The Messenger who came to purify will come to judge.

 

Sermon for Advent 2, December 8, 2024

Grace to you and peace from Him who is, who was, and who is coming.  Amen.

Malachi 3:1-7  Look!  I am sending my messenger!  He will prepare the way before me.  Then suddenly the Lord, whom you are seeking, will come to his temple!  The Messenger of the Covenant, in whom you delight, will surely come, says the Lord of Armies.  ²But who can endure the day when he comes?  Who will remain standing when he appears?  For he will be like a refiner’s fire, like launderers bleach!  ³He will be seated like a refiner and a purifier of silver.  He will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and like silver.  They will belong to the Lord and bring him an offering in righteousness.  ⁴Judah and Jerusalem’s offerings will be pleasing to the Lord as they were in the days of old, in years long ago.  ⁵I will approach you to judge you.  I will be quick to give testimony against those who practice occult arts, those who commit adultery, those who swear false oaths, those who cheat workers out of their wages, those who wrong a widow and a fatherless child, those who turn away a resident alien—all those who do not fear me, says the Lord of Armies.  ⁶Certainly I, the Lord, do not change.  That is why you, sons of Jacob, have not come to an end.  ⁷Since the days of your fathers, you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them.  Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of Armies. (EHV)

The Messenger who came to purify will come to judge.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

            In this prophecy, the forerunner of Christ often gets all the press, but the main reason for the prophecy is not the forerunner but the true Messenger of God, the one who brings peace and division upon the earth, so understand that The Messenger who came to purify will come to judge.

The headline reads, “Look!  I am sending my messenger!  He will prepare the way before me.”  There is no doubt as to who was meant with this prediction, because Jesus confirmed that the Lord was speaking about John the Baptist.  Now, imagine trying to drive down a highway to reach home, but the highway is covered with potholes, rocks, boulders, sharp objects of various sizes, enemy landmines, and perhaps even insurmountable cliffs.  How could anyone ever hope to get safely home?  Truly, this is the way pictured for us in the text.  Our lives on earth make an impossible obstacle course on our journey toward heaven.  The obstacles are temptation and sin: original sin that corrupts completely, and the evil thoughts, desires, deeds, and failures that keep each of us separated from our true home with God in heaven.

Now, there are many religions and philosophers who pretend to teach how to travel this road to heaven without removing the obstacles, but the only way anyone will actually reach heaven is if the path is made perfectly smooth so that we may arrive before God without any spot, blemish, bruise, or fault.

John the Baptist was sent, before the Savior revealed Himself to the world, to prepare God’s people to meet the Lord in repentance.  To prepare the way, John had to preach law and judgement upon those who thought they were walking the path to God but, in reality, were lost on a treacherous road of mistaken ideas, outright sin, and false self-righteousness.  John was heard to proclaim to all who came to him, “You offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?  Therefore produce fruits in keeping with repentance!” (Luke 3:7-8)  John was opening their eyes to the will of our Creator, who will only receive people who are holy, who trust perfectly in God alone, who are without any sin, guilt, or shame at all.

For most of us, being Christians from our youth might lead us to be rather complacent in our repentance.  We might be tempted to judge ourselves better than the devious, wicked, murderous thugs whose evil deeds bombard us in the daily news.  When we are surrounded by reports of great evil, it is easy to consider ourselves pretty good in comparison, which is why the scribe who delivered these words asks, “But who can endure the day when he comes?  Who will remain standing when he appears?”  Again, though it might be tempting for us to assume that he was referring only to the people John the Baptist was sent to confront, but “There is no one who is righteous, not even one.” (Romans 3:10)  

Still, there is hope for us, because God’s messenger tells us that after John the Baptist arrives on the scene, “Then suddenly the Lord, whom you are seeking, will come to his temple!  The Messenger of the Covenant, in whom you delight, will surely come, says the Lord of Armies.” 

It is quite common for Old Testament prophecies to reveal more than one thing at a time.  Here, the writer looks forward to the forerunner, but at the same time he takes us past the forerunner to show us the Messenger far greater than John.  John the Baptist comes before the promised Messiah, and the people of Israel were eagerly looking forward to seeing that Elijah and the promised Messiah’s arrival.  Yet, for them and for us, if we are not properly prepared to meet Him, that meeting means destruction.

Malachi warns, “For he will be like a refiner’s fire, like launderers bleach!  He will be seated like a refiner and a purifier of silver.  He will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and like silver.”  Now, if we didn’t know the rest of the story, this would be a terrifying report.  The day of our Lord signifies God’s Judgment of the world upon Jesus’ return in glory.  On that day, all those who have not had the stumbling blocks, traps, and impurities removed will be sentenced to the fires of hell.  That’s where the theme of this sermon should help us.  The Messenger comes to purify and to judge.  Malachi is telling us that before God’s Son returns to judge the world, He first will come to purify His people.  That Messenger of the Covenant, my friends, is Jesus.

The prophet declared, “He will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and like silver.  They will belong to the Lord and bring him an offering in righteousness.  Judah and Jerusalem’s offerings will be pleasing to the Lord as they were in the days of old, in years long ago.”  Through the gift of His Son, God has made us precious and holy in His eyes.  The fires of hell that Jesus endured in our place on the cross burned away our sins and iniquities.  Jesus took away our rebellions, our lies and deceits.  He took our worries, fears, doubts, and treachery.  He took our rejections, our slanders, our betrayals, and every lack of trust in God’s Word.  “God made him, who did not know sin, to become sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in him.” (2 Corinthians 5:21) 

Jesus took all our sins, guilt, and shame on Himself.  He suffered the torments and pains of being separated from His Father’s presence, love, and care, all so that we will be counted pure and precious in God’s sight when The Messenger who came to purify will come to judge.

That’s quite a promise, isn’t it?  That you and I, who so often fall short of being holy, will be counted righteous through the faith in Jesus as our Savior that is given to us through the gift of God’s grace.  Just as Jesus took away our sins and lived perfect holiness and faith on our behalf, so the Holy Spirit has worked in us through Word and Sacrament to clear away our wickedness and bring us to walk the narrow road of faith in all that God has promised and done. 

God’s messenger foretold the coming of the forerunner and the “The Messenger of the Covenant,” who would fulfill all the promises God had made to His people, promises of redemption and peace, of certainty and joy, of reconciliation between God and mankind, and the prophet foretold a second coming of this Messenger who could only be Jesus.  When Jesus walked this earth calling the people to follow Him, He warned them of their wickedness.  Yet, there is a day coming when those who have rejected the relief Jesus gives will stand before the Lord in judgment, and it will not be pleasant.  The Lord declares, “I will be quick to give testimony against those who practice occult arts, those who commit adultery, those who swear false oaths, those who cheat workers out of their wages, those who wrong a widow and a fatherless child, those who turn away a resident alien—all those who do not fear me, says the Lord of Armies.”

Do you want to stand alone before the Judge when every wicked thing you have ever thought, felt, imagined, or did is held up against you?  The prophet answers rhetorically, “But who can endure the day when he comes?  Who will remain standing when he appears?”  The obvious answer is no one will stand on his own account, and those who try will be condemned to the everlasting fires of hell.

Still, for those who have heard the Good News of Jesus and believe it, there is nothing to fear.  We have God’s promise, “Certainly I, the Lord, do not change.  That is why you, sons of Jacob, have not come to an end.  Since the days of your fathers, you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them.  Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of Armies.” 

Since Adam’s fall into sin, all mankind has been corrupt and unable to travel to God.  Israel gradually fell under the delusion that their efforts earned a place in God’s house, but it was always Jesus, only Jesus, who would gain the victory over sin, death, and Satan. 

From the beginning, God offered hope.  Then to Abraham, God promised, “All of the families of the earth will be blessed in you.” (Genesis 12:3)  One descendant of Abraham would bring forgiveness and peace to the world.  God promised Jeremiah, “They will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the Lord, “for I will forgive their guilt, and I will remember their sins no more.” (Jeremiah 31:34)

Finally, Jesus tells us, “I am the Way and the Truth and the Life.  No one comes to the Father, except through me.” (John 14:6)  John the Baptist was sent to prepare the people to receive the Savior, but it is Jesus, and only Jesus, who has made our path to heaven a smooth road.  When God charged all our guilt to Jesus, He also credited Jesus’ perfection to those who will believe and follow Him.  That is both the warning, and the promise, delivered to God’s people through His Messenger of the Covenant.

The law is given to serve us in knowing how we should live and how we fail.  God’s Son, Jesus, made Himself our righteousness with His perfect trust and obedience to His Father’s will, and His holiness covers us who believe in Him.  Because God never changes, you and I are granted peace with Him through the works of His Son.  As the Lord of Glory passed in front of Moses in the wilderness, He declared, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, and overflowing with mercy and truth, maintaining mercy for thousands, forgiving guilt and rebellion and sin.” (Exodus 34:6-7) 

This our God has accomplished for us through His beloved Son.  Therefore, walk with Jesus.  Trust Him to carry you home, to keep you safe through the minefields this world has laid in our path.  Trust that by His life, death, and resurrection, and the faith in Christ implanted in your hearts, Jesus has made you pure and precious to God Almighty.  Trust Jesus when He promises, “Because I live, you also will live.” (John 14:19)  The Messenger who came to purify will come to judge.   Amen.

Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you faultless in the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, be glory, majesty, power, and authority through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all time, now, and to all eternity.  Amen.