Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary John 1:23

"He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said Isaiah the prophet." — John 1:23 (ASV)

The reference to Isaiah uses the figure of preparing a road for the king through open and uneven territory so that he may travel over a smooth highway. John the Baptist here called himself the “roadbuilder” for one greater than he who would follow him with a fuller revelation. Isaiah went on to say that “the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it” (Isaiah 40:5). This “glory” was revealed in the person of Jesus, of whom the writer of the gospel has already said, “We have seen his glory” (1:14).