Clearing a Path for Justice

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Clearing a Path for Justice

Herb Montgomery | December 16, 2025

If you’d like to listen to this week’s article in podcast version click on the image below:

Our reading this Advent weekend is from the gospel of Matthew:

In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said,

“The voice of one crying out in the wilderness:

‘Prepare the way of the Lord,

make his paths straight.’”

Now John wore clothing of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. Then the people of Jerusalem and all Judea were going out to him, and all the region along the Jordan, and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.

But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit worthy of repentance. Do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor’; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

“I baptize you with water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” (Matthew 3:1-12)

The story of John the Baptist is an excellent narrative to remind us of what Advent is all about. It’s about arrival, and specifically an arrival that propels us further toward a world that is a safe, compassionate, just home for everyone. Matthew’s gospel reaches back to the Hebrew prophetic justice tradition to characterize John in this version of the Jesus story: 

Comfort, O comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that she has served her term, that her penalty is paid, that she has received from the LORD’S hand double for all her sins. A voice cries out: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. Then the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all people shall see it together, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.” (Isaiah 40:1-5)

The Hebrew prophets repeatedly explained the tragic crisis their society was facing as the result of social injustice and oppression toward the vulnerable, marginalized, and disenfranchised. Notice how the book of Isaiah begins:

“When you come to appear before me, who asked this from your hand? Trample my courts no more; bringing offerings is futile; incense is an abomination to me. New moon and sabbath and calling of convocation—I cannot endure solemn assemblies with iniquity. Your new moons and your appointed festivals my soul hates; they have become a burden to me, I am weary of bearing them. When you stretch out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you, even though you make many prayers, I will not listen; your hands are full of blood. Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your doings from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow. Come now, let us argue it out, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be like snow; though they are red like crimson.” (Isaiah 1:12-18)

The prophet Isaiah states that more religious rituals, more sacrifices, more prayers, and more religious gatherings won’t fix their society’s sins. What does Isaiah call for instead? Practicing justice and rescuing those presently oppressed. The oppressed people mentioned here specifically are orphans and widows. Why? Because in patriarchal societies, orphans (the fatherless) and widows (the husbandless) are the ones made vulnerable through their disenfranchisement. 

The voice of one calling in the wilderness to make our paths straight is defined here as “seeking justice.” And this leads to John the Baptist. In Josephus’ works, we find a description of John that is worth our consideration:

“Now some of the Jews thought that the destruction of Herod’s army came from God, and was a very just punishment for what he did against John called the Baptist. For Herod had him killed, although he was a good man and had urged the Jews to exert themselves to virtue, both as to justice toward one another and reverence towards God . . .” (Antiquities 18.5.2 116-119)

John was known for calling his own society back to practicing justice toward one another as an act of reverence toward God.

In Luke’s gospel we find the same characterization of John. There he calls for systemic change in the social institutions of his day. “Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none” He called tax collectors not to “collect any more than you are required to.” And he told soldiers, “Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely.” (See Luke 3:10-14)

John critiqued the social institutions of his time and called for justice. 

Josephus told us that John’s call of renewing reverence for God was tied to the virtue of the people practicing justice with each another. Justice toward one another is social justice. Social justice is merely applying the ethic of loving your neighbor societally.

John the Baptist’s ministry was rooted in a call to repentance, but the repentance he demanded was profoundly social and economic at its core. In Luke’s gospel, when the crowds ask what repentance looks like in practice, John, like Isaiah of old, does not speak of sacrifices, rituals, or private spirituality. Instead, he calls for concrete acts of justice: “Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none, and whoever has food must do likewise.” This ethic directly confronts economic inequality and insists that compassion for the vulnerable is inseparable from fidelity to God.

When tax collectors approach him, John tells them to collect no more than what is required. This was an explicit rebuke of systems of exploitation embedded in Roman taxation practices. John likewise instructs soldiers not to extort money or abuse their power. His message, therefore, challenges both personal greed and the structural injustices carried out through imperial institutions.

Far from being merely a wilderness prophet preaching private piety, John functions as a moral reformer calling society back to equity, integrity, and communal responsibility. He frames justice as the visible fruit of repentance, teaching that genuine spiritual renewal requires economic fairness, honest labor, and protection of the poor from exploitation. It’s a call not to become more religious but to become more just, to embrace social righteousness.

So in the gospels, the call to “make his paths straight” echoes through the preaching of John the Baptist as both a spiritual summons and a social one. While often interpreted as a metaphor for personal repentance, the phrase draws on the prophetic tradition of Isaiah, where “preparing the way of the Lord” involves removing obstacles that prevent justice, equity, and peace from flourishing in the community. In this sense, straightening the path is not merely an inward moral adjustment; it is an outward reordering of social conditions so that God’s reign, characterized by liberation, dignity, justice, and compassion, can break in.

John preached his message to crowds living under economic exploitation, political oppression, and deep social stratification. His concrete instructions—share your extra cloak, feed the hungry, refuse to exploit others, reject corrupt gain—demonstrate that preparing God’s way involves repairing the moral fabric of society. It is a call to dismantle systems of harm and to build structures that reflect justice. In the gospels, the advent of both Jesus and John exposes and confronts the world’s crooked paths: inequity, exclusion, and violence. Making those paths straight, then, becomes the work of aligning human society with divine intention.

For us today, this invitation challenges us to examine the uneven roads in our own world—spaces where poverty, racial and gender based injustice, LGBTQ discrimination, environmental harm, and economic inequality bend the path away from God’s vision. To “make his paths straight” is to engage in the slow, committed labor of reforming institutions, amplifying marginalized voices, and redistributing resources so all may flourish and thrive. It means choosing solidarity over indifference, advocacy over silence, and compassion over convenience.

Ultimately, straightening the way is about preparing a landscape where love, justice, and peace encounter the fewest obstacles. It is the ongoing work of shaping society into a place where justice can be recognized, welcomed, and then practiced and embodied.

Discussion Group Questions

1. Share something that spoke to you from this week’s podcast episode with your discussion group.

2. How are you clearing a path for justice this holiday season? Share and discuss with your group.

3. What can you do this week, big or small, to continue setting in motion the work of shaping our world into a safe, compassionate, just home for everyone? 

Thanks for checking in with us, today.

I want to say a special thank you to all of our supporters out there. And if you would like to join them in supporting Renewed Heart Ministries’ work you can do so by going to renewedheartministries.com and clicking donate. 

My latest book Finding Jesus: A Fundamentalist Preacher Discovers the Socio-Political and Economic Teachings of the Gospels is available now on Amazon in paperback, Kindle and also on Audible in audio book format.

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Right where you are, keep living in love, choosing compassion, taking action, and working toward justice.

I love each of you dearly,

I’ll see you next week.

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New Episode of The Social Jesus Podcast

A podcast where we talk about the intersection of faith and social justice and what a first century, prophet of the poor from Galilee might have to offer us today in our work of love, compassion and justice. 

This week:

Season 2 Episode 49: Clearing a Path for Justice

Matthew 3:1-12 

For us today, this invitation challenges us to examine the uneven roads in our own world—spaces where poverty, racial and gender based injustice, LGBTQ discrimination, environmental harm, and economic inequality bend the path away from God’s vision. To “make his paths straight” is to engage in the slow, committed labor of reforming institutions, amplifying marginalized voices, and redistributing resources so all may flourish and thrive. It means choosing solidarity over indifference, advocacy over silence, and compassion over convenience.

Available on all major podcast carriers and at:

https://the-social-jesus-podcast.simplecast.com/episodes/clearing-a-path-for-justice

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Finding Jesus: A Fundamentalist Preacher Discovers the Socio-Political & Economic Teachings of the Gospels.

 

by Herb Montgomery

Available now on Amazon!

In Finding Jesus, author Herb Montgomery delves into the profound and often overlooked political dimensions of the gospels. Through meticulous analysis of biblical texts, historical context, and social discourse, this thought-provoking book unveils the gospels’ socio-political, economic teachings as rooted in a profound concern for justice, compassion, and the well-being of the marginalized. The book navigates the intersections between faith and societal justice, presenting a compelling argument for a more socially engaged and transformative Christianity.

Finding Jesus is not just a scholarly exploration; it is a call to action. It challenges readers to reevaluate their understanding of Christianity’s role in public life and to consider how the radical teachings of the gospels can inspire a renewed commitment to justice, equality, and compassion. This book is a must-read for those seeking a deeper understanding of the social implications of Christian faith and a blueprint for building a more just and inclusive society.

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