Scripture Reading(s)
Malachi 3:1-4
3:1 See, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple. The messenger of the covenant in whom you delight–indeed, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts.
3:2 But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap;
3:3 he will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the descendants of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, until they present offerings to the LORD in righteousness.
3:4 Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the LORD as in the days of old and as in former years.
Reflections(s)
It is interesting that God speaks through the prophet Malachi and says “I am sending a messenger to prepare the way before ME”. We know that the Jews during this time period were expecting the Messiah to appear. What they were not expecting was for God to make himself incarnate and embody the flesh of man and dwell with us. Literally, the name of title of Jesus from Isaiah, Immanuel, means God with us. God was not hiding His plans from man.
Very soon we will be celebrating the birth of our savior who put aside His divinity to lower Himself and come to the earth so He can be a sacrifice for us. Let us not forget or take for granted that God Himself loved His children so much that He came down in humility and lowliness when He could have just as easily done away with us and our sinful ways, as He did in the time of Moses and Sodom. Rather, He made the ultimate sacrifice in our place so that we did not have to. He endured all the same human pain that we did and because of this we can experience eternal life with Him.
This message would be an exciting time for the Jewish nation. They had been longing and excepting Jesus to come and this message of Him coming had been told for many years. Jesus was coming to this world to end the problem of sin once and for all. The good news is that He was coming not just to save the Jewish nation but the entire world. The Gospel was about to be presented in a way that would change the lives and the course of this world.
Salvation was about to be played out right before their eyes and they were about to come face to face with the Savior of the world. Today as Christians, we have the privilege of now looking forward to Christ coming to take us home again. With Jesus having come and paying the penalty of sin, the Gospel is still readily available to us and all those who choose to believe in Him.
As we move forward into the Christmas season, let us not celebrate the coming of Christ and look forward to Him returning to take His children home once again.