It is true when I tell you, among [all] those born of women, no one greater than John the Immerser has come along. Yet the least significant person in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
For this is the man who was spoken of by Isaiah the prophet, who said, [Isa. 40:3], “[It is] the voice of a man who speaks out in the desert, [urging people to] make the road for the Lord ready [for Him to travel]; to make a straight pathway for Him [to walk on].”
It was even written in Isaiah, the prophet [Note: Verse 2 is quoted from Mal. 3:1; verse 3 from Isa. 40:3], “Look, I am sending my messenger on ahead of you. He will prepare the way for you.
Yes, you [my] child [i.e., John], will be called the prophet of the Highest [i.e., God], for you will go ahead of the Lord’s presence to prepare His ways.
He replied, “I am the voice of a man who is calling out in the desert, [urging people to] ‘Make the road for the Lord straight,’ as Isaiah the prophet said, [Isa. 40:3].”