refer to the verse in Isaiah 40:3 as though the message to prepare the way was actually addressed to John the Baptist, rather than being the words addressed to the people. The reality, the command, "Prepare the way of Jehovah" is the message that John the Baptist delivered to the people, which Matthew records as being a message of repentance. Nevertheless, some would read the prophecy as an address to John the Baptist to prepare the way of Jehovah, who they claim to be Jesus. As a result the misread the prophecy as saying that John the Baptist, himself, was to prepared the way for Jesus, and then claim that that what they have misread means that Jesus is Jehovah. In reality, in Isaiah, the messenger [John] directs the message to the people of Israel. (Isaiah 40:3, Malachi 3:1 — see also Genesis 18:19; Proverbs 10:29; Jeremiah 5:4,5) The command given to prepare the way is not to one person, as John the Baptist, but the Hebrew is in the plural, not singular. Thus in Matthew 3, the “one” before foretold is John the Baptist, who is the one in the wilderness who declares a message to the people: “Prepare the way before Jehovah”, which was a message to the people of repentance toward Jehovah.
Of course, Jesus is the representative of Jehovah, and John did come before Jesus, and did, by means of preaching repentance toward Jehovah, prepare the people to receive Jesus, not as being Jehovah the Almighty, but as being the Anointed One of Jehovah the Almighty, the one whom Jehovah. sent to speak his words in his name. Jesus did not come in his own name; Jesus came in the name of another who is not himself, that is, he came in the name of his God, whose name is Jehovah (Yahweh). — Deuteronomy 18:15-20; Psalm 118:26;Isaiah 61:1; Luke 1:32; 13:35; John 3:16,17; 5:43; 17:1,3; Acts 3:13-26; Hebrews 1:1,2.
Thus, a secondary way of viewing the words of Matthew 1:1-3 is that by telling the people to prepare the way of Jehovah by means of repentance toward Jehovah, a way was also being prepared for Jesus, the representative of Jehovah. It could be said that John, in making the way, for Jesus, was also preparing the way for the one who sent Jesus. The Messiah was sent by Jehovah as the representative of Jehovah. Those who received him received Jehovah also, just as any who receives a true disciple of Christ, also receives Christ. — Matthew 21:9; 23:39; Mark 9:37; Luke 2:26; 9:20,48; John 3:17; 4:34; 5:24,30,36-38; 6:29,38-44,57; 7:16,18,28,29,33; 8:16,26,29,42; 9:4; 10:36; 11:42; 12:44-49; 13:20; 17:1,3; Hebrews 1:9.
Regardless, one would have to read into the verses that Matthew meant to say Jesus is Jehovah, which would mean that Jesus did indeed come in his own name, and that John must have erred in recording Jesus’ words of John 5:43. One would have to imagine even more so that anything written in these verses denotes anything about a triune God, which “God” is not once ever mentioned in the Bible.
Matthew 11:9,10
But why did you go out? To see a prophet? Yes, I tell you, and much more than a prophet. For this is he, of whom it is written, ‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before [in the sight of] you.’
Matthew 11:10
houtos estin peri hou gegraptai idou egw
THIS (ONE) IS ABOUT WHOM IT HAS BEEN WRITTEN LOOK! I
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apostellw ton aggelon mou pro proswpou sou
AM SENDING OFF THE MESSENGER OF ME BEFORE FACE OF YOU,
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hos kataskeuasei teen hodon sou emprosthen sou
WHO WILL PREPARE THE WAY OF YOU IN FRONT OF YOU.
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Jesus quotes indirectly from Malachi 3:1 . Jesus is speaking to the multitudes of Jews concerning John the Baptist, that John was more than just an ordinary prophet. The wording replaces the “me” as found in Malachi 3:1 with “you”: in relation to the prophecy, the messenger sent is John the Baptist. He is the one delivering the message that effects a preparation before the face of Jehovah. In other words, in agreement with Isaiah 40:3, John's message was to the people that they prepare the way before the face of Jehovah; the wording in Matthew turns it around and seems to speak of the way before the people of Israel. The “I” is Jehovah himself speaking prophetically, and the messenger is John the Baptist. John was to deliver to the people of Israel a message that they were to prepare the way before (in the face) of Jehovah. We cannot be certain as to why Jesus changed the “me” to “you”, but "you" in the Greek is singular.Jesus was probably referring to Jehovah as "you." On the other hand the singular "you" could be referring to the children of Israel as whole. If this is what is meant, we would have assume he did so because, in application, it is the people who were in need of repentance, and thus John preached that they should repent before Jehovah. Regardless, the message of John was to the people of Israel to repent. Acts 20:21 shows that such repentance is toward God, not Jesus.
Mark 1:2-5
As it is written in the prophets, “Behold, I send my messenger before your face, Who will prepare your way before you. 3 The voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make ready the way of Jehovah! Make his paths straight!'” 4 John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching the baptism of repentance for forgiveness of sins. 5 There went out to him all the country of Judea, and all those of Jerusalem. They were baptized by him in the Jordan river, confessing their sins. — Divine name supplied.
Both prophecies are referred to here. Again, it is evident that Mark is making an indirect quotation and rewords the prophecies. Malachi 3:1 is quoted similarly to the same way is quoted in Matthew 11:9,10, which see above. Jesus is the representative of Jehovah, the messenger of the covenant, and also was sent by Jehovah. He is not Jehovah who sent him.
Mark immediately shows how John fulfilled the prophecy and that was by preaching to the people the message of repentance. It was the through the message of repentance to the people that Isaiah 40:3 was being fulfilled. Verse two shows this, in that the messenger directs the message to the people of Israel, who needed to repent before Jehovah. And thereby the people, through their repentance toward God, did prepare the way of Jehovah by making themselves a prepared people before their Messiah (anointed of Yah) was made known to them. — Acts 20:21.
Please note that it is not only John, who is Jehovah's messenger to the people, but more importantly the people who prepare the way of Jehovah by means of their repentance. John’s mission was pre-eminently that of a reprover and reformer, telling the people to prepare the way of Jehovah through repentance toward Jehovah symbolized through water baptism.
See Matthew 3:1-3 and Matthew 11:9,10 above.
Luke 1:1-4
Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, in the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John, the son of Zacharias, in the wilderness. He came into all the region around the Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance to remission of sins. As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make ready the way of Jehovah. Make his paths straight.”
This is also another indirect quote of Isaiah 40:3. See Matthew 3:1-3 above. Again, it depicts John as being the one presenting the message to the children of Israel, by means of preaching repentance toward Jehovah.
Luke 1:15-17
For he will be great in the sight of Jehovah, and he will drink no wine nor strong drink. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. He will turn many of the children of Israel to Jehovah, their God. He will go before his face in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,’ and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for Jehovah.”
Here John is said to make ready a people for Jehovah. This he did by his preaching of repentance toward Jehovah.
See Matthew 3:1-3 above.
Luke 1:76,77
And you, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High, For you will go before the face of Jehovah to prepare [Hebrew in Malachi 4:1 is a form of the verb transliterated as Panah, meaning to turn] his ways, To give knowledge of salvation to his people by the remission of their sins.
It is often claimed that Jesus is referred to here as Jehovah (Jehovah). Actually, it is the God of Jesus that is spoken here as Jehovah, not Jesus. John preached to the people of Israel repentance toward God, and it was in this manner that John prepared, or turned the people, to the ways of Jehovah. See Matthew 3:1-3 above.
Luke 7:26,27
But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and much more than a prophet. This is he of whom it is written, ‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face, Who will prepare your way before you.’
See Matthew 3:1-3 and Matthew 11:9,10 above.
John 1:23
He [John the Baptizer] said, “I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of Jehovah,’ as Isaiah the prophet said.”
The same applies here as to the verses already discussed above.
The above examination shows that there is nothing in any of these verses that should lead us to believe that Jesus is Jehovah.
Some Related Writings – We do not necessarily agree with all conclusions presented by these authors.
“Waiting For Messiah”, Zion’s Watch Tower, December 1, 1911, page 443, Reprints page 4930
http://www.agsconsulting.com/htdbnon/r4930b.htm
“Messenger of Jehovah”, Zion’s Watch Tower, December 15, 1905, page 376, Reprints page 3683
http://www.agsconsulting.com/htdbnon/r3683.htm
“Christ’s Testimony of John”, Zion’s Watch Tower, November 1, 1908, page 368, Reprints page 1736
http://www.agsconsulting.com/htdbnon/r1736.htm
“Preparing the Way”, The Dawn – Herald of Christ’s Presence, February 2002
http://www.dawnbible.com/2002/0212ib29.htm
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