There was a great deal involved in order to get Jesus from Heaven to the manger, into His earthly ministry, and back to the Throne again. Even though this was all part of God’s plan, it didn’t automatically happen—nothing does. For example, Matthew 18:14 says that it’s not the Father’s will that any should perish, but people die and go to hell every day. If we want to receive the benefits that God promises then we must activate them.

God’s plans were established before the foundation of the world. But with the help of the serpent, Adam and Eve strayed from God’s plan, and the groundwork for bringing Jesus to earth to redeem mankind and restore God’s plan began.

Notice what God said to the serpent as punishment for his part in hindering His plan: “And I will cause hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel” (Genesis 3:15 NLT). This announcement was the first indication to the kingdom of darkness of the Messiah’s coming.

But God’s pronouncement in the Garden was not the only time He spoke about this future event. For hundreds of years, the Spirit of God moved upon men like David, Isaiah, Zachariah, and Daniel to speak about the Messiah yet to come. The voice of God echoed through these prophets, defining the anointing that would rest upon the Messiah and what He would accomplish for all of humanity. It was the God-inspired voices of these prophets that would summon Jesus to the manger—and then into His ministry on this earth.

Notice the Holy Spirit’s specific wording through the prophet Isaiah: “Listen! It’s the voice of someone shouting, ‘Clear the way through the wilderness for the Lord! Make a straight highway through the wasteland for our God!'” (Isaiah 40:3 NLT).

Many years later, the Holy Spirit used the voice of John the Baptist to clear the way for the Lord. John the Baptist’s voice opened the pathway or the entrance for the Word to become flesh and dwell among men (see John 1:1,14).

Jesus said that of everyone born of a woman, none was greater than John the Baptist (Matthew 11:11), yet many great prophets lived before John. For example, consider the ministry of these prophets:

• Elijah called down fire from Heaven and successfully challenged demon spirits.
• Elisha raised a boy from the dead and multiplied a widow woman’s last meal, thereby preventing her and her son from starving.
• Moses pronounced plagues of blood, flies, boils, and finally death upon an entire nation of people who refused to obey God.

How could John be greater than these when he didn’t perform any miracles? What caused Jesus to rank John above these prophets?

It was John’s voice. The words John spoke built the path from which Jesus launched a revolution of righteousness that would forever change the world. John’s voice opened and cleared the way for God’s plan to unfold. Our voice can clear the way for God’s plan to unfold in our lives also.