Isaiah 40:3

Here is an exegetical commentary on Isaiah 40:3 (NKJV).

Exegetical Commentary on Isaiah 40:3 (NKJV)

Text (NKJV):
“The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; Make straight in the desert A highway for our God.’”

1. Literary and Historical Context

Isaiah 40[i] marks a turning point in the book of Isaiah. Chapters 1–39 are largely concerned with judgment, exile, and the consequences of Israel’s rebellion. Chapter 40 opens with a word of comfort: “Comfort, yes, comfort My people!” (Isaiah 40:1). This signals a shift towards hope, restoration, and the promise of God’s redeeming work.

Verse 3 introduces a prophetic voice, crying out in the wilderness, calling for the  preparation of the Lord’s way. Historically, this imagery reflects the ancient practice of preparing roads for the arrival of a king. Valleys were filled, hills levelled, and paths straightened to honour the sovereign’s coming. Isaiah uses this metaphor to announce the coming of God Himself to deliver His people.

2. Exegesis of Isaiah 40:3

• “The voice of one crying in the wilderness”
  This phrase points to a herald, not the king himself. The herald’s role is to announce and prepare. In the New Testament, this is explicitly applied to John the Baptist (Matthew 3:3; Mark 1:3; Luke 3:4; John 1:23). John’s ministry fulfilled this prophecy by preparing hearts for the coming of Christ through repentance and baptism.
• “Prepare the way of the Lord”
  The “Lord” here is Yahweh. Isaiah is declaring that God Himself will come to His people. In the New Testament, this is fulfilled in the incarnation of Jesus Christ, who is both fully God and fully man. Preparation involves repentance, humility, and readiness to receive God’s salvation.
• “Make straight in the desert a highway for our God”
  The desert symbolises barrenness and difficulty. Yet even there, God’s highway is to be built. This points to God’s sovereign ability to bring salvation into the most desolate places. Spiritually, it speaks of removing obstacles in our hearts—pride, unbelief, idolatry—that hinder God’s work.

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3. Theological Insights

• Christological Fulfilment
  The New Testament writers unanimously connect Isaiah 40:3 with John the Baptist’s ministry. John was the forerunner who prepared Israel for the Messiah. This demonstrates the unity of Scripture and the continuity of God’s redemptive plan.
• God’s Sovereign Presence
  The passage affirms that salvation is not a human achievement but God’s initiative. It is “our God” who comes. The highway is for Him, not for us to ascend to Him. This reflects the Christian emphasis on God’s sovereignty in salvation.
• Repentance and Renewal
  Preparation involves repentance. Just as roads were cleared for a king, so hearts must be cleared of sin. This aligns with the evangelical call to repentance and faith in Christ as the only way of salvation.

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4. Application to Modern Christian Living

• Personal Preparation
  Christians today are called to prepare their hearts continually for the Lord’s presence. This means examining our lives, confessing sin, and living in repentance. Spiritual disciplines such as prayer, Scripture reading, and fellowship are ways we “make straight” paths for God’s work in us.
• Witness to the World
  Just as John the Baptist prepared others for Christ, believers are called to be heralds of the gospel. Our lives should point people to Jesus, removing barriers of misunderstanding and showing the beauty of His grace.
• Hope in the Wilderness
  Many believers experience seasons of wilderness—dryness, suffering, or uncertainty. Isaiah 40 reminds us that God comes even into deserts. His highway runs through barren places, bringing comfort and renewal.
• Corporate Renewal
  The church collectively must prepare the way of the Lord. This involves reforming worship, teaching sound doctrine, and living as a holy community. In a secular society, the church’s role is to be a voice crying out, pointing to Christ as the only hope.

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5. Conclusion

Isaiah 40:3 is a profound declaration of God’s coming salvation. It finds its ultimate fulfilment in Jesus Christ, heralded by John the Baptist. For Christians today, it is both a comfort and a challenge: comfort that God comes to us in our wilderness, and a challenge to prepare our hearts and communities for His presence. The passage calls us to repentance, faith, and witness, reminding us that the Lord Himself is the one who brings salvation.

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[i] Isaiah 40

New King James Version

God’s People Are Comforted

40 “Comfort, yes, comfort My people!”
Says your God.
2 “Speak comfort to Jerusalem, and cry out to her,
That her warfare is ended,
That her iniquity is pardoned;
For she has received from the Lord’s hand
Double for all her sins.”

3 The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
“Prepare the way of the Lord;
Make straight in the desert
A highway for our God.
4 Every valley shall be exalted
And every mountain and hill brought low;
The crooked places shall be made straight
And the rough places smooth;
5 The glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
And all flesh shall see it together;
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

6 The voice said, “Cry out!”
And he said, “What shall I cry?”

“All flesh is grass,
And all its loveliness is like the flower of the field.
7 The grass withers, the flower fades,
Because the breath of the Lord blows upon it;
Surely the people are grass.
8 The grass withers, the flower fades,
But the word of our God stands forever.”

9 O Zion,
You who bring good tidings,
Get up into the high mountain;
O Jerusalem,
You who bring good tidings,
Lift up your voice with strength,
Lift it up, be not afraid;
Say to the cities of Judah, “Behold your God!”

10 Behold, the Lord God shall come with a strong hand,
And His arm shall rule for Him;
Behold, His reward is with Him,
And His work before Him.
11 He will feed His flock like a shepherd;
He will gather the lambs with His arm,
And carry them in His bosom,
And gently lead those who are with young.

12 Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand,
Measured heaven with a span
And calculated the dust of the earth in a measure?
Weighed the mountains in scales
And the hills in a balance?
13 Who has directed the Spirit of the Lord,
Or as His counselor has taught Him?
14 With whom did He take counsel, and who instructed Him,
And taught Him in the path of justice?
Who taught Him knowledge,
And showed Him the way of understanding?

15 Behold, the nations are as a drop in a bucket,
And are counted as the small dust on the scales;
Look, He lifts up the isles as a very little thing.
16 And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn,
Nor its beasts sufficient for a burnt offering.
17 All nations before Him are as nothing,
And they are counted by Him less than nothing and worthless.

18 To whom then will you liken God?
Or what likeness will you compare to Him?
19 The workman molds an image,
The goldsmith overspreads it with gold,
And the silversmith casts silver chains.
20 Whoever is too impoverished for such a contribution
Chooses a tree that will not rot;
He seeks for himself a skillful workman
To prepare a carved image that will not totter.

21 Have you not known?
Have you not heard?
Has it not been told you from the beginning?
Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?
22 It is He who sits above the circle of the earth,
And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers,
Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain,
And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.
23 He brings the princes to nothing;
He makes the judges of the earth useless.

24 Scarcely shall they be planted,
Scarcely shall they be sown,
Scarcely shall their stock take root in the earth,
When He will also blow on them,
And they will wither,
And the whirlwind will take them away like stubble.

25 “To whom then will you liken Me,
Or to whom shall I be equal?” says the Holy One.
26 Lift up your eyes on high,
And see who has created these things,
Who brings out their host by number;
He calls them all by name,
By the greatness of His might
And the strength of His power;
Not one is missing.

27 Why do you say, O Jacob,
And speak, O Israel:
“My way is hidden from the Lord,
And my just claim is passed over by my God”?
28 Have you not known?
Have you not heard?
The everlasting God, the Lord,
The Creator of the ends of the earth,
Neither faints nor is weary.
His understanding is unsearchable.
29 He gives power to the weak,
And to those who have no might He increases strength.
30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary,
And the young men shall utterly fall,
31 But those who wait on the Lord
Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint.