Clare, thank you so much for reading. Please do keep your Bibles back open. In Malachi, chapter three, we’ve been dipping into some different Old Testament prophets on our little series. Prepare the way. As we’re thinking not only about Christmas, the first coming of the Lord Jesus, this Advent season, his second coming. I wonder what things make you feel weary. I did the 8 o’clock service this morning. I feel a little bit weary. You could see people in the congregation praying that I would stay awake. And I’ve had a coffee now, so it’s okay. But what other things make you weary? Perhaps it’s Christmas music in the shops from October. Does that make you a bit weary? Perhaps it’s your children. You love your children, but they do have a habit sometimes of asking the same question over and over again. Perhaps that makes you weary. Perhaps it’s turning on the TV and seeing more bad news. That feeling of stuff never seems to get better. We never seem to hear good news. Or perhaps it’s more personally, you wake up again and you just don’t feel well. You feel tired, you feel weary, you feel stressed, and you think, when am I going to get better? When will I feel well? Well, being weary is the context for this little passage in Malachi. And we know that Jesus himself invites weary people to come to him. Come to me, all who are weary, and I will give you rest. But in this chapter, it’s not the people who are weary, it’s God who’s weary. Now, Malachi is the final book in the Old Testament. If you’re not sure how to find it, go to Matthew and turn back a page and you’ll find yourself there. And it’s written to God’s people in Jerusalem after they’ve returned from exile and they’ve rebuilt the city walls, they’ve rebuilt the temple. And you think it should be a book full of words of joy and celebration and homecoming. But sadly, despite being back in God’s place, His people are no closer to him in all sorts of ways. They’re far away from him. They’re breaking their covenant, the marriage vow that they made with God. You see, our section really begins in chapter two, verse 17. Let’s just look at that verse before it says, you have wearied the Lord with your words. How have we wearied him, you ask? By saying, all who do evil are good in the eyes of the Lord and he is pleased with them. Or, where is the God of justice? Why is God weary? Because of the words of his people, and specifically their cries for justice. Now, normally, a cry of justice, a cry for justice would be seen as a good thing. But did you notice what they’re doing? They’re not just crying for justice. They’re calling God unjust. They’re saying, God is pleased with evildoers. He’s unjust. Where is the God of justice? See, what they’re doing is. And they do this throughout the book of Malachi. They’re, if you like, gaslighting God, because they’re the ones who are guilty. They’re the ones who exhibit the injustice. So how will God respond to this accusation? He will come and bring his justice. That’s what he’ll do. He will come and bring his justice. And you might think, well, the people are about to cheer. They’ve asked for justice. God’s going to bring his justice. Hooray. But hold on a moment. Let’s see what this means. Chapter three, verse one. I will send my messenger who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord who you are seeking will come to his temple. The messenger of the covenant whom you desire will come, says the Lord Almighty. The phrase be careful what you wish for springs to mind. Here they ask for justice. And the Lord says, okay, I will come and bring my justice. A messenger will come to prepare the way. Then suddenly the Lord will come. The one thing you are seeking, the One whom you desire, he will come, the bringer of justice. And where will he come? Where will he come? To bring justice to his temple. That’s where he will come. Now, last week we were in Isaiah and we saw that God’s people needed comfort. And God promised he would bring it this week. We see God’s people need cleansing, and God will bring that too. And that’s just what Jesus does, isn’t it, when he arrives at the temple. He cleanses it. He purges it of injustice and wickedness. That’s what he does when he comes. And of course, this passage has been linked to the coming of Jesus, a messianic prophecy. And that’s apparent from Jesus quoting it himself. He quotes it in the Gospels, speaking of John the Baptist. In Matthew 11, he says, this is the one about whom it is written, I will send my messenger ahead of you who will prepare the way before you. Jesus is there and says, here’s the messenger. He’s come. That makes Jesus the Lord, the messenger of the covenant. The refining fire, the cleansing. Save. It’s Jesus who will come to bring God’s justice to his temple. Well, let’s consider three questions as we try and unlock this passage a little further. Here’s the first question. When is this day? When is this day? It’s talking about a day, isn’t it? When the Lord comes and that the prophets talk a lot about a day to come. The day of the Lord. When is this day? Well, in this country we have an election, don’t we? We had one this year. And it all basically takes place on the same day, doesn’t it? 24 hours after voting begins. We have a new government in America. Not so much. I think I read, actually it was only yesterday that California finally concluded their voting results. But it happens over quite a long period of time, doesn’t it? I don’t really know how it works, if I’m honest. But the elections, you can vote on different days, can’t you? Different times in different states, and no one really knows the results until quite a few days in. Certainly at a state level, you can’t quite be sure. And then you have to wait another couple of months until the new president is inaugurated. British election, 24 hours, one day, American election, no one quite knows. But it’s kind of spread out and confusing. Now, when the Bible talks about the coming of the Lord or the day of the Lord, this isn’t too unhelpful an illustration. It’s best to think of it more like an American election. Different days spread out, perhaps with one final inauguration day. Not a single day like a UK election, but a number of days and two days in particular. Two particular days, the first and second coming of the Lord Jesus. Sometimes it’s described like mountain peaks, two mountain peaks, one behind the other. From a distance, you look and you, just as it were, see one mountain. And then as you arrive at the first peak, the second peak behind becomes clearer. From a distance, looks like one day. But as you get closer and past the first peak, you can see the second peak. So it is with this day of the Lord, not one day, sometimes multiple days, but certainly two days, the first and the second coming of the Lord Jesus. You see, Malachi looks forward to the day of the Lord’s coming. And there’s lots which makes it look like Jesus first coming, the messenger coming to the temple. But there’s also other imagery, and this imagery continues into chapter 4 of Malachi. Imagery around fire and what looks like final judgement makes it sound much more like Jesus return, his second coming. Perhaps Malachi looking like the mountains, has both days in view, even as their language is brought together. So for us, standing between these two days, we can ask that question posed in Verse two, can’t we? But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire or a laundress soap. You see, we’re in quite a unique position, aren’t we? We get to both look forward to the day of Jesus second coming and to look back to the day of his first coming, and we can see some of the ways in which the prophecy has already been fulfilled. You see, when Jesus came, He didn’t just cleanse the temple, did He? He destroyed it. When Jesus came, he didn’t just critique Israel’s worship, He put an end to their sacrifices. When Jesus came, he didn’t just come to condemn, he came to save. You see, the judgement of Jesus first coming was comprehensive. And yet it was he who bore it all. The temple his body destroyed and rebuilt in three days. Sacrifices. The temple worship stopped because he became the sacrifice to completely atone for the sins of the people. The worst day, as Malachi foresaw, it all came to pass and Jesus owned it all. There was only one who could endure it, only one who could stand. Just Jesus. So when Jesus himself speaks of another day to come, as he does so very clearly in Matthew chapter 24, where he will return, describe like a flood coming, like a thief in the night, like a master bringing deadly judgement on wicked servants, we need to take Malachi’s prophecy and Jesus warning with seriousness and soberness. Jesus will return to bring judgement to the world, to the Church, and to me. When is this day? Well, this day has already come and will come again. Okay, well, what message for the Church today? God hates injustice. Look at the things God will judge. Look at verse five, there with me. So I will come and put you on trial. I will be quick to testify against sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers, against those who defraud labourers of their wages, who oppress the widows and fatherless and deprive the foreigners among you of justice. But do not fear me, says the Lord Almighty. It’s a big list there. But above all, God hates those who don’t fear him. That’s the kind of catch all at the end of that verse, isn’t it? But do not fear me. There’s lots of symptoms here of injustice, but at root these people don’t fear me. They’re the people who say God doesn’t exist. God’s got no power. I can live how I want, behave how I wish. Doesn’t matter how I treat others, there’s surely no judgement no justice in this world. And yet God says, first of all, I’m coming to the temple, I’m coming to purify my church. I’m coming to cleanse my people. I’d love to live in a world, I’m sure you would, where people feared God, that really feared God to the point where people told the truth, people kept their marriage vows, treated others fairly, cared for the vulnerable. That would be a good world to live in, wouldn’t it? And say, for the church today, I think God calls us to strive for justice, to work for that world, to be faithful to our spouses, to be good workers and fair employers, to fight against those who exploit others. And of course, that might have practical impact on the way we live. Might. It might affect some of the things we eat, some of the products we buy, where we invest our money, how we cast our vote, things we pray about. It’s a reasonable question to ask, isn’t it? Since God hates injustice so passionately, what are we, his people? What are you, his people, doing to work for justice? You see, if God wanted His people then to be faithful, justice seeking, God fearing, true worshipers in Malachi’s time, I see no reason why he wouldn’t want the same for his church today. If God wanted His people to be ready for his first coming, how much more his second and final coming? But here, I think is another deeper challenge for the church. As in Malachi’s day, they were actually really good at spotting injustice, weren’t they? They could name it and we can name it too. There is inequality, there is war, there is poverty, there is famine, there is lack of education, there is oppression and there is exploitation. The church can often be really good at spotting the symptoms of injustice, but we’re not always that good at highlighting the cause. You know, we should also be able to say there are people who do not fear God. There is sin and rebellion. That’s why injustice exists. Not just because of broken structures and systems, but because of broken people. Broken people like you and me. So often there is also me. Someone who makes mistakes, gets things wrong, has mixed motives. So often I don’t fear the Lord. You see, the church isn’t only called to fight the symptoms of injustice, but to be real about its roots in all of our hearts and to be honest with our world about the solution to that problem. That leads me on to my final question. Well, how then can I be cleansed? How can I be cleansed? There are two cleansing processes described here, aren’t there? There’s the Refining of precious metals and the cleaning of laundry. Neither process is particularly pleasant. The fire burns to heat up and separate the impure metals. The soap is scrubbed to release dirt and grease. But the result is something good. A pure, shiny metal, clean, dazzling white laundry. And there is no doubt plenty of refining work for God to do in each one of us. Our lives are filled with impurity. Things in our actions, our characters, our emotions, our. Our thoughts, which make us feel unclean, impure. And the Lord by his Holy Spirit, loves to continue that refining work in us each day, day by day, making us more like the Lord Jesus, chiselling away, burning, scrubbing away those things which cover up God’s image in us. Now, while God in his grace continues this work in us, little by little, day by day, there is a greater work of cleansing that has and will be done. Isaiah alludes this greater work. Isaiah, chapter one. He says, come now, let us settle the matter, says the Lord, though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be white as snow. Though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. What an amazing transformation. What an amazing work of laundry. It turns scarlet to white. And the apostle John has a vision of this as well. In the book of Revelation, he sees more into this work of cleansing. Revelation, chapter seven. There’s a great vision of heaven, it says. Then one of the elders asked me, these in white robes, who are they and where did they come from? I answered, sir, you know. And he said, these are those who have come out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes. Now, the verse doesn’t end there. It doesn’t say they’ve washed their robes. It doesn’t say they’ve been to the laundry. Say they got the bar of soap out. No. It goes on to say something quite incredible. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. What an incredible picture, to be made white in blood. We sometimes say, particularly to people who don’t normally dress up, who wouldn’t normally make an effort, we might say, when they’ve dressed up for a special occasion, you scrub up well. No one ever says that to me because I always look smart, so I don’t ever hear that. I’m sure some of you do. You scrub up well. And perhaps that’s been your view of Christianity, or perhaps even your view of Jesus. Return. Got to be ready, better scrub up, look busy, be good, work on being the best. You go to church, give to charity, be kind to my neighbour, scrub up, ready for Jesus. Return. But that’s not the good news to which Malachi is pointing us. Malachi is pointing us to Jesus, the one who is able to make us clean. It’s a vivid and perplexing picture which John sees there in Revelation, but one which is gloriously true. That Jesus blood is able to wash me clean. Jesus blood can wash away my sins. On the day of his first coming, which culminated in his crucifixion, Jesus, as it were, stands in the place of his people. As we rewatching Lord of the Rings the other day, let’s remind that moment of Gandalf standing on the bridge between the Balrog and his friends. There, Jesus stands in front of his friends, giving his life away that they may go free. It’s Jesus who bore the judgement for his people when he came, putting an end to injustice, paying the price for the people’s rebellion. Justice is done and the people are justified. If Jesus was able to save his people when he first came, sheltering them from judgement, how much more will he save his people when he comes again? Not because his people are pure and just because they’ve scrubbed up well, but because he is pure and just. Not because his people, not because we have been faithful to the covenant, but because he has been faithful to the covenant. Malachi’s picture and Jesus picture of his second coming is in many ways terrifying. And yet in him there is a safe place to shelter. In the shadow of the cross, in the heart of Jesus, there we find a place to stand, A place to endure for all eternity. A place where my own weariness is carried. A place where I can be found righteous, clean in his eyes. Notwithstanding chocolate calendars, Advent isn’t so much the countdown to Christmas Jesus first coming, it’s the countdown to his second coming. Malachi helps us to see that day with rightful fear, but also secure hope because of all that Jesus achieved at his first coming. Amen.