If a tree falls in the forest and nobody is there to hear it, does it make a noise? One might say, "Of course it does. Just because nobody hears it doesn’t mean that there is no noise." The response could come back, "How do you know?"

     Some people say, "The squeaky wheel gets the oil." Does that mean that if something doesn’t make a lot of noise it should not be tended to? Of course it doesn’t, but the noise draws our attention and makes us deal with the issue at hand.

     We are told that John the Baptist was told to go into the wilderness and begin to preach the need for a baptism leading to repentance for the forgiveness of sins. The purpose of this preaching was to prepare the way for the Lord. If John made the proclamation of this great coming, why did he go to the wilderness? If he went to the wilderness, would anybody hear him? If he were out of the range of hearing, would anybody pay attention?

     It is interesting to note that the words John had to share were not flattering. In verse 7 we read, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?" He went on from there, but the tone had been set. It would have been easy for people to avoid John and his ministry. They did not have to go out to hear the sound of the crashing trees. In fact, in verse 9 Luke wrote, "The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire." Like so many others throughout the ages it would have been easier to deny the words being spoken and then say that there was no voice, no sound, coming from the wilderness.

     The reality is that people do not want to hear what is not pleasant that is why the squeaky wheel tends to get so much attention. One of two things always occurs: First, the wheel receives the oil necessary to stop its incessant noise. Second, the wheel is replaced by another that is less troublesome. There were both responses to the ministry of John. Hundreds, and perhaps thousands, came to hear what John preached and repented and were baptized.

     John’s preaching turned the nation upside down because there were consequences in the lives of those who repented. When asked how they should live now that they repented John responded based on the person asking the question.

• To the crowd generally he said, "The man who has two tunics should share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same."
• To the tax collectors he said, "Don’t collect any more than you are required to."
• To the soldiers he said, "Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely – be content with your pay."

     These were basic principles of living, yet they were not a part of the life of those who called themselves the "children of Abraham." The people of Israel had the promises of God, His Law and the prophets, yet they continually walked outside of the boundaries that God had set for their protection.

     Walking outside the boundaries brings us to the visible metaphor of John’s location and message. He preached in the wilderness (literally) because the people were in the wilderness (spiritually). The people had separated themselves from God by such wayward living that they were lost with no hope of finding their way home. Basic and decent living in community by standards that fostered life was foreign to the people in their own land. They were asking the basic question: "How shall we live?" They were so lost that they had no idea about what was right or wrong!

     Many responded positively to the words that he proclaimed by repenting and wondering whether, or not, John was the expected Messiah/Christ that was to come from God. John pointed them to Jesus. However, there were those who did not repent. In fact, their reaction was one of animosity and a desire to shut John up as quickly as possible. We see this particularly in the person of Herod the tetrarch. Herod had done much that was wrong in his life including marrying the wife of his brother. On the one hand Herod enjoyed hearing John’s preaching. On the other hand, he could not tolerate the truth that he was hearing and so he had John arrested. Though he periodically would release John from his cell so that they could talk, John did not want to have to respond to John’s call for repentance. Ultimately, Herod rejected the message at another of the wild parties that were common for him and ordered the execution of John.

     The church of Jesus Christ is the voice crying in the wilderness in this age. It is a voice that must be sounded in the world even when there seems to be no response – because there is always a response whether, or not, we are able to see, or hear, that response. The voice in the wilderness is timely in our age because there is an increasing moral vacuum and the reality is that God’s creation hates vacuum of any kind. It is the wilderness image that Scripture uses to describe the condition of the human heart (individually and corporately) just as in the time of John the Baptist.

     The church of Jesus Christ is present in the world "preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins" just as John did. We remember with Peter that the Lord holds back His final judgment on the world until the time is complete and the kingdom of God is filled with all who are God’s children. When that time comes to pass and the will of God is fulfilled in the repentance of all that are His, then He will come in glory in His Second Advent/Coming. When He returns, as He promised, it will be too late to repent.

     The church of Jesus Christ speaks of the love of God in the wilderness so that God’s creation will be filled with the knowledge of His love. The church is the prophetic voice calling, "Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him. Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth. And all humanity will see God’s salvation." How is this to be done?

     I will add only one thing to the answers to the questions mentioned earlier.

• Trust in the Lord will all of your heart and lean not on your own understanding. Trusting in the Lord means that we are to believe that Jesus came to earth to bridge the chasm between humanity and God caused by our sin. We are to believe that Jesus will lead us out of the wilderness into the heart of God, which is our home.
• Everything else: sharing, not stealing, not extorting or falsely accusing others are only a few examples our way of "preparing the way of the Lord."

     When we live in this way, we are doing the work of God in this world’s wilderness. It is the activity of faithfully witnessing to the truth of God that will ultimately lead people out of the wilderness and into the Promised Land – God’s eternal kingdom.

     We find two responses (as with John the Baptist) to being the voice, but sometimes a third can come into view.

• People will respond with an attitude of repentance, believing that they need to be right with God. It is here that we are then able to lead them to God’s salvation – Jesus.
• People will respond with an attitude of anger and/or derision. They will choose not to believe what God revealed in His One and Only Son. They will either refer to the children of God as bigots or crazy. Their attitude will cause them to reject the salvation of the Lord.
• People will respond with an attitude of complacency. "If it works for you great, but it’s not for me." This attitude is not a lot different from the anger/derision, but getting people to move from this place is most difficult. One problem is that it is not only non-believers that have this attitude. Many Christians share this attitude and display it in their lack of willingness to prepare the way for the Lord.

     Brothers and sisters, the time of our salvation is close at hand. For those who have been saved from the wilderness it is essential that you gather fellow wilderness travelers and lead them to the kingdom. Seeing the truth of God’s love puts the onus on Christians to be the light of the world that leads people out of the darkness of their own hearts. This in turn empowers our society/world to change. We cannot change the morality through laws that will lead others out of the wilderness, but we can be the voice in the wilderness that calls people to salvation. When a person changes allegiances from the world to the kingdom of God, then, and only then, will a person be empowered to effectively see his/her world change. It is change at this level that makes straight the way to the Lord.

     Today, what will you do? There is so much more that can be said, but I will conclude with this. God loves His children so much that He chose to send His Son into the world. Further, the voice of God in the wilderness is spoken through His children. Let us be the voice that calls people to preparation for His return. Let us be the light of the world and the salt of the earth. Let us not ignore the signs of the times. Rather, let us effectively proclaim God’s desire to share His love with the world so that all may come to repentance and eternal life.

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