Luke 1:16-17
 And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous– to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

The meaning of the phrase “turn the hearts of the fathers to their children” is not immediately clear, but these meanings have been suggested.

It may mean John’s messages of repentance would unify broken family relationships, help fathers in their parental responsibilities, or change the lives of disobedient children so their fathers would approve of them.

Another opinion is based on the Malachi reference; “fathers” may refer to the patriarchs, great men of faith who would be greatly displeased with their descendants’ faithlessness toward God. John’s call to repentance would turn the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous, bringing many of his contemporaries back to God. This would please those faithful ancestors. Those who listened to and obeyed John’s message would become a people prepared for the Lord. They would be ready for their Messiah.

I went through pages of discussion trying to figure out what this phrase meant. I came to the conclusion that none of the commentators had any more idea than I did. I remember sitting under Dr. Noel Smith as a student at BBC. One of the things I specifically remember him saying was, “when you go to the commentaries to find a meaning you will usually find what is troubling you was troubling the commentators.” That is exactly what I found in this case.

My conclusion is we do not specifically know the meaning of this phrase. It could simply have been a first century idiom meaning get right with the Lord. That is my personal opinion created and supported by myself! The phrase following sums it all up “Make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

Why do we have to be so technical and specific when the plain sense is there; John will cause people to repent and turn to God!

How can you strengthen your realization that God is in control of the events of your life?