This is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.
Parallel translations
- WEB This is he of whom it is written, ‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you.’
- BSB This is the one about whom it is written: ‘Behold, I will send My messenger ahead of You, who will prepare Your way before You.’
- NKJV This is he of whom it is written: ‘Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, Who will prepare Your way before You.’
- NASB This is the one about whom it is written: ‘Behold, I am sending My messenger ahead of You, Who will prepare Your way before You.’
- NLT John is the man to whom the Scriptures refer when they say, ‘Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, and he will prepare your way before you.’
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Jesus identifies John as the messenger of Scripture sent to prepare the way before the Lord. John fulfills prophecy as the Messiah's forerunner.
Overview
Citing Malachi 3:1, Jesus declares John the promised messenger who prepares the Lord's coming. This makes John greater than earlier prophets, for he stands at the threshold of fulfillment. Strikingly, the prophecy spoke of preparing the way before God Himself, implying that in Jesus the Lord has come to His people.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Mal 3:1Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the LORD, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts.
- Luke 1:76And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways;
- Mark 1:2As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.
- Matt 11:10For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.
- John 1:23He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias.
- Luke 1:15–17For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb.
- Mal 4:5–6Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:
- Isa 40:3The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Luke shows Jesus the Savior for all — outsiders, the poor, the nations — the one who, on the Emmaus road, opened all the Scriptures to show they were about himself.
How Luke 7:27 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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