The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose.
Read Chapter 35
Bede
AD 735
After John was killed, the Lord saw the time drawing near and withdrew to a deserted place called Bethsaida. This teaches mystically that a deserted Judah, which had beheaded its prophets by not believing them, would later become fruitful in the desert of a church that possessed no man of the Word. Hence, the beautiful Bethsaida means “house of fruitfulness.” For it was about it that Isaiah said, “The desert and the dry land will rejoice, and the wilderness will exult and bloom like the lily,” and again, “they will see the glory of the Lord and the beauty of our God.” - "Exposition of the Gospel of Luke 3.9.10"
Here also the coming of God for salvation, bringing many blessings, is precisely foretold. The prophet says that there will be a cure for the deaf, sight for the blind, yes, even healing for the lame and tongue-tied, and this was fulfilled only at the coming of our Savior Jesus Christ, by whom the eyes of the blind were opened, and the deaf regained their hearing. Why need I say, how many palsied and deaf and lame also received physical cure by the hands of his disciples? And how many others, afflicted with various diseases and maladies, received of him healing and salvation, according to the inspired prediction of prophecy and according to the unimpeachable testimony of the holy Gospels? And the prophecy here disguises under the name of “desert” the church of the Gentiles, which for long years deserted of God is being evangelized by those of whom we are speaking, and it says that besides other blessings the glory of Lebanon will be given to the desert. Now it is customary to call Jeru...
This, too, was fulfilled, was clearly fulfilled, by our Savior’s miraculous works after John’s preaching. Notice therefore how he bears good tidings to the desert, not generally or to any desert but to one particular desert by the bank of the Jordan. This was because John lived there and baptized there, as Scripture says, “John was in the desert baptizing.” … I think the desert here is a symbol of that which of old was void of all God’s good things, I mean the church of the Gentiles. And the river by the desert that cleanses all that are bathed therein is a figure of some cleansing spiritual power, of which the Scriptures speak, saying, “The movements of the river make glad the city of God.” And this means the ever-flowing stream of the Holy Spirit welling from above and watering the city of God, which is the name for life according to God. This river of God, then, has reached even to the desert, that is the Gentile church, and even now supplies it with the living water that it bears. ...
Moreover, it is said in this prophecy that the glory of Lebanon and the honor of Carmel shall be given to this wilderness. What is the glory of Lebanon but the worship performed through the sacrifices of the Mosaic law, which God refused in the prophecy which says, “Why do you bring me Lebanon from Sheba? And of what service to me is the multitude of your sacrifices?” He has transferred the glory of Jerusalem to the desert of Jordan, since, from the times of John, the ritual of holiness began to be performed not at Jerusalem but in the desert. In like manner, too, the honor of the law and of its more external ordinances was transferred to the wilderness of Jordan for the same reason, namely, that they who need the healing of their souls no longer hastened to Jerusalem but to that which was called the wilderness, because there the forgiveness of sins was preached. - "Proof of the Gospel 9.6"
Lily. Judea flourishes under Ezechias: but the Church does more so after the coming of Christ, to whom these expressions conduct us. (Calmet)
The Gentiles shall be converted and flourish, as this text shews. (Worthington)
And “the glory of Lebanon,” from the similitude of its lofty trees, he transfers to the river. For as great Lebanon presents a sufficient cause of wonder in the very trees that it brings forth and nourishes, so is the Jordan glorified by regenerating people and planting them in the paradise of God. And of them, as the words of the psalmist say, ever blooming and bearing the foliage of virtues, “the leaf shall not wither,” and God shall be glad, receiving their fruit in due season, rejoicing, like a good planter, in his own works. - "On the Baptism of Christ"
And “the excellence of Carmel” is given to the soul that bears the likeness to the desert, that is, the grace bestowed through the Spirit. For since Elijah dwelt in Carmel, and the mountain became famous and renowned by the virtue of him who dwelt there, and since moreover John the Baptist, illustrious in the spirit of Elijah, sanctified the Jordan, therefore the prophet foretold that “the excellence of Carmel” should be given to the river. - "On the Baptism of Christ"
And where shall we place that oracle of Isaiah, which cries to the wilderness, “Be glad, O thirsty wilderness. Let the desert rejoice and blossom as a lily, and the desolate places of Jordan shall blossom and shall rejoice”? For it is clear that it is not to places without soul or sense that he proclaims the good tidings of joy, but he speaks, by the figure of the desert, of the soul that is parched and unadorned. - "On the Baptism of Christ"
