Friday December 23 – Jerusalem

After my junior year, I went to visit my best friend who had the year prior moved to Lexington, Kentucky. It was an interesting trip. While there, his church had a famous political personality speak. We were driving in early that morning and the roads had been shut down and the police provided an escort. All the cars had to wait and were moved out of the way so that this special guest could get to the church without any issues.

I decided then that was a pretty great way to travel. Ignoring red lights and stop signs. Having the police force clear the roads for you. People being held on side streets waiting for minutes. It would be great to have a police escort going ahead of you and clearing a path. However, you have to be extremely important for the mayor or the police chief to determine that all of that hoop-dee-doo is necessary.

A Final Preview in Jerusalem: The Messiah would be preceded by a messenger.

Malachi 3:1 “See, I am going to send my messenger; and he will clear the way before me. Then the Lord you seek will suddenly come to his temple, the Messenger of the covenant you delight in – see, he is coming,” says the Lord of Armies.

Malachi’s post-exilic audience could, on occasion, complain about God’s apparent lack of activity. It parallels complaints recorded by Habakkuk. It seems that a blasé attitude had begun to spread through the community. It is similar to this postmodern view that there are no absolute standards and no absolute values, and no objective good or evil.

God responds to this in chapter 3 of Malachi. In fact, God strongly moves in disagreement against this notion that He is not working. He tells the people that He is on the verge of sending a messenger. Implied here is the idea of “just wait!” The messenger is the Lord’s. The Lord will send His messenger. This messenger’s task is to “clear the way” before the Lord. The One who would come was so important to God’s plan, that a special messenger would be both predicted and provided to clear a path.

There are obstacles in the way that need clearing for the impending arrival of the Lord, the Messiah. Here it is the Israelites and their leaders (Mal. 3:3-5). The Lord will come to His people and a way will be opened by this messenger. The Lord will come and take his place in his temple (Mal. 3:10). This is His rightful place.

For those people who believed that the King was gone for good, this is a powerful rebuttal to that attitude. The Lord will be coming and a prophet, God’s prophet, God’s messenger (a play on the name Malachi in Hebrew, malaki) will come and clear a pathway.

John the Baptist was the messenger promised, the one who would come and clear the way for Jesus the Messiah. John would preach repentance and the impending Kingdom’s arrival soon. John would point out Jesus as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.

Jesus confirms this status and how John’s birth and ministry fulfilled that prophecy in Malachi.

For God to transform your life this Christmas completely and wholly, what obstacles need to be cleared? What needs to be removed so that the Lord Jesus can reign as King in his rightful place?

“What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written: See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you; he will prepare your way before you.” Matthew 11:9-10

Father, help me this Christmas season to clear away the obstacles that keep Jesus from reigning in his rightful place as the King of my heart. Amen