What does Luke 7:27 mean?

Jesus is explaining who John the Baptist is to a group of people who have heard him and know his message. John is more than a prophet; he is the prophet promised in Old Testament prophecies.

This verse is a combination of Malachi 3:1 and Exodus 23:20.1 Malachi 3:1 reads:

Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me.

Exodus 23:20 reads:

Behold, I send an angel before you to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place that I have prepared.

Malachi 3:1 records God speaking about a prophet who will prepare the way for Him to come to judge and purify Israel. Exodus 23:20 is God's promise to the Israelites that He will send an angel before them when they conquer Canaan. It's important to note that the Jews would take any reference to the exodus very seriously.

By combining the two, Jesus is saying that God sent John to prepare the way for "you"—but scholars are split as to whom "you" refers. Some say it's Jesus, which would fit Malachi. But others say that by combining the verse with Exodus, it means Israel as a nation. Either way works. John prepared the hearts of the Jews so they would more easily recognize Jesus as their Messiah. At the same time, John prepared the people so that Jesus would have an easier time reaching them.

Luke 1:16–17 tips the favor on the side of John preparing the way for the nation of Israel. An angel tells Zechariah, John's father:

"And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared."

The fact that Jesus has changed the pronouns from both Malachi 3:1 and the angel's prophecy to Zechariah suggests that John prepared the way for the Jews so they could more easily recognize their Messiah. The differences in reactions between the sinners and the Pharisees serve as an example of John's preparation.