Verse 76
‘For you will go before the face of the Lord to make ready his ways.’
Thus he is called to be the preparer of the way, going ‘before the face of the Lord’. ‘Before the face of the Lord’ can indicate something as happening in front of God’s eyes (Genesis 19:13; 1 Samuel 26:20). It can also indicate God positively ready to act and turning His face towards something (Psalms 34:16) or the place to which men come in repentance (Lamentations 2:19). Here either of the first two are possible, for John will certainly be continually in God’s sight and he will also certainly be acting in preparation for God to reveal His face. But the emphasis is all on making ready. As we have already seen, he was not the final solution. This would be important for Luke’s readers to note, and especially any who were disciples of John the Baptiser (Acts 19:1-6).
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