Bethel Lutheran Church - Pastor Luke Bernthal The Days Are Coming! ; Jeremiah 33: 14 - 16; 2009-11-29
The Bulletin (order of service) Text: Jeremiah 33: 14 - 16; Jeremiah prophesied a similar message to the people of Judah about 600 years before Jesus was born in Bethlehem. He writes in our text that the LORD says, “Behold, the days are coming!” This was a reminder of the LORD’s promise to send a Savior, the Messiah, to save His people from their sins. This coming Messiah would be that “good thing” which God had “promised to the house of Israel and to the house of Judah” (v. 14). These words prepared the people’s hearts for Christ’s coming. Even though it wouldn’t happen for almost 600 years the LORD Jehovah had promised them “the days are coming!” When the LORD promises something, it’s as good as done. Notice, the LORD tells us through Jeremiah that the days are coming, not that the “day is coming.” This prophecy of Jeremiah not only pointed to the Messiah’s first coming to this earth as a human being, but also points to the Messiah’s second coming as the Righteous Judge of all the earth: v. 15 tells us “He shall execute judgment and righteousness in the earth.” These promises were pointing the people’s hearts of faith toward the salvation that the Messiah would win for them. The difficulty was, God never told them when. He simply promised them, “The days are coming!” We have a lot in common with the Old Testament believers of Jeremiah’s day. His words point our eyes of faith to the two comings of Jesus. We too have been told, The days are coming. Although we can look back in history and see Christ’s first coming at His birth in Bethlehem, we are still waiting for His second coming on Judgment Day. The difficulty is, God has not told us when. He has told us simply to be ready because, ready or not, it is coming. The first “day” that Jeremiah’s words get us prepared for is the day we are looking forward to celebrating in just a few weeks: 1. Christmas Day. The question you and I will probably be asked a number of times between now and then is, “Are you ready for Christmas?” This question usually refers to whether we’ve gotten our Christmas shopping done yet, or have everything prepared for the guests we have coming over for the holidays. It usually has nothing to do with our true preparation for Christmas: the spiritual preparation of our hearts for the celebration of the birth of the Christ child. We are most “prepared” for Christmas by establishing our hearts in the Word of God. Not by whether or not it feels or looks a lot like Christmas, or by whether or not we’ve gotten all our outward, material preparations in order. God’s Word makes and keeps us truly prepared for Christmas Day because it focuses our hearts and minds on what Christ came to do, namely, to save us from our sins. Jesus was that “good thing” which God had “promised to the house of Israel and to the house of Judah” (v. 14). What we 21st century, New Testament Christians need to keep in mind is that names like Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem are often used in the Bible to refer to all of God’s people. Jesus, therefore, is the “good thing” that was promised also to us. Jeremiah is speaking of us too when he says, “In those days Judah will be saved” (v. 16). Therefore, Judah’s name, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS (v. 16), applies to us as well. Christ’s innocent blood, which He shed for all of us on the cross, has clothed us in His righteousness. As Paul says in 2 Corinthians, “For He [God] made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21). God’s Word also keeps our hearts established and prepared for Christ’s return. In the middle of our materialistic society and increasingly secular Christmas season, God’s Word keeps our hearts and minds focused on Christ—both on His first coming long ago, and on His second coming, which could come at any time. Between now and Christmas Day we probably won’t have many people coming up to us and asking us, “Are you ready for Judgment Day?” But in His Word, God does. That is why He alerts us and promises us, The days are coming! He wants us prepared for 2. Judgment Day. Much like the Old Testament believers who were waiting for Christ’s first coming, we have not been told when Christ’s second coming will be. We have also not been told all that many details about what exactly that Day is going to be like. Like the Old Testament believers, God has told us just enough of what we need to know. Through God’s prophets, the Old Testament believers were told many things about the coming Messiah. Micah told them that Jesus would be born in the little town of Bethlehem (Micah 5:2). Jeremiah, in our text, told them that the Messiah would be a Branch of righteousness that would come from the line of King David (Jeremiah 33:15). Isaiah prophesied that the Messiah would be born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14), and that He would come to suffer and die for the sins of all people (Isaiah 53). These were some of the things God’s people needed to know about their coming Savior. They weren’t told specific details like what He would look or sound like, what kind of employment He would have on this earth, or how big His family would be. God did not even chose to tell them when the day of His coming would be, only that it was coming, so they should always be ready. God has not satisfied all our curiosities about what Christ second coming will look and sound like either. He has told us just enough of what we need to know. We know that everyone will see Him and hear His shout and the sound of the angel’s trumpet blast when He comes again (1 Thessalonians 4:16; Matthew 25:32), but we don’t know exactly what it will look and sound like. God has not chosen to tell us when He is coming either, only that He is coming, so we should always be ready. This was Jesus’ reminder whenever He spoke about His second coming. His words in our Gospel reading for today are very direct and obvious, and are meant for all of His followers, especially those of us who are living out these last days in a world that directs the attention of our eyes and heart everywhere but up to heaven. Jesus instructs us very seriously, "But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly. For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man" (Luke 21:34-36). “Watch” and “pray.” Don’t let the flood of worldly hype and materialism drown out our true “Christmas spirit” this holiday season. Don’t let the lack of sleigh rides, and snowflakes prevent us from being properly prepared for the celebration of Christ’s birth. After all, it may very well have been a chilly night in the town of Bethlehem when Jesus was born, but we can safely say that on that first Christmas there probably wasn’t any snow. There definitely weren’t any sleigh bells, or snowmen, or Santa Clauses—not even Christmas trees! We can be truly prepared and be properly put in the true “Christmas spirit” even if it sunny and 70-degrees outside during the entire Christmas season. How? By establishing our hearts and minds in the words and promises of God. As Paul wrote in our first Scripture reading for this morning, “so that He [the Lord] may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints” (1 Thessalonians 3:13). May our Lord establish our hearts in His Word this holiday season that we may truly be prepared for 1. Christmas Day and 2. Judgment Day. For “Behold, the days are coming!” Amen. |