“Look, I will send you the prophet Elijah before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord” (Malachi 4:5).
Malachi is the last book of the Old Testament. After this oracle was uttered, God did not prophesy to His people again until John the Baptist appeared four hundred years later, preaching in the wilderness of Judea. When John began preaching, his message was simple: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” (Matthew 3:1,2) The Messiah was soon to appear, and in order to be ready for Him and the kingdom He would inaugurate, people needed to turn from their sins.
In the days when John the Baptist began his ministry, the Jews were familiar with this text in Malachi, and they were expecting the return of Elijah. Yet Malachi was not referring to Elijah himself; This was John the Baptist. By preaching the message of repentance with the same power as Elijah, John prepared the hearts of the people for the Messiah.
Jesus, on more than one occasion, identified John as the Elijah who was to come. For example, in Matthew 11:13,14, he said, “All the prophets and the Law prophesied until John, and if you are willing to accept it, it is Elijah who is to come.” There is no prophecy in the Old Testament that explains the return of Elijah more clearly and specifically than the one in Malachi 4:5.
But if we fail to see the significance of what Elijah, John and Jesus preached we miss the point. If a kingdom was to be populated by people whose sins had been forgiven, the first thing that obviously had to happen was for the people to recognize their sins. need For forgiveness – and then actually Repent When he asked for forgiveness from God for those sins. The only preaching that could prepare them for this type of Messiah was the message that John (and before him, Elijah) had preached.
But who are those people who will repent of their sins? These are those who are Polite That’s enough to do. If pride is the first cause of sin, then getting rid of pride – returning our hearts to a posture of humility before God – should be the first thing that happens in the process of our salvation. And frankly, there is nothing more difficult for the modern reader to hear.
“Humility is a necessary condition for grace” (Bernard of Clairvaux).
Gary Henry – WordPoints.com AreYouaChristian.com
