"Everlasting Father" (Isaiah 9:6)

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Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen! Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder and his name shall be called … Everlasting Father …” (Isaiah 9:6).

Through these Advent midweeks, we have been going over the four titles of Jesus from Isaiah 9:6. 

 

We have learned that Jesus is the “Wonderful Counselor,” as He gave God’s counsel about our sin and His death on the cross for our salvation, which is foolishness to those who refuse to believe Him and His counsel. But for us who have been saved, the Holy Spirit has given us faith to rejoice in Jesus’ counsel as the power of God for our salvation.

 

We also learned that Jesus is “Mighty God.” Jesus is no mere human being. If He was just a mere human, then He could not have been our Savior and then we are still under the curse of our sins. Thanks be to God that Jesus is “Mighty God” who took upon Himself our human flesh to suffer and die on the cross in our place of punishment and then three days later conquered the power of death for us by His bodily resurrection.

 

Tonight, we will focus on the third title given to Jesus in Isaiah 9:6: “Everlasting Father.” You may have no issue with understanding “Wonderful Counselor” and “Mighty God”, but this third title can be a challenge. Afterall, Jesus is the Son of God, not God the Father. So, let’s focus on the word “Father.”

 

Scripture teaches us that there is only one God who exists in three distinct persons – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This is the divine mystery known as the Holy Trinity.

 

Even though Jesus is One with the Father, He is not the Father Himself. Jesus and the Father are two distinct Persons who are unified as One God with the Holy Spirit.

 

So, what does Isaiah mean when he says that Jesus will be called “Everlasting Father”?

 

Well, by that word “Father” Isaiah means that Jesus has made us His people and rules over us like a loving father.

 

Think of it this way. Sometimes people refer to George Washington as the “father” of our nation. They don’t mean that Washington is the literal father, but that he helped found the United States and he ruled over us as our first president. In a similar way, the word “father” describes the fact that Jesus rules over us and all creation with authority and power, above every name that is named. The government – both spiritual and temporal – is upon His shoulder.

 

In Colossians 1, God’s Word says, “[Jesus] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities – all things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together” (Colossians 1:15-16).

 

So, the One conceived in the womb of the virgin Mary is the Creator of all things and He rules over all things!

 

Now, this is very good news for us who believe in Jesus as our Savior from sin, death, and eternal damnation! You see, the title “Father” reminds us that Jesus made us to be new creations by saving us from our sins and reconciling us back to God. Also, this title “Father” teaches us that Jesus rules over all things – even when it appears that evil people have all the power in this fallen world.

 

It may appear that Jesus has no power or control at all when we pay attention to the news on tv, radio, internet or podcasts. It appears more like evil people keep getting away with evil: injustice, chaos, misery, and death.

 

But during such times, we must always remember that Jesus is in control even when circumstances seem to call that into question. You see, Jesus has always been in control – even when He was an infant in the womb of the virgin Mary.

 

So, just like children don’t always understand what their father does, we don’t always understand why Jesus rules in the way He does.

 

Nevertheless, Jesus promises to work in all things – even in trials and suffering – to bring about good for His people and glory for His Kingdom. 

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, nothing happens apart from Jesus’ will, and He will save all who repent of their sin and cling to Him. Jesus is your Savior-King, and He rules you as a loving father.

 

But what about that first word of tonight’s title – “Everlasting”? What does “Everlasting” mean? Well, “Everlasting” reminds us that Jesus is not just one more earthly ruler whose reign begins at some point in history and then ends at some point in history.

 

In Micah 5, God’s Word says: “But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for Me the One who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days” (Micah 5:2).

 

So, what does this mean? The Prophet Micah is saying that the future Savior who will be born in Bethlehem already exists! This Promised Savior exists before He is born! How can this be? Micah answers that too! Jesus is the eternal Son of God from ancient days!

 

Jesus is not like the rulers of earthly governments whose reigns have a beginning and then come to an end. Jesus is the eternal Creator! He is the Everlasting Father! His rule never ends!

 

Isaiah writes: “Of the increase of His government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over His kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forever more” (Isaiah 9:7).

 

What Isaiah is saying is that there was never a time when Jesus was not in control. So, even when Jesus was lying in a manger; even when Jesus was hanging on the cross, He was still the “Everlasting Father.”

 

Jesus – eternal God – became man and was born to save us from our sins. Through faith in Him, we are cleansed from our guilt, and we are at peace with God. 

 

Even though sin and evil abound all around us, Jesus is still the Everlasting Father! Jesus still rules His Kingdom! And one day, He will return in visible power and glory! Everyone will see that Jesus is the “Everlasting Father” – even those heathens who thought they were in control. On that day, we, who are in Christ, will rejoice that we get to live forever as citizens of Jesus’ Kingdom where there will be no more sin, and what it begets: pain and death.

 

Until that day of Christ’s coming, we live by faith – faith in God’s Word. Today, Jesus’ present reign as “Everlasting Father” is hidden from those who refuse to trust God’s Word. But for you and me who trust God’s Word, we can be sure that Jesus is the “Everlasting Father”!

 

On the Epiphany of Our Lord, the Magi traveled from the East to worship the “Everlasting Father” who was being held by the virgin Mary. How could this toddler be the “Everlasting Father” – the eternal Creator and Ruler of all things? For as the angel said to Mary, “Nothing will be impossible with God” (Luke 1:37). Like the Magi, we believe what we cannot see or understand.

 

You see, each time you receive the Lord’s Supper at the Divine Service, the Everlasting Father gives you His own body and blood to assure you that your sins are forgiven, and you are given strength for your weak faith. We don’t understand how, but He does it!

 

Tonight, God’s Word has assured you that Jesus is the “Everlasting Father” and that you are a citizen in His eternal Kingdom of mercy, love, and life. You can leave this place – Prince of Peace Lutheran Church – and now serve the Lord with your lives knowing that Jesus is the “Everlasting Father” and that you are secure in His hands. Amen!

 

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, 
keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.
+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +

"The Scandal of the Gospel" (Luke 7:18-35)

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Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen! Dear brothers and sisters in Christ: 

[Jesus said:] “Blessed is the one who is not offended by Me” (Luke 7:23).

 

What does it take for someone or something to offend you? Can you recall the last time you were genuinely offended? What caused the offense? How did it make you feel? Angry? Shocked? Vengeful? What was your response? Was it something like, “How dare you!”? “How dare you question me!”? “How dare you accuse me!”?

 

Jesus was no stranger to “How dare you!” His earthly ministry may have lasted only three years, but it was enough time to offend all sorts of people in all sorts of ways. Some, like the Pharisees, were offended because He disappointed them with the way He demonstrated His messianic calling. The Gospels record how over and over again, people were scandalized or offended by something Jesus said or did, or even by something He did not do.

 

There were times when Jesus’ words were just too hard to swallow. In John 6, Jesus proclaims to the crowd of fellow Jews that He is The Bread of Life. The crowd grumbled about Jesus, because He said, “I am the Bread that came down from heaven” (John 6:42). Later on, Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you” (John 6:53). Because of those words of Jesus, many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with Him. They took offense! They packed up their bags and left.

 

But Jesus didn’t stop there at offending the masses. Later in John 8, Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:58). Immediately, the crowd picked up stones to stone Jesus to death, but Jesus hid Himself. They took offense! This time they tried to eliminate Jesus for good!

 

In Luke 4, Jesus returned to Nazareth where He had been brought up. It was the Sabbath, so He came to synagogue. As a favorite son of the congregation, He was asked to read, so He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:

 

“The Spirt of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (Luke 4:18-19). Then Jesus sat down and began to say, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing” (Luke 4:21). Then murmuring began, “Is not this Joseph’s son?” (Luke 4:22). The crowd was filled with wrath, and they rose up to drive Jesus out of Nazareth with intentions to throw Him off a cliff. Those synagogue worshipers took offense at Jesus! Again, they too wanted to eliminate Him.

 

But it wasn’t only Jesus’ speaking that caused offense. It was also what He was doing. On a Sabbath, Jesus had the audacity to give sight to a blind man. In response to this sign and miracle, some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath” (John 8:16).

 

Jesus was also judged by the company He kept. And Jesus was well aware of what was being said about Him and His company.

 

After Jesus met with John’s disciples, He began preaching to the crowds concerning John the Baptist, saying, “For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at Him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’” (Luke 7:33-34).

 

Just think about how many of the Jewish authorities took offense as Jesus ate and drank and even associated with sinners. The truth is, Jesus ate and drank and associated with these people, because He was always around sinners. He could never escape that fact, for “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). But Jesus never gave tax collectors permission to collect more taxes than authorized to do. Jesus never gave permission to prostitutes to continue selling themselves. Jesus never gave permission to Samaritans to continue worshipping falsely. What Jesus did do was show them their sins so they would repent of those sins and receive God’s forgiveness.

 

But it wasn’t only what Jesus said and did that caused so many to reject Him. For many others, it was what Jesus failed to do that caused the greatest offense. Think back to the First Sunday in Advent when we heard how the people greeted Jesus on that Palm Sunday spreading their cloaks on the road and laying down palm branches as they shouted their “Hosannas”! “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” (Luke 19:38). 

Most on that Palm Sunday believed that Jesus was the conquering hero who would lead them to political and military victory against the Romans. But how disappointed they must have been to see Him riding in on a donkey instead of a warhorse. How disappointed, discouraged, and offended they were when Jesus turned out to be a compassionate and forgiving Messiah, full of mercy and not vengeance. He wasn’t what the crowd was expecting. By Friday, many in that Palm Sunday crowd changed their shout to “Crucify Him!”

 

With so many expectations not fulfilled. With Jesus appearing to be involved in scandal after scandal, John the Baptist, while in prison, sends two of his disciples to Jesus with the question, “Are you the One who is to come, or shall we look for another?” (Luke 7:20).

 

From the man who attempted to prevent Jesus’ baptism saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” (Matthew 3:14) and later witnessed the Spirit of God descend like a dove and rest on Jesus and heard God the Father proclaim from heaven: “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17) – is this man having doubts? How could he have any doubts?

 

So, why this question of doubt? Is John really wavering in his faith? Or could it be that John desires that his disciples be certain of who Jesus truly is? Jesus wasn’t really living up the expectations of the promised Messiah.

 

So, to clear up any doubts, Jesus directs John’s disciples to His miracles: “The blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them” (Luke 7:22). Then Jesus concludes saying, “Blessed is the one who is not offended by Me” (Luke 7:23).

 

Those words, “Blessed is the one who is not offended by Me” certainly do ring loud and clear. We certainly do live in a time where many are scandalized by Jesus Christ. Even with the coming Christmas holiday, many people are scandalized today by saying, “Merry Christmas” or even setting foot in a church on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, but they will make sure that they have all their gifts in good order.

 

Even for us today, there are many exclusive claims of Jesus that may even cause you to be offended by Him. Jesus says, “I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). 

Well, what about devout Jews? What about those good and sincere people who do many good works in the community, but do not trust in Jesus? Are they bound to hell because they don’t happen to believe and trust in Jesus as their Savior?

 

For many of us, we get caught off guard. We would rather try to rationalize those words of Jesus. Or we can say, “It’s not for me to judge.” Or, “That’s up to God.” Well, it is up to God, but it’s deeper than that. We may be tempted to be too squeamish to defend the Christian truth. But the truth is the truth. Jesus is the only way to salvation! Even now, Jesus doesn’t live up to our expectations.

 

So, why do we often fail to let our Christian light shine? Why do we become so easily discouraged when it comes to matters of Christian faith and Christian hope? Why are we afraid? Are we worried what other people may think of us? 

 

For all the doubts and worries we may have, Jesus says, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15). So, repent and confess your sins to God, hand them over to Jesus, and then receive forgiveness by God’s grace.

 

Jesus redeemed you and I when we were lost and condemned. He purchased and won us from all sin, from eternal death, and from the power of the devil with His holy and precious blood and by His innocent suffering and death.

 

Jesus called us by the Gospel. He sent the Holy Spirit to enlighten us with His gifts. He has sanctified and kept us in the one true Christian faith. All this He did out of His fatherly, divine goodness and mercy, without any merit or worthiness on our part.

 

So, blessed are those who are not offended by Jesus! May we always be reminded of His blessings of forgiveness, eternal life, and salvation for which He won for you and me upon the cross !

 

On this Third Sunday in Advent, let us rejoice in Christ’s Means of Grace! Rejoice in your Baptism into Christ! Rejoice in absolution as Christ forgives our troubled consciences! Rejoice in Christ’s body and blood under bread and wine as our medicine for immortality! Rejoice in the Lord always! Blessed is the one who is not offended by Jesus! Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding,

 keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.  

+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +

"Mighty God" (Isaiah 9:6)

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Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen! Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder and his name shall be called … Mighty God …” (Isaiah 9:6).

 

Last week, we learned about the first title given to Jesus in Isaiah 9:6: “Wonderful Counselor.”Jesus was given that title because He spoke with authority. He spoke with authority because He was speaking as God Himself! Jesus’ counsel is wonderful because His teaching is the very teaching of God. Again, this is why it is so important for us Christians to hear, read, study, believe, and trust Holy Scripture. As Jesus says in John 8, “If you abide in My Word, you are truly My disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31-32).

 

Tonight, we will focus on the second title given to Jesus: “Mighty God.”

 

Back when Jesus physically walked on this earth – as He performed healings and miracles – there were many people who refused to believe that Jesus was God in human flesh. Well, in 2024, not much has changed. Today, we find people celebrating Christmas with the gifting of presents, but they refuse to believe that Jesus is God. However, if we take Scripture seriously, we cannot avoid the fact that the Child born of Mary is Mighty God!

 

Some today, who get their theology from 15-second social-media “theologians”, try to say that the original Hebrew for “Mighty God” should be translated as “great hero,” which implies that this Child born of Mary would only be a famous man – but only a man. If this is the case, we have some serious problems.

 

First, we already know that the Child born of the virgin would be called “Immanuel,” which means “God with us” (Isaiah 7:14).

 

Secondly, the original Hebrew of “Mighty God” can’t be translated as “great hero.” Why is that? Well, Scripture interprets Scripture. And this original Hebrew אֵ֣ל גִּבֹּ֔ור (El Gibbor) just so happens to be found in other places in the Old Testament. And each of those other cases אֵ֣ל גִּבֹּ֔ור (El Gibbor) refers to God Himself and not some human who happens to be a “great hero.”

§  In Deuteronomy 10:17, אֵ֣ל גִּבֹּ֔ור (El Gibbor) shows up, which reads: “For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe.”

 

§  In Jeremiah 32:18, אֵ֣ל גִּבֹּ֔ור (El Gibbor) again shows up, which reads: “O Great and mighty God, whose name is the LORD of hosts…”

 

§  In Isaiah 10:21, אֵ֣ל גִּבֹּ֔ור (El Gibbor) pops up a third time, which reads: “A remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, to the mighty God.”

 

So, based on Scriptural evidence, אֵ֣ל גִּבֹּ֔ור (El Gibbor) can only mean “Mighty God.” This Child born of the virgin will be called “Mighty God” because He is the very Son of God in human flesh.

 

In fact, John 1 stresses this point: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made” (John 1:1-3).

 

What John, inspired by the Holy Spirit, is teaching here is the divine mystery known as the Trinity as God exists as three distinct Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

 

So, Jesus, the Son of God, was with the Father and the Holy Spirit “in the beginning” – before creation.

 

A few verses later, John writes: “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). Here, John is alluding to the fact that the Son of God took on human flesh in the womb of the virgin Mary. The eternal Mighty God became what He wasn’t through the Incarnation.

 

In John 5, as we heard tonight, Jesus was performing miracles on the Sabbath, a day when God’s people were supposed to rest from their work so they could focus on God’s work for them in worship. But Jesus says that He must work on the Sabbath. Why would He say that? He said it because He must work on the Sabbath because as God He upholds all creation.

 

Then there were others who refused to believe in Jesus because they were not children of God. To that, Jesus said that all Old Testament believers – including the father of Israel, Abraham – believed in Jesus and looked forward to His coming.

 

When the unbelieving Jews heard this, they said, “How could Abraham have known You? Abraham lived and died hundreds of years before you were born!” To that, Jesus said, “Before Abraham was, I am” (John 8:58). By these words, Jesus is teaching that He is the eternal Son of God in human flesh.

 

So, why am I stressing the point that Jesus is “Mighty God”? It’s because He was and still is God in the flesh. But Satan does not want you to believe this fact that Jesus is “Mighty God.”

 

You see, if Jesus was only a man, then He could not be the Savior. Scripture teaches that only God Himself can save us from sin, death, and the devil.

 

In Genesis 3, God said that the woman would give birth to a Son who would crush the power of the devil (Genesis 3:15). But only God can crush the power of the devil. So, the Child born of the woman would have to be God Himself in human flesh.

 

But how would God’s Son crush the devil? God’s Son would crush the devil by allowing Himself to be crushed by our sin so that we might be saved from the death and eternal hell that we each deserve. No mere human could pay for the sin of all. Only God Himself could do that!

 

So, if God Himself was not hanging on that cross, then you are still under the curse of your sins and you are still a slave of the devil. No wonder the devil does not want you to believe that Jesus is “Mighty God.”

 

Just think about it! All who deny that Jesus is God either have to deny the reality of sin or they have to try to deal with their sin themselves. But both options are based on a lie to keep us from receiving salvation from the “Mighty God”!

 

Sometimes we are tempted to deny that our sin is a big deal. We are all guilty of this. But if we really believe that Jesus is God and that He is always with us, then we would not be so comfortable with our sin.

 

But sometimes we do get comfortable with our sin! Why do we do this? Maybe it’s because we think Jesus was just a man who lived in the past. Why should we worry about what some dead guy thinks about our sin? But the reality is that Jesus lives and He is with us! So, we better take our sins seriously because Jesus is Mighty God and He sees all.

 

On the other hand, maybe we do take our sins seriously, but we foolishly think we can deal with our sins ourselves. Maybe we think that we can make up for our sins if we only do a good works to impress God.

When we do think like this, we don’t realize that our sins in fact deserve God’s present and eternal punishment. We don’t realize that only God Himself can save us from our sins and that He did this by dying on the cross for us.

 

So, when we try to deal with sin ourselves rather than repenting, trusting, and clinging to Jesus, we show that we actually deny that Jesus is Mighty God who came to die on the cross for our sins.

 

But the Good News for us tonight is that God has used His Word to rescue us from Satan’s lies! Tonight, God has taught you that the Child born of the virgin Mary is Mighty God, the One who hung on the cross, crucified for your sins – including your sin of forgetting that Jesus is Mighty God in the flesh and that He is with you always to the end of the age. Jesus is Mighty God and He forgives you – and if the Mighty God forgives you, Satan has no claim on you.

 

Jesus is Mighty God, and He claimed you as His own at your Baptism where He put His name on you and washed you from the guilt of your sin by the power of His divine blood.

 

Jesus is Mighty God, and He nurtures your faith in Him as He teaches you with His Word.

 

Jesus is Mighty God, and He gives you His own body and blood in the Lord’s Supper to assure you that your sins are forgiven and that your Mighty God is with you!

 

Jesus is Mighty God, and He will help you to live as His child in this world.

 

Jesus is Mighty God, and He will give you eternal life in His love when He returns in power and glory. Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!

 

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, 
keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.
+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +

"Who Can Stand When He Appears?" (Malachi 3:1-7b)

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Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen! Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

“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 fuller’s soap” (Malachi 3:2).

 

Judgement is coming and it is coming quickly. And this judgement always takes its victims by surprise.

 

Is Jesus really coming? For many of us, maybe even you, we act as if He isn’t coming. We get lost in the daily grind of life. Or we may think that God has forsaken us.

 

For the postexilic Jews, it’s been some 90 years since their return from Babylon to Jerusalem. The re-built Temple is now 65 years old. But Jerusalem is not a very impressive place. It looks very much God forsaken to them.

 

Before the Babylonian exile, Judah was great and powerful. It had mighty kings and an awesome Temple. The glory of the Lord shined. Yahweh’s reign could be seen and touched.

 

But on this side of the Babylonian exile, God has appeared to have slipped away. Now, Persia appears to be the ruler of their world. If the Jews want anything done, they have to ask permission from the Persian ruler. If they wanted supplies, they had to rely on the good graces of the Persians. They had to practice religion under Persian government. They were beholden to the Persians!

 

The mighty deeds of God were of yesteryear. The rebuilt Temple was a mere shadow of what it once was. The walls of Jerusalem were still a wreck.

 

The Jews were troubled. Upon their arrival back to Jerusalem, they had hoped and expected, the glorious and prosperous reign of the Davidic line of kings, but all they see is a wicked Persia prospering. 

 

To many Jews, they began to believe that their God had abandoned them, or He refused to care about them.

 

Jesus says in Matthew 24: “For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man” (Matthew 24:27).

 

There is something true about lightning. It always takes us by surprise.

 

Jesus’ coming at the first Christmas took everyone by surprise. Mary, Joseph, Herod, the shepherds, friends and enemies were all surprised when He came. God had promised His Son’s coming from the dawn of the world. Many people had carried that thought and hope with them through all those long years, but what they hoped for, they really did not expect. It caught them by surprise. Will it catch you by surprise at His coming on the Last Day?

 

St. Paul writes in 1 Thessalonians 5: “For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, ‘There is peace and security,’ then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape” (1 Thessalonians 5:2-3).

 

Where is God? Is He coming? For the Ten Virgins in Matthew 25, five of them appeared to give up on the Bridegroom coming, so they refused to refill their oil lamps through Christ’s Means of Grace and went to sleep. But then by surprise, at midnight, there was a cry: “Here is the Bridegroom! Come out to meet Him!” (Matthew 25:6). The foolish five were refused entry to the marriage feast. To them, the Bridegroom says: “‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour” (Matthew 25:12).

 

We all desire the Second Coming of Christ, but that day will also surprise us, even though we hope for it and profess to long for that day.

 

The day of judgement is coming all right, but how often do we act like that day is far off? Do you act like Jesus is coming?

 

“Just as in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man,” Jesus says. “They were eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all” (Luke 17:26-27).

 

When we least expect it, Jesus will come.

 

“Who can endure the day of His coming, and who can stand when He appears?” (Malachi 3:2a)

 

If we truly examine ourselves, no one can endure; no one can stand. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). This is you and me. We are all poor, miserable sinners. We sometimes act as if sin has no consequences, but sin has eternal consequences, because God cannot partake in sin. Since none of us are as pure as the wind driven snow, what do we do? What can we do? Sadly nothing. 

 

So, God will do everything! “Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before Me” (Malachi 3:1).

 

God sends John the Baptist to prepare the way for His Son by “proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (Mark 1:4). We are all called to confess our sins as we recognize our inability to stand before God because of our sin. And where there is confession, there is forgiveness. 

 

After that preparation, God sends the Messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, our Lord Jesus Christ, who brought the new covenant through His blood.

 

You and I cannot be 99 percent clean. We must be 100 percent clean. We must be pure. To be clean and pure, Jesus enters in.

 

Through His suffering and shed blood on the cross, Jesus is “like a refiner’s fire and like a fuller’s soap” (Malachi 3:2b). Upon that cross, as He suffered and died for you and your sins, Jesus is making you and I clean and pure. Jesus is not only the Purifier but also the Purifying agent. He is not only the Blacksmith but also the Fire. He is not only the Cleaner but also the Soap. 

 

Jesus refines us through His heat. He cleans us like a launderer by rubbing, kneading, and beating to make us soft, clean, and pliable.

 

God the Father sent His only begotten Son Jesus Christ because He desires a pure product. On our own and by our own merits, we could never be made holy, but it is only God who has the power to make us holy. Our purity is only made possible through the blood of Jesus – the very Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world.

 

Christ scrubbed us clean through His death and resurrection. Today, He comes to keep us clean through the preaching of His Word and in His giving of forgiveness through His Sacraments. 

 

As forgiven sinners, by grace through faith in Christ alone, we have nothing to fear, because through Christ’s work, we are seen as holy and blameless before God the Father.

 

So, “Who can endure the day of His coming, and who can stand when He appears?” (Malachi 3:2a). We can! God’s people can! We endure as we receive through faith the forgiveness of sins won for us at the cross and offered to us freely in the Means of Grace. God is faithful and Christ will return. But now His return is not fearful for us, since Christ has atoned for all of your sins. Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!

 

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding,

 keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.  

+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +