The Coming Messenger and the Messiah

Malachi 3:1-7

1 "Behold, I send My messenger,
And he will prepare the way before Me.
And the Lord, whom you seek,
Will suddenly come to His temple,
Even the Messenger of the covenant,
In whom you delight.

Behold, He is coming,"
Says the LORD of hosts.

2 "But who can endure the day of His coming?
And who can stand when He appears?
For He is like a refiner's fire
And like launderers' soap.

3 He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver;
He will purify the sons of Levi,
And purge them as gold and silver,
That they may offer to the LORD
An offering in righteousness.

4 "Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem
Will be pleasant to the LORD,
As in the days of old,
As in former years.

5 And I will come near you for judgment;
I will be a swift witness
Against sorcerers,
Against adulterers,
Against perjurers,
Against those who exploit wage earners and widows and orphans,
And against those who turn away an alien—
Because they do not fear Me,"
Says the LORD of hosts.

6 "For I am the LORD, I do not change;
Therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob.

7 Yet from the days of your fathers
You have gone away from My ordinances
And have not kept them.

Return to Me, and I will return to you,"
Says the LORD of hosts.
"But you said,
'In what way shall we return?'

The coming Messenger to herald the Messiah is anticipated and proclaimed for the people of God to ready themselves.  The coming of John the Baptist to announce and prepare the people for this Messiah was anticipated in these words of Malachi.  John prepared the way as we read in Matthew 11:10 and Mark 1:2-3 according to Isaiah 40:3 of this herald of the coming Messiah.  This one paved the way for repentance to faith in the Lord Himself coming to His temple to be worshipped, God in the flesh (John 1:14) for us to delight in!  Malachi brought the message, “Behold, He is coming," to turn their hearts in awareness and anticipation for their redemption at last.  But they would not be able to stand in their own righteousness at His coming, for they would be undone as in Isaiah 6:5 when the prophet faced the LORD and knew his unrighteousness of his sinful nature.  The LORD whom the messenger heralded would be feared in awe as He cleansed His people by refining and purifying them in His own righteousness.  Only then could they offer a pure and righteous offering as ministers of that righteousness to give acceptable and pleasant offerings to the LORD.  This is what Christ does for us in His righteousness as we minister the gospel of His righteousness through repentance and faith.  We know that God promised judgment on the ungodly who practice magic, live adulterous lifestyles, lie to the face of the law for their own gain, and those who exploit others, because they are those who have no fear of God or His righteous judgments to which He holds us accountable.  He does not change His character because of the grace given in Christ; judgment still falls on those who reject Him and continue in disbelief and disobedience to His word.  As in the time of Malachi four hundred years before Christ came among us, so people now also continue to walk away from His Word and do not live by it.  Yet grace is proclaimed here as the answer.  Return to God (repent) and He will return to us (forgiveness).  Our question remains as theirs, 'In what way shall we return?'  The answer we now know fully is to hear the Christ called Jesus and by God-given faith repent in turning from our sin and unrighteousness to Him who became our righteousness as 1 Corinthians 1:30 tells us clearly (2 Corinthians 5:21, Philippians 3:9).  This is the good news anticipated and announced by the messenger Malachi which would be prepared by John the Baptist and brought to us by the LORD Himself come among us for deliverance from the judgment to come (Acts 24:25, John 5:24).  This proclamation of The Coming Messenger and the Messiah we find fulfilled in the history of the written word of God by eyewitnesses to His majesty and glory.  May we all find our delight in Him who cleansed us from sin and continues to refine us in our sanctifying conformity to Christ!  Amen.