Luke 3:5, commentary and pictures

Luke 3:5 belongs to the account of John the Baptist as the forerunner who prepares the ways of Christ. John's preparatory work was to call people to remember their sins, repent, confess sin, and turn from sin to righteousness, so they could receive Christ's work as the Messiah. His inspired teaching cleared away superstition and darkness caused by false teachings, as a road is cleared for a coming king. The valleys, mountains, crooked places and rough ways picture inner obstacles and wrong practices that must be removed, clearing the King's highway so God can work and people can see His salvation.

The mountains and hills mean self-esteem and pride and high opinions of self, which must be humbled, brought low and emptied. The crooked made straight means wrong customs changed and crooked paths and wrongdoing put away, and the rough ways made smooth means roughness in character smoothed. This leveling is a purging of heart, mind and soul and a reformation in character and conduct. Making straight paths includes confessing mistakes and sins, which helps keep the vulnerable from being led astray and enables people to recognize God's leading. The verse belongs to a call to conversion to become fruitful in the Lord's vineyard, while continued failure to bear fruit brings the threat of judgment and removal.

When this leveling is done in the experience of believing people, and they bring forth fruits worthy of repentance and put away wrong practices, all flesh sees God's salvation. The preparation required in John's day is to be studied by workers now, for the same work in the spirit of John must now be done with a hundredfold more power to make the truth of God's Word more widely known through trust in God, obedience to His Word, and earnest, zealous, faithful, untiring striving while darkness covers the earth and gross darkness the people. Believers who lack faith bar the way and limit God, so that where there should be hundreds trusting God and obeying His Word there is only one at work, and if the Lord's people do not strive more earnestly God will raise up other instruments taught by the Holy Spirit, speaking to hearts and minds, to do this leveling and preparing work.