“As it is written in the book of the words of Esaias the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.”
As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet: a voice of one calling in the wilderness, prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him — Isaiah 40:3 is the prophetic anticipation of John's ministry. The quotation in Luke extends further than in Mark to include the universal scope of the salvation announcement. A voice calling: John is defined by his message rather than his identity — the voice whose content is the preparation for the Lord's arrival.
Church Fathers on Luke 3:4
The Word came, and the voice followed. For the Word first works inward, then follows the office of the voice, as it is said, And he went into all the country about Jordan.
Jordan is the same as descending, for there descends from God a river of healing water. But what parts would John be traversing but the country lying about Jordan, that the penitent sinner might soon arrive at the flowing stream, humbling himself to receive the baptism of repentance. For it is added, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.
It is plain to every reader that John not only preached the baptism of repentance, but to some also he gave it, yet his own baptism he could not give for the remission of sins.
Read all 13 entries in the readerCatena Aurea · St. Thomas Aquinas, tr. J. H. Newman · public domain
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