There is a stir in the Judean wilderness, a voice of authority and vibrancy that hasn’t been heard amongst the Jews for at least four hundred years. John the Baptist is preaching his hopeful and important message. He is a voice in the wilderness, which has come to mean in our English language, someone who is expressing an idea that is not popular. Yet, it is the message that Israel has anticipated for its entire history, “Prepare ye the way of the Lord.” The Messiah is here.