Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Luke 3:6

"And all flesh shall see the salvation of God." — Luke 3:6 (ASV)

Luke found a clear prophecy of the ministry of John the Baptist in Isa 40:3. He includes more of the quotation than Matthew and Mark do. First he cites the extraordinary way in which, on the analogy of preparations made for a royal visitor, even the seemingly immovable must be removed to make way for the Lord (vv.4–5). What needs removal is the sin of the people. Luke concludes the Isaiah quotation with words that aptly describe his own evangelistic and theological conviction: everyone will see God’s salvation. Luke finds here (following the LXX version of Isa 40:5) a biblical basis for his own universal concern and his central theme of salvation.