What Does This Mean?

Lent Midweek V
Malachi 3:1-7b
April 9, 2025

          Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

          What better way to close out this sermon series on the Minor Prophets than with the prophet Malachi? The timing is impeccable. Every one of these prophets spoke about the coming Messiah, and this sermon leads us straight into Holy Week, where we hear about the suffering, death, and resurrection of that Messiah.

          And while I know that Malachi is the last book of the Old Testament and that Matthew’s Gospel follows immediately afterward in our Bibles, you need to know that there was about four hundred years of history in between Malachi and Matthew. That’s a longer period than the history of America, and many things that happened during that time directly relate to the context in which Jesus was born and lived and died and rose again.

On that note, it is worthy of your time to seek out the history of the “Time between the Testaments,” which we call the Apocrypha. You may have seen these books if you have perused a Roman Catholic Bible once. Or maybe you have heard about those books on a TV program. And I bet you did not know that Luther’s German Bible included all of those Apocrypha books in it until very recently. What you need to know is this: The Apocrypha is good history, but the books are not biblical books and they are not written for faith and salvation.

But I digress. This is not a sermon on the Apocrypha. I just want you to know that there was a four hundred year gap between Malachi and Matthew. That realization makes Malachi’s message even more profound for us. These were the last words heard by God’s prophets and His beloved people: “Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. You and I both know that this refers to John the Baptizer, the cousin of Jesus. This word from Malachi sounds like Advent to us. That John the Baptizer will prepare the way of the Lord and make straight the highway of our God. But it also sounds like a Lenten theme, especially on a week like this. For Malachi’s words come true in the clearest way as Jesus enters into Jerusalem on a donkey.

At that point, the way had been prepared and God came to town. Malachi lays it out for us in so clear a way when he says, And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple. The Lord Jesus Christ came to Jerusalem. The High Priest Jesus came into the temple, His Father’s House. There are at least three stories related to this prophecy. First during Jesus’ childhood, He stayed behind when He was a boy and Joseph and Mary had to come back to find Him. Second during His ministry, Jesus overturned the tables of the moneychangers and declared the temple a House of Prayer rather than a den of robbers. And then finally, during this Holy Week, the Lord came to Jerusalem to “celebrate the Passover” as the Passover Lamb who took away all the sins of the world. Christ certainly came to His temple.

Christ certainly came to His temple and what a message this was for Malachi’s people who had not seen the glory of the Lord in the temple for over a hundred years and who would not see the presence of the Lord for another 400 years. The thought of God returning was yes joyful, but also a quite fearful thing for the people, especially as the years went on and on and God did not return. Malachi himself asked the congregation, But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? This too we see in the Scriptures. Who could endure the day of Christ’s coming? Did Peter, who denied Him three times? Did Judas, who betrayed Him into the hands of the chief priests? Did the chief priests and Pharisees, those who should have welcomed our Lord to the temple, did they endure the day of Christ’s coming? What about the other disciples? They all scattered and only John was left there at the cross. Who can endure? Who can believe? Who can stand?

It turns out that following Jesus at the time of Malachi and at the time of Holy Week and even during our own lives now is incredibly difficult. Consider one simple example, who could commit on one week of the year to go to church so much, Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter Eve, and Easter Sunday? I completely admit, that it’s a lot of time and effort just to commemorate the days of Holy Week, but imagine if you lived in those days? Imagine if the events transpired in your lifetime, and you were eyewitnesses to the day of the Lord who came to die on the cross!

Malachi expresses this endurance and faith as a process of purification. He says to us today, For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the Lord. Consider then these Holy Days of Holy Week not as a burden, but rather as the work of God upon your soul, to refine you like silver, to purify your minds toward God, and to strengthen your faith in Him. Consider then this Holy Week not as your work or obligation, but rather as the opportunity that God works on you, saying to you, Take eat and Drink of it all of you for the forgiveness of your sins. That God works on you and says, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” That the Lord works on you and says, “On the seventh Day God rested from all His work in the tomb.” That God works on you and says, “He is not here. He is risen just as He said.”

Malachi speaks four hundred years before the life of Christ, but his message is fulfilled even among us. And this final thing I leave with you. That Jesus is enough. That Jesus’ work during this Holy Week justifies and sanctifies you. That Christ’s death on the cross atones for you. That God the Father’s offering of His only-begotten Son for the sins of the world is enough. Malachi himself declares, Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in former years. That offering, Jesus Christ the Lord, is sufficient for your salvation. This messenger was sent, and this message was preached and even you believe it, that Jesus Christ died on the cross for the forgiveness of your sins, and that He rose again so that you too shall live forever.

In the holy name of Jesus. Amen.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. James Peterson
St. John Lutheran Church
Curtis, Nebraska

©2025 James Peterson. All rights reserved. Permission granted to copy, share and display freely for non-commercial purposes. Direct all other rights and permissions inquiries to cosmithb@msn.com

[Eleventh in a series of posts on Last Things] Encore Post: Jesus repeatedly warned his disciples that they would be hated for his sake. Already in the Beatitudes, Jesus tells them they will be blessed when they are persecuted and slandered for his sake, for they have the kingdom of heaven and are like the prophets who came before them. (Matthew 5:10-12) He tells them that being a disciple means taking up their cross and following him. (Matthew 16:24-26) The enemies of Jesus and his gospel would arrest you and throw you in prison, bring you before kings and governors. Even parents, family members, and friends will betray you to the authorities. Some will even be put to death. You need not worry, however, because the Holy Spirit will give you the words to speak. Yet you will not perish. (Luke 21:12-19)

So, as a sign of the end, this prediction is nothing new for them or for us. That it is associated with the end of days should not be a surprise. It is not, as some millennialist writers believe, a specific prophecy of the persecution of the Jewish church after the rapture. Like the previous sign, they describe the times that are infected by sin and its effects.

This prophecy was fulfilled in the days following the Ascension of Jesus and continuing to the present. All but one of the apostles died a martyr’s death. Throughout the early Church, persecution occurred from time to time. The witness of these early witnesses to Jesus was so impressive that pagans — including persecutors came to faith. As Tertullian put it, “The blood of the martyrs is seed for the church.”

Throughout the ages, the church has continued to be persecuted until today, and more Christians are persecuted and martyred than in all of history. Like their Lord, they laid down their lives for Jesus. When Jesus returns in glory, they will come with him to greet those of us who are alive on that day. With them numbered may we be, here and in eternity.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

©2019 Robert E. Smith. All rights reserved. Permission granted to copy, share and display freely for non-commercial purposes. Direct all other rights and permissions inquiries to cosmithb@msn.com

[Tenth in a series of posts on Last Things] Encore Post: When Jesus’ disciples asked him for signs of the end of the age, the first sign he gave them came with a warning not to be deceived. (Luke 21:8) The Lord warns us that two things will happen. First, there will be people who claim to be christ. Second, others will tell you the end is near, but it is not. ( Luke 21:8, Matthew 24:5 , 11, 23-28) But Christ will not return secretly, as the Jehovah’s Witnesses teach, or by birth, as Sun Myung Moon claimed when he declared himself the second coming of Christ, or as a prophet who came after Christ, like Muhammad and Joseph Smith, or many others. Christ will return from the sky with all his angels and the saints who have gone before us to Heaven. Every eye will see him. In addition to these, in almost every generation, some false prophet or another would appear and announce they knew what even the Son of God did not know — the date of the Second Advent.

Like all of the Biblical signs of the end, these signs were fulfilled during the lifetime of the Apostles and every generation since. These describe our times, not specific events to be checked off. False Christs show how desperately the devil wants to take God’s children away from Him. It tells us, as do the other signs, that the age is coming to an end and that Christ can really return at a time we do not know.

Instead of false Christs, their fake miracles and promises, we seek Christ where He truly is. He is with us until the end of time already — in his word purely proclaimed, in baptism, and especially in the Lord’s Supper. There he comes to us to give us his body to eat with bread and his blood to drink with wine. There, he offers what he earned for us on the cross — the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation. We look forward to the day when he returns from Heaven to bring an end to sin, death, and the power of the devil. On that day, he will wipe every tear from our eyes and bring us to his new Heaven and new Earth forever.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

©2019 Robert E. Smith. All rights reserved. Permission granted to copy, share and display freely for non-commercial purposes. Direct all other rights and permissions inquiries to cosmithb@gmail.com

[Ninth in a series of posts on Last Things] Encore Post: The second sign that Jesus gave to his disciples to show the world is coming to an end is that there will be wars and rumors of war. (Matthew 24:6-7, Luke 21:9)

The first time we read this prophecy, it strikes us as kind of strange. After all, there is nothing unusual about wars and rumors of wars. In fact, this is a constant problem for people seeking to determine the year of Christ’s coming. The way they cope with it is to admit that, yes, there have always been wars. But they will get more and more intense as we get closer to the end. They do have a point there, since Jesus describes these signs as labor pains. At first, labor pains come far apart. The closer you get to birth, however, the more frequently and more intensely they come.

The difficulty with this kind of sign, however, is that wars sometimes come one after another, and at other times, years pass with few happening. So, most Romans at the time of Jesus did not experience war. The peace of Rome kept things quiet in most places. Yet, in thirty years, the Jewish people would see war in full measure as the Roman legions crushed a revolt in the Holy Land. In our day, the two worst wars of all time happened in the early and middle of the twentieth century. Nothing like that has happened since, thank God. The wars we and other powers have waged were much smaller.

So, for the purpose of pinning down when the end will come, they do not help much. So, why did Jesus give them? This sign is about helping us to see that all is not well in the world and that it will one day come to an end. He did not want us to do what Christians sometimes do. When they suffer in war, they worry that everything will come to an end right away, and they will suffer more. Or they may be convinced that this would be the war to end all wars. Instead, we should take them as a reminder that Christ will indeed come again and to encourage us to cling to him in faith as we look forward to the New Heavens and the New Earth, where war will cease and we will live in the peace of God that has no end.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

©2019 Robert E. Smith. All rights reserved. Permission granted to copy, share and display freely for non-commercial purposes. Direct all other rights and permissions inquiries to cosmithb@msn.com

[Seventh in a series of posts on Last Things] Encore Post: Before the world comes to an end, Jesus told his disciples, there would be earthquakes, famines and pestilences. Fearful things and strange signs in the heavens would appear. (Luke 21:11, Matthew 24:7) As with wars and rumors of wars, these signs aren’t of much help in predicting the Second Coming of Christ. After all, disaster is part of the curse that Adam and Eve received for committing the first sin. St. Paul describes creation as subject to futility, groaning like a woman in childbirth. (Romans 8:20-22)

Pastor Hans Fiene observes that, because of the fall, the creation is cursed, having been turned from harmony with us to being hostile towards us. The world is trying to kill us with extremes of heat and cold, disease, floods, forest fires, famine, and other disasters. Human beings need to exercise dominion over it to survive.

These signs were present from the very day Jesus predicted them would be. Even as Jesus died on the cross, an earthquake struck the Holy Land and the sun went dark during midday. Famine struck during the dark days of the AD 60s and 70s. Throughout the millennia that followed, many natural disasters have destroyed many lives.

Many Christians have concluded that these events will become more and more frequent as we get closer to the Second Advent. Perhaps. The problem is we will never know for sure that such indicates the return of Christ in our generation. The key to understanding what these events tell us is to realize they describe the time from the Ascension to the Second Coming. They are not like the prophecy of the Virgin Birth, the town of Bethlehem or the precision of Psalm 22 describing the crucifixion. What these signs do is remind us that the world is cursed and will one day fail. It keeps us from getting too comfortable in our sin and warns us to repent and cling to Christ.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

©2019 Robert E. Smith. All rights reserved. Permission granted to copy, share and display freely for non-commercial purposes. Direct all other rights and permissions inquiries to cosmithb@msn.com

Encore Post: Martin Chemnitz was a gifted churchman. He reformed churches, examined and taught pastors, preached, and brought doctrinal unity to regions he supervised. As a skilled ecclesiastical diplomat, he helped to settle disagreements between theologians. As a careful, well-read, and thorough author, he clarified Martin Luther’s teachings and forged bodies of doctrine for Lutheran territories. Most importantly, he led a team of theologians in crafting the Formula of Concord and gathering the chief confessions of the Lutheran church into one volume, The Book of Concord.

Martin Chemnitz was born in Treuenbrietzen in Brandenburg. Saxony, Germany, on 9 November 1522 to Paul and Euphemia Chemnitz and baptized in St. Mary’s Church. His father died when he was eleven years old. To help support the family, he first became a weaver’s apprentice and later worked for his brother in the family business. When he was twenty, he began his university studies, interrupted by the need to work to finance his education, teaching school, and collecting local taxes on fish. He briefly attended the University of Wittenberg, where he studied under Philipp Melanchthon, and heard Martin Luther lecture and preach.

After the death of Luther, Chemnitz attended the then-new University of Königsberg, where he served as the librarian for the Duke of Prussia and the University. He used the time to read widely and begin his study of theology. He returned to Wittenberg in 1554 to study under Melanchthon and lecture on the reformer’s Loci Communes.

Martin Chemnitz was ordained in November of 1554 by Johannes Bugenhagen to become co-adjutor of Joachim Mörlin, who was ecclesiastical superintendent for the Duchy of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel and a leader in the Gnesio Lutheran movement. In 1566, he succeeded Mörlin as superintendent, in which office he served until his death.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

©2022 Robert E. Smith. All rights reserved. Permission granted to copy, share and display freely for non-commercial purposes. Direct all other rights and permissions inquiries to cosmithb@gmail.com

[Eighth in a series of posts on Last Things] Encore Post: As winter approaches in many areas of the world, plants and animals begin to prepare for the change in the climate of their home. In the American Midwest, the leaves on many trees change color and fall from their branches. The Canada geese first fly in circles and then most head south for the season. The juncos, small sparrow-like birds, are the last to leave where I live and the first to arrive in spring. When these things happen, you can expect winter weather, and cold will not be far behind.

The date of Christ’s return is unknown to us. Jesus taught that even he did not know when it would happen — only the Father in Heaven. (Matthew 24:36) Yet we do know Jesus’ return is near. He told his disciples that they know summer is near when the fig tree starts to grow leaves. They knew — and we know — that time is growing short because we see the signs of the times that the Lord gave them.

Yet the signs of the times are not specific events, nor are they like variables in some prophecy algebra problem — you know — insert the invention of television, the establishment of the modern nation of Israel, the identity of the anti-Christ, and the use of bar codes, and then you know the year of Christ’s return. These signs are like those that identify the season — they tell us the kind of times that we live in. These signs tell us the world is passing away.

Since Jesus told his disciples they would see these signs in their generation, what is taking so long? Over two thousand years does not seem like soon — at the very gates — to us. St. Peter explains this to us. The return of Christ is not measured on our human calendar. It is on God’s scale. For the Father, a thousand years pass like a day passes for us. (2 Peter 3:8-9)

We had a similar experience. When we are on a long trip with young children, they often ask: “Are we there yet?” We say, “soon.” But while an hour or two is soon for us, it is very long for the children! He waits for the last person who will be saved to repent. And we should be glad for it — it includes us!

Yet still we remain alert. We do not know when that day will come, and the great marriage feast of the Lamb will begin. We want to be ready for that party!

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

©2019 Robert E. Smith. All rights reserved. Permission granted to copy, share and display freely for non-commercial purposes. Direct all other rights and permissions inquiries to cosmithb@msn.com

[Seventh in a series of posts on Last Things] Encore Post: The question that most haunts our lives is the question of life after death. What will it be like? Will our spirits wander the earth, becoming the ghosts of popular imagination? Will they gain new bodies to work off negative karma? Merge with the whole universe or become a spiritual guide for others for a while? Will they go to a dark underworld forever? Will they go to a place to purge their remaining sins before being fit for heaven? Or will they cease to exist entirely when our bodies die? The Scripture tells us firmly “no” to these things. None of these fates awaits us or our loved ones.

It may come as a complete surprise, but Scripture tells us very little about what happens to us when death rips our souls apart from our bodies. Most of the passages that speak about the end of things focus on the second coming of Jesus Christ, the resurrection of the bodies of all people, the glorious transformation of our bodies into our eternal, spiritual bodies, the last judgement, and eternal life for the saints and eternal death for the damned. The few things it tells us are often vague, sometimes speaking of their intermediate state (the theologian’s term for the time between death and the resurrection), and other times of our glorious bodies. There is even some doubt whether there is an intermediate state at all from the perspective of the soul.

No matter which description fits a Christian at the moment of death, for a Christian, eternal life begins before death, when God adopts that person as his own son or daughter. Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me, even if he dies, yet shall he live. And he who lives and believes in me shall never die.” (John 11:25-26; see also John 3:26, 5:24). They commend their souls into the hands of God. (Acts 7:59, Luke 23:46) For those without faith, death brings with it eternal separation from God, a prison for spirits (1 Peter 3:19) until the Last Judgement, after which eternal punishment in Hell with Satan and his angels awaits.

So, what can we conclude about the life our loved ones who departed in Christian faith enjoy now, while waiting for the resurrection of their bodies? They are with Christ in paradise (Philippians 1:23, Luke 23:43). The angels carry them to be with him and others who died in the faith. (Luke 16:19-31) There, God will comfort them and dry every tear from their eyes. (Revelation 7:16-17, 21:4) They are at rest from their labors, as Christ rested in the tomb on Holy Saturday. The deeds they did with faith in Christ will follow them. (Revelation 14:13) They are free once and for all from the Old Adam or Old Eve that plagued them in this life, and their sin are purged from their souls. (2 Timothy 4:18) They will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their father (Matthew 13:43).

What is certain is that, as glorious as life is in the presence of Christ now, the best is yet to come. When their souls return with Christ at the second advent, he will raise their bodies from the grave, reunite them with their souls, and transform them to be fit for eternity. Life in the world with Christ is good, at rest with Jesus better, but by far the best is yet to come. On that day, God will once again look at all he had made, and now redeemed, and say, “Look! It is very good!”

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

©2022-2024 Robert E. Smith. All rights reserved. Permission granted to copy, share and display freely for non-commercial purposes. Direct all other rights and permissions inquiries to cosmithb@msn.com

[Sixth in a series of posts on Last Things]Encore Posts: In Holy Baptism, Jesus unites Christians with his death and resurrection. Our sins are drowned in its waters, washed away forever. His death is our death, and his resurrection guarantees our resurrection. In his wounds, we are healed. (Isaiah 53:5) Yet every Christian will suffer and get sick. Except for the Christians alive when Christ returns, all people alike, rich and poor, evil and saintly, will die and their bodies decay. Jesus promised Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26) So, why do all Christians — including Mary, Martha, and Lazarus — still die?

The answer is very simple, but not very satisfying. The wages of sin is death. (Genesis 2:17, 3:17, Romans 6:23, Romans 8:10, James 1:15) God’s wrath punishes our rebellion with physical death (Psalm 90). Sin infects us through many means. We inherited original sin when we were conceived. Just as DNA is passed on to us, from parent to child, ultimately from our first father, Adam, so also is original sin passed on to us. (Romans 5:12) So, we continue to sin much daily. God’s sentence for this rebellion is that the soul that sins will die. (Ezekiel 18:4)

Our old Adam and old Eve, the sinful desire within us, called by Scripture the flesh, fills us with emotion and overcomes even our common sense. The world calls on us to fit in and thus abandon God’s will for us. Finally, the devil tempts us and tries to intimidate us into looking to our own interests. Baptism saves us but does not free us from the sinful flesh. The struggle between these forces on the one side and our new nature on the other lasts as long as we live. Only our death or the return of Christ ends this lifelong battle.

For those who suffer the death of loved ones, there is no tougher trial than the grief that follows. So, let there be no illusions: death is no friend. It is the last enemy to be defeated. (1 Corinthians 15:26) So, why does Scripture tell us: “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.” (Psalm 116:15)

Because Jesus died and rose again from the dead, the seal of the grave is broken forever. Now, for a Christian, death is the gateway to everlasting life. (John 5:24) Suffering comes to an end for them. Sin is removed from them. Their sorrows are turned to joy forever. (Isaiah 51:11, Isaiah 26:19) He wipes every tear from their eyes. (Isaiah 25:8, Revelation 7:17, 21:4) No one can snatch them from his hand. (John 10:27-30) They see God face to face (1 Corinthians 13:12) and live in the arms of their savior. They rest from their labors (Revelation 14:13).

So, Christians still die because they still sin. For them, however, death brings the blessings of eternal life. So we who miss them greatly grieve, but not as though without hope. (1 Thessalonians 4:13) The musings of Dr. Martin Luther at the death of his daughter say it well: “I am joyful in spirit, but I am sad according to the flesh. The flesh doesn’t take kindly to this. The separation troubles me above measure. It’s strange to know that she is surely at peace and that she is well off there, very well off, and yet to grieve so much!” (AE 54: 432, no. 5498).

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana 

©2022 Robert E. Smith. All rights reserved. Permission granted to copy, share and display freely for non-commercial purposes. Direct all other rights and permissions inquiries to cosmithb@msn.com