… the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places shall be made smooth, and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.” Luke 3:5,6 KJV
… the crooked will become straight and the rough roads smooth; and all flesh will see the salvation of God.” Luke 3:5-6 NASB
We are not at liberty to change one word of Scripture. It is expressly forbidden for any to add to, or to take away from the completed canon of God’s Word. But when the Holy Spirit of God, the divine author of all of Scripture makes a change, it is noteworthy and must have significance. These changes occur at times when the New Testament cites an Old Testament reference. Some will say that the writers were quoting from the Septuagint version with the alterations made therein. It was still the prerogative of the Spirit to choose the “version” from which He would quote.
The change which we will consider is the alteration in wording when we compare the original words of Isaiah 40:5: “and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed; and all flesh shall see it together,” with those in Luke 3:5, 6. Isaiah places before his readers the prospect of seeing the “glory of the Lord.” Under the control of the Spirit of God, Luke changes the expression to “the salvation of God.”
But is the change really a “change?” Perhaps we are to appreciate that the “salvation of God” is really “the glory of God.” Elsewhere we have the expression, “the gospel of the glory of Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:4 Newb), “the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (4:6), and “the gospel of the glory of the blessed God” (1 Timothy 1:11, Newb).
Creation testifies to God’s eternal power and Godhead, but the cross reveals God’s glory as nothing else could possibly do. Glory is the display of inherent virtues. The cross has provided for us a manifestation of all the characteristics of God’s person. Moses had the glory of God, the name of God, declared to him centuries earlier on the mount (Exodus 34:5-7), but in the cross, God’s revelation of Himself and His glory were displayed, not to a man hidden in a rock, but to an observant universe. Trace any quality which marks God and see it at work at the cross: His holiness and love, His grace and mercy, His longsuffering, goodness, and truth.
In John 1:18, John tells us that the Lord Jesus came to give a full exegesis of the Father. During His life, He so manifested His Father to His own that he could tell them that to see Him was to see the Father. But the ultimate manifestation of His “Name” occurred at the cross (John 17:6). Paradoxically, the scene of greatest shame, reproach, and dishonour for our Lord Jesus, has resulted in a salvation which is the greatest display the world has ever seen of the glory of God.
Consider:
Can you find other occasions when the Spirit of God makes a change from an Old Testament citation that has profound significance?