A Light in the Darkness

Psalm 1 goes so far as to contrast the man who delights in the law with the wicked, foreseeing the futility of those who dismiss God’s instruction.

Looking at the prominence of God’s law throughout the Old Testament, it should be no surprise that God turns to the people of Israel at the end of Malachi and commands them to remember Moses’ instruction. This is perfectly consistent with what He has instructed the people to do from the very beginning of their existence!

Malachi announced in 3:1 that the forerunner to the Messiah would come. We know from the NT that the forerunner is John the Baptist. But he says here in verses 5-6 that there would be another person, another forerunner, to come before the Day of the Lord.

We know this forerunner cannot ultimately be John the Baptist because this day ends with fathers turning their hearts to children and children turning their hearts to fathers. If this prophecy was completely fulfilled in John, we might ask why Jesus was still rejected by the Jews. So what is He talking about here? Although Jesus said in Matthew 11 that John the Baptist is the forerunner, something happens in Matthew 17 to prove that yet another Elijah will fulfill Malachi’s prophecy. In Matthew 17 Jesus leads the disciples up to the Mount of Transfiguration, where both Elijah and Moses appear, talking with the Lord. Peter, of course, wants to set up rooms at the Motel 6 for all three of them, but a voice from heaven rebukes his misunderstanding.

As Jesus’ face shines like the sun, the disciples are awestruck, understanding Jesus true identity. The disciples cite this verse in Malachi, to which Jesus replies,

“Elijah is coming and will restore everything,” He replied. “But I tell you: Elijah has already come, and they didn’t recognize him. On the contrary, they did whatever they pleased to him.” (Matt 11:11-12)

The key for our purposes is the future tense “will restore.” At the time Jesus is speaking, John the Baptist is already dead. So we know that he cannot be the Elijah of Malachi 4:5. In addition, John the Baptist cannot be this Elijah because this Elijah is going to reestablish all things. John the Baptist was hindered from doing this because of the wickedness of the people’s hearts. Thus, Jesus is stating that He is the Elijah-like figure, initiating His kingdom at His resurrection and completing it at His second coming when He will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers—a time of great repentance.

Notice how the book of Malachi ends: “Otherwise, I will come and strike the land with a curse.” The final words from God to the people for 400 years is a warning that utter destruction will come. The final words are a curse, which left some rabbis uncomfortable with the ending. G. Campbell Morgan noted,

The Jew always understood this as a message of love, and the Rabbis in the Synagogue from then until the coming of Christ, and in the days of Christ, and until this day, never end Malachi with its last verse. They conclude with the fifth verse. Reading the last: “And He shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children; and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse;” they revert to the fifth: “Behold, I will send you Elijah, the prophet, before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.” (Morgan, Malachi’s Message for Today, 116)

However, this discomfort does not subside with the end of the OT. God, in a similar manner, says essentially the same thing in Revelation 22:12-13:

Look! I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me to repay each person according to what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.

The same promise of judgment is given to the people in Revelation, bringing with it either a day of rejoicing or a day of mourning, depending on whether you are among the righteous or among the wicked. On this side of the life and ministry of Jesus, the determining factor will be whether or not we have received the righteousness of Christ through repentance and faith.

We can imagine the destruction of life that would take place if the sun faded the way a candle burns out. Life would cease to exist, causing a shift in the functionality of our planet and solar system. Severe storms would erupt all over the world because of the climate change. Temperatures would plunge, and the land would be covered with a thick layer of snow and ice. The earth might break free from its orbital path and fly off into total darkness. Such is the fate of people who do not have Jesus as their Savior. According to Malachi, however, the sun of righteousness will come with healing in His garments.

In the NT, Jesus Christ meets a woman who reaches out to Him out of complete desperation:

Just then, a woman who had suffered from bleeding for 12 years approached from behind and touched the tassel on His robe, for she said to herself, “If I can just touch His robe, I’ll be made well!” But Jesus turned and saw her. “Have courage, daughter,” He said. “Your faith has made you well.” And the woman was made well from that moment. (Matt 9:20-22)

She was certain that by touching the hem of His garment, she would be healed. Jesus, seeing the woman’s actions, commends her faith.

The key word tassel or fringe is a reference to the hem (Gk kraspedon; Hb kanaph) of Jesus’ garment. Matthew knows the audience of his Gospel is made up of Jews who know the OT. They would have known immediately why she desired to touch His garment. In doing so she was confessing that Jesus Christ was the sun of righteousness from Malachi 4. He was God Himself.

To confirm that Jesus was the rising of the sun, we may also look to Luke 1:76-79:

And child, you will be called a prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the Lord to prepare His ways, to give His people knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins. Because of our God’s merciful compassion, the Dawn from on high will visit us to shine on those who live in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.

In this passage John the Baptist’s father, Zechariah, has been mute for a season. When the silence is broken, his first utterance is a prophecy. He declares that John is preparing the way for “the Dawn from on high.” Not surprisingly, John’s ministry would be to prepare the way for Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ is the light to our soul, “the sun of righteousness,” in the same way that the sun is light and life to the planet. Jesus Himself declared, “I am the light of the world.” The question for every one of us is, Has that light shone in our hearts today?