From Malachi to Jesus

Malachi 3:1-3, 16, 17; Luke 1:68, 72, 77, 78; Galatians 4:4, 5

GOLDEN TEXT: “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”—John 14:6

JEHOVAH’S prophecy, “Behold I will send My messenger, and He shall prepare the way before Me,” (Malachi 3:1) has a primary reference to John the Baptist, who came to prepare the way of the Lord, preaching repentance and the remission of sins, and announcing the advent of the great “Messenger of the Covenant” made with Abraham, that in his seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.—Gen. 22:18

But when the Lord suddenly came to His temple (the Jewish temple), they were unprepared to receive Him. They were unprepared to recognize the King, or to stand the tests of character then applied to prove their worthiness of the blessings promised in the Abrahamic Covenant. Jesus came to Jehovah’s temple in a typical act of cleansing when He drove the money changers from the literal temple in Jerusalem.

While it is clear that the prophecy thus addressed to Israel applied to them primarily, it is also manifest, as shown by the Lord and the apostles, that it has a much wider application; and that in a yet fuller sense it is addressed to spiritual Israel, of which, fleshly Israel was a type; and applies to the second advent of the great “Messenger of the Covenant,” whose work will fully accomplish all that the prophecy predicts. Then it is that coming to His temple (the church) He sits as a refiner and purifier of gold and silver—that is, of the “little flock,” represented by the gold, and of the “multitude which no man could number,” symbolized by the silver.—Luke 12:32; Rev. 7:9

The circumstances associated with the birth of John the Baptist doubtless served to give him a certain amount of prestige in Judea when the time came for him to begin his ministry. The account informs us that many throughout the hill country pondered these things in their hearts. The testimony of thanksgiving by John’s father, which was somewhat in the nature of a prophecy, would contribute to the confidence the people already had in this one whose birth was so obviously by divine direction.

While the birth of John was the occasion of the “song” of Zacharias, his father, there is intermingled in this song an expression of Israel’s hope concerning the coming Messiah. John was to be the first of God’s servants to impart the knowledge of salvation through the remission of sins. This would be possible because the “Dayspring from on high” had visited Israel.

Shortly after the angel announced to Mary that she would conceive and bear a holy child who would be the Savior of His people, she visited Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist. This was six months before John was born. Elizabeth was then given evidence which convinced her that the child to be born to Mary would be the Messiah. Doubtless Elizabeth discussed the entire situation with her husband, Zacharias. He, too, was given evidence of special divine dealing in the matter.

Galatians 4:4 explains that Jesus came in the “fullness of the time.” Through the Prophet Daniel (9:25-27) God had indicated a fixed time for the Messiah to come, and this prophecy was fulfilled with exactness. Many devout Jews doubtless had knowledge of this prophecy, which, together with the unusual circumstances associated with the birth of both John and Jesus, contributed to the general expectancy of the Messiah at the time He began His ministry.

But despite this favorable setting amidst which John and Jesus began their ministry, the nation as a whole turned a deaf ear to their message. John gained many individual disciples, and the majority of them probably became followers of Jesus, but he was not officially recognized by the nation through their leaders. From this standpoint his ministry failed. Through the prophet, God had declared that in the event of a failure to turn the heart of the fathers to the children and the heart of the children to their fathers, the nation would be smitten with a curse. (Mal. 4:5,6) This alternative fulfillment of the prophecy came in A.D. 70-73, when Jerusalem was destroyed and the nation scattered.

It was because the nation as a whole did not repent under the ministry of John, that Jesus was rejected. “He came unto His own, and His own received Him not.” (John 1:11) They were not prepared to receive Him because they had not heeded the message of the forerunner. A few did, and these were transferred from the house of servants to the house of sons, as indicated by Paul in Galatians 4:5. Yes, Jesus gave these accepting ones the “power,” or “authority” [Diaglott], to become “sons of God.”

QUESTIONS:

Who is the “Messenger of the Covenant” mentioned in Malachi 3:1-3, and what covenant is referred to?

What time prophecy of the Old Testament contributed to the expectation of many that the time was near for the Messiah to come?

What great blessing came to those who were prepared by John’s ministry to accept Jesus as their Messiah?

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