Encore Post: Lucia was a virgin maiden born in Syracuse, Sicily, to a well-to-do family in the Roman Empire around the year 286 AD. She was put to death for her faith around the year 304 AD, during Emperor Diocletian’s persecution. She is upheld in nearly every Christian tradition that remembers and commemorates the saints. Lutherans commemorate her day on December 13th. Other traditions, such as the Roman Catholic Church, hold a Mass on her day in her honor. While Lutherans do not have a festival service with the Eucharist on her specific day, Lutherans with connections to Scandinavia are more likely to hold some kind of service, whether a Divine Service or, more simply, a prayer office on that day.
What do we know about Lucia? Well, unfortunately, we know very little, honestly. The oldest records come from the 5th-century book Acts of the Martyrs. All of Lucia’s accounts agree that she was betrothed to a man who was not a Christian. According to the traditional story, Lucia was born into a wealthy family. Her father was of Roman origin, but died when Lucia was quite young. Lucia’s mother was of Greek descent.
As Lucia got older, she took the Christian faith more seriously, even consecrating herself to the Lord, meaning that she was to remain a virgin. However, she did not mention this to her mother. Her mother, fearing for Lucia’s future, arranged for Lucia to be married to the wealthy young son of a pagan family.
Now, this is where the legend becomes weird to our Lutheran ears. Lucia’s mother was sick with a bleeding disorder (from my reading of the different accounts, it sounds like the flow of blood of the woman in the Gospels). 52 years before, St. Agatha, another virgin, had been martyred. It is said that St. Agatha appeared to Lucia in a dream, encouraging her to persuade her mother to take a pilgrimage to Catania. Mom went and was cured of her disorder, and Lucia convinced her to allow the dowry for her impending marriage to be given away to the poor. This did not sit well with the man to whom she was to be married.
Lucia’s husband was said to have sent word to the Governor of Syracuse, accusing her of being a Christian. The Governor took Lucia into custody and ordered her to burn incense to the Emperor. Lucia refused to do so. The Governor then ordered her to be sexually assaulted. Legend also states that when they tried to move her from place to place, a team of oxen was unable to move her. Then they attempted to kill her by burning, but the wood would not catch fire. Lucia was killed with a sword. Other traditions speak about her eyes being gouged out and given to the man whom she was to marry because he prized her eyes. We do not know the truth of such claims.
Lucia’s name appears to be connected to the Latin “Lux” or “light.” Many traditions, especially those in Scandinavia, connect Lucia to light. She is a bearer of light in the darkness of winter. Some traditions that still occur in households involve setting a crown of candles on the head of the daughter of the house, and her going to each family member’s room in the morning with “St. Lucia Buns.” They are baked goods that incorporate saffron into the dough.
While Saint Lucia may not be well known today, she can serve as a model for keeping the faith and expressing hope in the Lord Jesus, who has called all his Christians to take up their cross and follow Him daily. While Lucia’s story is likely embellished in places, we can and should remember her as a saint who died for her faith in the face of brutal persecution. Like all the faithful who call on the name of the Lord, she has been given the crown of life and basks in the light of our Lord’s mercy.
Encore Post: “Who are you?” That was the question the Jews had when John came on the scene. John confessed and did not deny, but confessed emphatically that he was not the Christ. Okay, that makes sense. He must be Elijah then, for Elijah was said to return according to the prophet Malachi. But John’s answer to that question had to leave the Jews scratching their heads. He said he wasn’t Elijah either, at least not Elijah returned from Heaven. Perhaps he was the prophet who was to come, the Prophet like Moses. Nope, that’s not it either. So, John was a perplexing figure, to say the least.
They couldn’t figure him out. They seem to be on the right track to some extent, but just can’t seem to connect the dots. Especially when John speaks of himself as the voice crying in the wilderness, “Make straight the way of the Lord.” While the Pharisees wanted to know more about John, John didn’t seem to care much about making himself known. He had one job. And he was set on doing it well. He was proclaiming the One who was to come. That’s the message that John was to proclaim, not preach himself but Christ.
John preached a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, and that one was coming who would baptize with the Holy Spirit. The work of making the Lord’s way straight was beginning. It was falling into place. For the Lord was coming soon to the river Jordan, and His ministry was quickly beginning. Rejoice!
But the Jews did not rejoice. No, they played the part of John 1. Jesus came to his own and they received them not. John the Baptist makes it sound like Jesus is actually in the midst of the crowd listening to the conversation that very day, when he says, “I baptize with water, but among you stands one you do not know, even he who comes after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.” Jesus was unknown to these Jews, a face easily forgotten in the sea of people around them out in the wilderness. But to those who heard and believed the preaching of John, they were made sons and daughters of God.
John tries with all his might to make sure, once and for all, that everyone who hears his voice understands that He is not the Christ. Even though John came in the spirit and power of Elijah, and Jesus in the synoptic Gospels, leads his disciples to understand John to be the fulfillment of Malachi 4, John never says that He is Elijah. That would be too much for the people. They would follow John rather than follow Christ. And in fact, even though John worked hard to confess that he was not the Christ, there is still a small remnant of people who hold to John the Baptist as the Messiah to this day. You can learn about some of this in the book of Acts, where a couple of men who were baptized into John’s baptism but had not understood John’s preaching to trust in the one who was to come after him, Jesus.
John was bold and confident. And could be based on God’s Word. John trusted the promises of God, he himself being the fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah 40, and also the promise that he would have the spirit and power of Elijah. He certainly has the voice and appearance down, wearing rough camel-hair clothing and eating locusts and honey. And he desires you to trust boldly in the promises that God has made. May we be so bold as to hold to every word that comes from the Lord.
Good news would come from the one upon whom the Spirit of God would descend and remain. You have John’s own testimony, a few verses later, confirming that when Jesus came to be baptized, numbering himself with the transgressors, that He saw the Spirit of God descend upon him and remain.You have Jesus’ own words in Luke 4 saying that this prophecy was being fulfilled as the people gathered in the synagogue heard Jesus speak to them. Yet, they acted like the Pharisees and would not believe His Words. And then you have Jesus’ own work healing the sick, the lame, and forgiving their sins, too. What do you do you see and what do you hear? The Lord’s favor was coming and has come in Jesus! Rejoice!
He has come to bring you good news, but he brings the word of restoration. He came to rebuild and restore, to reconcile and bring peace. Isaiah 61 looks forward to the time when the exiles will be brought home. Jerusalem would be destroyed, burned to the ground; it would be devastated. In the return from exile, the Jews would rebuild, yes, but it would be a shell of its former glory. The real temple would come when Jesus came and dwelt in their midst, just as he did, and the temple of his body would be destroyed, but in three days it would be raised back up. God would dwell with humanity forevermore. That God and man are reconciled to one another by the One John proclaimed would come.
John was not trying to fool the Pharisees, the Jews, or anyone else. He was pretty upfront with them. Search the Scriptures, test His words against them, see that John is there fulfilling the purpose he was sent to perform. He is pointing to Christ, not to himself. Don’t worry too much about knowing John is, but rather worry about knowing Christ!
John rightly testifies of Jesus being the bridegroom, and He bears the gifts of the bridegroom for his bride. “Rejoice and be glad for your Bridegroom has come!” says John. And He comes with his robe of righteousness for you! These are your words and John’s words to say, “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul shall exult in my God!” Why? For He comes bearing my salvation. He comes to set me free. As the beautiful hymn Wake Awake For Night is Flying says in the 2nd stanza, “Zion hears the watchmen singing, And all her heart with joy is springing; She wakes and rises from her gloom.” Rejoice!
You heard John’s forthright preaching. How He calls you to account for your sins, especially the ones that are stuck to the bottom of the pot that is your heart, but once He has scraped them and agitated your hearts, John also points you to the remedy of all your sins. Your bridegroom, Jesus. He comes to you, cleansing you from your sins. We look to the font, the place where water and word washed over us, where Christ calls us His own. We look to the white garment given to us then, reminding us of the pure robe of righteousness that Christ has put on us. And we can continually remember our baptisms throughout all our days, coming to Christ, confessing our sins daily, repenting of them, and trusting His promise to forgive our sins. That is the baptismal life in a nutshell. Continually recognizing our failings to keep God’s laws and to be in alignment with them, and receiving from God mercy and forgiveness, and trying again. Our life is one of repentance. Our robes don’t always look white and pristine. Most time they are as black as coal. But rejoice! Yes, rejoice for Christ comes to cleanse you to raise you up, and bind up your broken hearts, and repeat to you the blessed Good News that He has come and He has come to save you.
And He comes bearing you every good gift. He comes to give you Himself, His own body and blood that is the new covenant, the everlasting covenant. Rejoice! Know and believe the good news that the Lord Jesus has come to save you from sin and death. You who have been sinned against by your loved ones, who have been put down, those of you ashamed of your sins that have come to light, and those that could come to light. Know you have been set free by the Bridegroom who willingly laid down his life for his bride and cleansed her with his own blood. He paid the dowry to take you as His bride with his own blood. You are far more precious to Him than any silver or gold, so he pays with his body and blood. And now he comes to you, giving to you that same body and blood to strengthen your faith in these dreary days, that you might cling ever so more tightly to His promise of His coming again. Eat and Drink believing His Words, receive His peace and comfort that comes with knowing that He comes to you that you might be rescued from the clutches of Satan.
The promise will never be broken. Just like the prophecies that He would come, so He comes known to you in His Word and Sacraments. As John the Baptist says, “Behold Him, Yes here. For Christ is in your midst now. Rejoice, O Bride of Christ, for your fortunes have been restored, and He has come and done glorious things in your midst. He has come to save you.
In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Encore Post: Zechariah should have known better. He was a Levite and a priest with decades of experience. He was steeped in the Torah, the Psalms, and the Prophets. He knew God had a habit of giving children to the barren—Abraham and Hannah, the mother of the great Samuel, prophet, priest, and judge. When an angel appears to you, you listen. And here the angel of God’s presence, Gabriel, stood before him when he offered to God the prayer of God’s people. He promised a supernatural birth and gave a name to his one and only son, whom he would love. Yet he doubted and was kept from speaking until the birth. His words, “His name is John,” would be his first words after that. In his song, which we sing in the Matins worship service, he prophesied the role of his child, the last and greatest of the prophets. John, the herald of the Messiah, would be the capstone of the Old Testament.
John the Baptist had all the credentials to be the Messiah. His father was a priest, descended from Aaron. His mother was related to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and so perhaps descended from King David. An angel in God’s temple announced John’s birth while his father was offering the prayers of the people to God.
Both of his parents were very old, like Abraham and Sarah, and barren, like Hannah, mother of Samuel. God named him John (God’s gift). In the same way, He named Isaac and changed Jacob’s name to Israel.
The angel announced John would come in the spirit and power of Elijah, one of the greatest prophets. So John would qualify to be a prophet, priest, and king. Yet from the very start, he and his parents understood John was not the Messiah, but the one who would reveal him to the world and prepare the way for him. Jesus called him the greatest prophet. (Matthew 11:9-14) John the Baptist closed the Old Testament. He was the first witness to the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world.
Encore Post: Christmas in America doesn’t seem possible without Santa Claus. In an image first drawn by Thomas Nast for Harper’s Weekly in 1863 and shaped to his current form by Haddon Sundblum for a Coca-Cola advertising campaign, the jolly Saint Nick is said to live at the North Pole, making toys for children to give on Christmas Eve. Our Santa’s legend has grown from the Dutch form of the Father Christmas story, where candies were distributed on December 6. Through poems, songs, and TV specials, the story continues to change each year. Many Americans tell their children that Christmas gifts come from him.
Yet the image did begin with the story of a real St. Nicholas, a Greek bishop who cared for God’s people during the most intense persecution of the Church before the 20th Century. Nicholas was born to wealthy Christian parents, who died during his early manhood. Nicholas followed his uncle into the priesthood and was chosen Bishop of Myra, a town in what is now Turkey. His legend says he gave away his parents’ wealth to the poor, but, being a humble man, he did so secretly. One story tells of a father who lost his wealth during a tragedy. Unable to afford a dowry for his three daughters, he feared he would have to sell them as slaves or hire them as prostitutes. Upon hearing the story, Bishop Nicholas resolved to help. On two successive nights, he slipped a bag of gold through the girls’ window. In the morning, the father was greatly thankful to his mystery patron. So he watched on the third night for the donor to appear. Unmasking Nicholas, the saint apparently begged him, unsuccessfully, to keep his generosity a secret. The girls, now each with a generous dowry, were married successfully and escaped a depressing fate. From this story, the Dutch legend of Sinterklaas developed, who is said to give children gifts on December 6. This story came across the Atlantic during the colonization of New Amsterdam (New York).
During the Great Persecution under Emperor Diocletian of Rome, Nicholas was thrown into prison and tortured in an attempt to get him to renounce his faith. Remaining faithful to Christ, he was released by Emperor Constantine the Great. One legend places Bishop Nicholas at the Council of Nicea, where he is said to have slapped Arius the heretic and to have temporarily lost his office for the incident. Restored to office, he stood up for his people, battled idolatry and heresy, and intervened with authorities from time to time to protect his flock and the poor in general.
Encore Post: Great forest fires, earthquakes, hurricanes and floods are all over our news. Acts of unspeakable evil and cruelty occur on almost a weekly basis. A nation routinely kills babies in the womb, celebrates immorality, and lectures the church when it doesn’t join them. All the signs of the end of days fill our TVs, cell phones, and computer screens. It makes you just want to scream, “Tear open the heavens and get down here, Lord, and do something about it! What are you waiting for? (See Isaiah 64)
To most of the world’s religions, the high god who made the world is a distant god, who made the world and is tired of it, going away to leave it to lesser gods and our own devices. We are left alone to deal with the mess that is our world and our part in making it worse. Even more modern thinkers, like the Deists, thought of God as a great watchmaker, who made the world capable of running itself, wound it up, and walked away. Pop songs muse: “God is watching us… from a distance” and “The Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost, they caught the last train for the coast, the day the music died.” We just have to cope, they advise.
Advent breaks into that mood and reminds us that it is not true at all. The God who made the world and called it “very good” intends to do something about it. He promised to come himself, in the person of his Son, born of a woman, to become one of us. It reminds us that he kept that promise and to prepare to celebrate his coming, receive him as he comes to us each day, and how he will finally come to set things right.
The season of Advent developed over the centuries to do just that. Like Lent prepares the church to celebrate Easter, Advent prepares the church to celebrate Christmas. For some, it was also a season of repentance, as a deliberate counter to the wild and immoral way pagans celebrate their December holidays. So in many places, during Advent, the color is purple or black; the Gloria is not sung, and people fast. For others, it is a season of hope, with blue as the color and carols sung to anticipate Christmas.
Either way, the church cries out: “Stir up your power, O Lord, and come!” Come as you did, born to die that we might live. Come with your grace and live among us. Come and bring us all home to be with you. Come, Lord Jesus, Come!
Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
The theme is this: The Lord anoints a king from Bethlehem.
When you’re trying to pick someone for your basketball team, usually you pick the tallest person, the best shooter, or the fastest runner. You would never pick the short, stubby kid who’s just there to get out of the house for the afternoon.
Or when you’re trying to pick someone for a job, you usually want someone with experience, or someone who is responsible, or someone who has good references. You would never pick someone who is least qualified, least educated, or least able to do the work. There are no blind umpires; for example, city folk oftentimes are not ready for farm work.
We look at appearances. We judge the book by its cover. What did they just call it in the College Football Playoff? The eye-test? It’s no longer about how many wins you have, but how you look on the field. We look at appearances, but God looks at the heart.
That’s the case in our reading this evening. Saul was the tallest and the most handsome guy to be king, the very first king over Israel. By all appearances, he looked like a leader, talked like a leader, and he was anointed and appointed to be the leader. But Saul’s heart was rotten. Saul’s faith was failing. Like so many people in our world today, Saul believed in himself, but He did not believe in the God who anointed him.
It comes as no surprise that Samuel the priest was quite disappointed. Our reading says, The Lord said to Samuel, ‘How long will you grieve over Saul, since I have rejected him from being king over Israel? Surely we have felt this way before. We picked the best player, but then he got injured. Or we picked the most qualified employee, but he left for a bigger and better job and was not loyal to the company. Bigger is not always better. Taller is not always faster. Stronger is not always smarter.
And so the Lord says to Samuel, Fill your horn with oil, and go. I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.” Who? Where? Jesse from Bethlehem? Who is that? What about Jonathan, Saul’s son? No, it will not be Saul’s son. It will not be Jonathan. For as the Lord says, He does not look at appearances; the Lord looks at the heart. The Lord will anoint a king from Bethlehem.
But Samuel the priest is not up to the task. Like Moses, he is scared to death of the mission of God. He is scared to death of the power of the earthly king. And Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me.” And the Lord said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’ And invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do. And you shall anoint for me him whom I declare to you.” Aren’t we all like Samuel? Scared to death to invite our neighbors to church? Scared to death that we might be cancelled by the culture? Scared to death that we might offend someone we care about?
We all are. And yet God’s answer is simple. Do what God says. The text reads, Samuel did what the Lord commanded and came to Bethlehem. And he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice. Do what God says. Priest, make a sacrifice and anoint my man to be king. It is often difficult to do what God says for all the reasons given above. But when we do what God says, we have nothing and no one to fear.
As we all know, Samuel anointed David, the son of Jesse. The Lord anointed a king in Bethlehem. But David’s brothers, who are not anointed, give us a clue about the coming King who is both David’s Son and David’s Lord. Each of these names points us beyond David to Jesus, the King of Israel.
Jesse’s firstborn son Eliab’s name means “God is my Father.”
The next brother Abinadab’s name means “Father who vows.”
And the third brother Shammah’s name means “loss.”
The fourth brother Nethanel’s name means “God has given.”
The fifth brother Raddai’s name means “Ruler coming down.”
The sixth brother Ozem’s name means “eagerness.”
And finally, David’s name means “beloved.” Let’s put it all together. God is my Father. He is a father who vows and makes promises. God will lose His Son. God will give His Son. God’s Son is a Ruler coming down. God’s Son is eager and willing to forgive and to save His people from their sins. And finally, Jesus is the beloved Son, with whom God is well-pleased.
Jesse’s sons’ names clarify the promises of God. Certainly, the Lord anointed David to be king in Bethlehem. And certainly the Lord anointed a king greater than David to be king from Bethlehem for the whole world. Certainly, David’s name means “beloved.” And certainly Jesus is the beloved Son whom God has given because He loved the world.
David would not be the first king we would choose, for he was the youngest, the smallest, and the shepherd boy. And yet God made Him mighty for the nation of Israel. And Jesus certainly would not be the first king of Israel that you would think, born in a manger and hanged on a cross.
And yet, the Lord anointed His King in Bethlehem, King Jesus, who lives and reigns still and always. And this King did far more than win battles and expand territory. Jesus saved us from sin, rescued from death, and defeated the devil. His territory is in your hearts and souls. For God does not look at outward appearances, but He looks at the heart, hearts of faith and joy in Him. And His territory is right here in this church and right there in the heights of heaven.
David was great, but Jesus was greater. David was a king, but Jesus is still King. David was anointed, but Jesus was anointed, the Messiah of the Old Testament and the Christ in the New Testament. David was beloved, but Jesus was God’s only begotten and beloved Son.
The Lord anointed a King in Bethlehem, Jesus Christ, who reigns both now and forevermore.
I’m compiling an ever-increasing list of errors, failures, and generally bad advice that rose to prominence in the 20th century. While the list is mostly church-related, there are familial and societal issues mingled in. This topic is more familial with theological undertones. Following are five good standards for young people to find a mate (or having one found for them).
First: Faith & Practice
Coming into the 20th century, the prevailing wisdom for young people was to find a husband or a wife within their church tradition, even within their language group (Wendish, German, Polish, Czech, French, etc.). At the turn of the 21st century, that wisdom faded into a hollow hope. Certainly, you’ve heard some statements like these: “At least they’re a Christian.” “I think they believe.” “They might convert when kids come along.”
An unbeliever or a noncommittal Christian is unlikely to have a proper moral compass either. Husbands and wives are bound closer or separated further from each other by their adherence to God’s law. Dishonesty and unfaithfulness are two major disasters that may be averted by similar faith, practice, and commitment to the faith.
Should we be surprised at the rate of marital failure? Is the lack of families growing up in church any surprise? No, in both cases, this is entirely predictable. Confusion or uncertainty about the church in a marriage will lead to confusion, uncertainty, or, more likely, complete apostasy (abandoning the faith) among any children.
The older course is the better course. A generic believer or Christian isn’t good enough for your kids. They need a suitable mate with a high likelihood of marital success. Young people should look for a mate in the churches of their tradition and of close practice to their own. It’s no secret that a huge church in Houston, Dallas, or San Antonio and a small church in Fayette County are unlikely to gather for worship in similar ways. Encourage the young to look in familiar-sounding and looking churches. There are endless battles in marriage. Every sword we can take out of the hands of a world that hates faithful marriage is worth doing.
Second: Money
The number one cause of divorce in the United States remains money fights and money problems. The value of agreeing on how to manage our money before we earn it can’t be undersold. Along with Dave Ramsey, I suggest that giving, eliminating debt, and saving are the most peaceful ways for couples to manage their finances. Regardless of how, we have to agree on how to manage our money. Well-managed finances in a marriage are actually a tactic in fighting off divorce. It’s another weapon taken out of the world’s hand.
This one has a unique ability to be rectified on the fly. Couples can change the whole trajectory of the marriage or the failure by straightening out finances. Working together towards a common goal helps rebuild trust and intimacy. Fighting off the wolves at the door will steel us in our resolve toward each other.
Third: Kids
How many children will we have? How soon will we try? As an extension of the first point, what church will they attend? How will we be doing schooling? How will we guide them in dating? Disagreements here can easily shipwreck a marriage.
I encourage young people to marry young and have children early. My own life is a predictable, negative example. Waiting to marry and have children can place you outside the biological window. The desire to have children doesn’t automatically agree with God’s blessings in opening and closing the womb.
Modern medicine may be a tool to fight back, but not necessarily always advisedly. There are moral concerns with the unnecessary products of fertility. In some cases, those “products” are fertilized human embryos, you know, living babies, unneeded and presumably frozen in a suspended, unliving state forever.
It’s far simpler to marry well, marry young, and have babies soon.
Fourth: Attraction
He ought to find her pretty. She ought to find him handsome. We often downplay these criteria among Christians. “We should look for what’s inside.” Attraction is far more complex than it looks. However, physical attraction is an inseparable element. It makes a suitable shorthand for the whole of attraction.
Fifth: Submission & Headship
This was largely taboo for discussion among Christians in the mid to late 1900s. Fortunately, Christian gender roles are seeing a resurgence recently. For gals, y’all need to be hunting for a man who’s willing to lead. Leadership is not simply authority; it comes with responsibility. A man doesn’t get to shift blame. His leadership comes with being the sole culprit in our failures.
For the fellas, y’all need to be looking for a woman who can follow and support you. Power struggles within a marriage are a recipe for disaster. This disaster comes to us from the fall into sin. The native sin of the man is to shirk authority. The native sin of the woman is to seize it.
“To the woman He said: ‘I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; In pain you shall bring forth children; Your desire shall be over your husband, And he shall rule over you.”
Then to Adam He said, ‘Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’: Cursed is the ground for your sake; In toil you shall eat of it All the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, And you shall eat the herb of the field. In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread Till you return to the ground, For out of it you were taken; For dust you are, And to dust you shall return.’” (Genesis 3:16-19 KNJV)
Bonus: Parental Approval
Yes, your parents do need to approve. It may seem fun or edgy to rebel against their wisdom. It’s not to your benefit. They are God’s gift to you. Some of the stupidity they’re trying to preserve is their own. Your parents want a better life for you than their own.
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.
Encore post: Yes, we are living in the last days. All the signs of the return of Christ have been fulfilled. Jesus may return any moment now. So be ready! He is coming for you!
Now, to be fair, it has been the last days for nearly 2000 years now. The signs of the Second Advent were fulfilled before the New Testament Scriptures were written down. That is why the Apostles and every generation since their time fully expected to greet Jesus. Just like a child thinks a day lasts forever while days clip by ever faster as adults grow older, so two thousand years are to God short as the watch that ends the night before the rising sun. (2 Peter 3:8-10) Even if the end of days does not come in our day, the end of our days will come.
So, the end times are not a complicated weave of events, hidden in riddles recorded in the Book of Revelation. It is already here, ushered in when Jesus died, rose and ascended into heaven. Jesus is quite clear that “no one knows the day or hour” that he will return suddenly, like a thief in the night. It will be like the days of Noah. He doesn’t tip us off so we will remain alert, rather than relax and grow lazy.
In fact, the way Jesus tells us about that day is very simple and straightforward. He will return suddenly, accompanied by the angels and the saints. It will be sudden, complete and final. The angels gather us before the judgment throne. We are judged and the righteous live forever, the unrighteous thrown into hell with Satan and his demons.
For a Christian, this is greatly comforting. God will live with us forever. There will be no more sorrow, crying, grief and pain. Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!
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.
