Home > Jesus is God in Mark's Gospel
John the Baptist is the messenger preparing the way for Jesus. By identifying Jesus as the one for whom the way is prepared, Mark is explicitly identifying Jesus with Yahweh Himself.
This is also mentioned by Matthew (3:3), Luke (3:4-6) and John (1:23). In John it is John the Baptist himself who is recorded as saying he is the fulfillment of this prophecy.
Mark 1:3 - The voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make ready the way of the Lord, Make His paths straight.’”
Isaiah 40:3 -A voice is calling, “Prepare the way for Yahweh in the wilderness; Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God.
Mark quotes Isaiah to show that John the Baptist is the messenger preparing the way for Jesus. By identifying Jesus as the one for whom the way is prepared, Mark is explicitly identifying Jesus with God (LORD = Yahweh) Himself.
John the Baptist will consciously direct his followers away from himself and toward Jesus, framing his entire existence as merely a "voice" for the "Word" (the Logos).