Theme: Prepare for Christ
Text: Is. 40:1-11; 2 Pet. 3:8-15a; Mark 1:1-8
Today is the 2nd Sunday of Advent. Advent reminds us that very soon we will be celebrating the birth of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ? The promise of His birth was revealed long before it was fulfilled and this should remind us that His promise to return would also be fulfilled. Advent therefore should be a time of preparation, preparation for both the celebration of Christ’s birth and preparation for His return. It should be a time to reflect on sin, the forgiveness of sin made possible by the shedding of the blood of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and receiving this forgiveness through repentance and belief in Christ. The birth of Christ should so prepare and change us that we are ready for His return. How are we preparing to celebrate the birth of Christ? Do we see His birth as necessary for our redemption and restoration or do we see it just as a time of celebration? The best way to prepare for Christ is to see the great value of our salvation, be sure of it and share the good news with others.
The right preparation for Christ involves listening to God. He always sends us a witness to prepare us since in our sinful condition we cannot do anything for Him. Just as in Exodus God sent an angel ahead of the Israelites to prepare the way to the Promised Land so He sent John to prepare the way to our hearts for the promised Lord. He has promised in His Word He will return and He has clearly stated how we are to prepare for Him. Unfortunately no one likes to do what is involved in the preparation especially in our time when we are used to having what we want instantly. We would rather be on a trip than making preparations for one and would rather be living in a house than making preparations to build one. Life requires preparation, and it is in the preparation that we will either win or lose. It has been said that all is well that begins well. The right preparation for the Lord is to know the Word of God, believe that Jesus Christ is God, and have a personal relationship with Him.
Are we ready to celebrate the birth of Christ and are we ready for His return? The reading from Isaiah refers to the Jews’ return to Jerusalem from the exile in Babylon. The prophet is here calling for the building of a road leading toward home and restoration. In Mark application is made of this event that occurred 6 centuries earlier. Now it’s not a road being built in the wilderness, but rather someone named John the Baptist who’s out in the wilderness advising the people to “Prepare the way for the Lord, and to make straight paths for him”. He is not telling them to prepare a literal road. Rather, he’s telling them to prepare themselves for the coming of Jesus. The imagery is of a road that needs to be repaired so that it may be ready for the Lord to use. In the past, and this still happens today when the King travels, every effort would be made to ensure that the road was as smooth as possible. John’s announcement of the coming of the King and His kingdom and his call to repentance were ways of preparing the way for the coming of Jesus. We are all preparing for something whether we know it or not. The only proper preparation for tomorrow is the right use of today. Preparation today gives success tomorrow and it is always better to prepare than to repair. Spending time on preparation reduces the actual time spent in completing the job as repairing takes up an even longer time. Successful preparation in any endeavour begins with knowing what you want. Then you will go to the right places; find the right people; ask the right questions; and pay the right price. John the Baptist came to prepare the way for Jesus. By telling us that John “appeared” in the wilderness, Mark is drawing a parallel between John the Baptist and the prophet Elijah, who like John frequented the desert, who like John wore a leather belt, and who like John ministered beside the Jordan River. The parallel becomes even more remarkable when we remember that it was beside the Jordan that Elijah the prophet disappeared, and was taken into heaven. Now John appears baptising and proclaiming a baptism of repentance. He told people to repent and to return to God. He also warned them of judgment if they failed to repent. Each one of us has been called to prepare the way for Jesus as well. What is it that keeps you from preparing the way for Jesus? Is it selfishness or some other sinful behaviour? Whatever it is God wants to take care of it so that you can share the good news this Christmas.
Christ has promised He will return and we can be certain that He will. We can be certain because many of the things that He said and promised have already been fulfilled. His death and resurrection, His ascension to heaven and the coming of the Holy Spirit happened just the way He said they would. The fulfilment of these events confirms that all He said that had not yet been fulfilled would also be fulfilled. God is merciful and longsuffering and He has delayed His return because He does not want anyone to perish but that all should come to repentance. How will Christ find us when He returns? Will He find us faithfully waiting for Him and sharing the good news or will He find us busy worldly people who are not expecting Him?
Why are people more concerned about the time of Christ’s return than about the certainty of it? It is for the same reason why workers want to know when the boss is returning? It is also for the same reason why children left at home alone want to know when their parents are returning? When we know when someone is coming back, then we also know for how long we can do what we want to do. When we plan our time we can still get ready and no one would know what we had done. Like in the days of Noah people today are doing what they want to do and not heeding the warning that Christ will return. Just as in Noah’s day the people laughed at him when he warned of the coming judgment, so today people are not taking the Christian message of salvation and the Second Coming of Christ seriously. And just as the flood brought sudden judgment to the world, so the return of Christ will do the same and unbelievers will once again face death and judgment. And just as the ark saved Noah, even so Jesus Christ will become the “ark of safety” for those who have put their trust in Him. Are you ready for the return of the Lord? If Jesus came back today would you be glad to see Him or would you be scared to see Him? Would you rejoice or would you be sad? Would you be happy with your life or would you be embarrassed and ashamed of your life?
How do we prepare for Christ’s return so as not to be embarrassed or ashamed? How can we be sure that we are ready? The only way to prepare and be ready for Christ’s return is to become a Christian and to live the Christian life. And the only way to become a Christian is to trust Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord. We can only trust Him when we believe that it was because of our sinfulness that He had to shed His blood and that His shed blood has cleansed us from sin and imputed to us God’s own righteousness, a righteousness that had never known sin. Our salvation and the nearness of the Lord’s return should motivate us to a life of high moral conduct. We must put on the Lord Jesus Christ. This means we must submit to His Lordship, accept His moral standards, live in constant fellowship with Him and depend on His strength. We are to make no provision for the flesh, doing nothing to foster its sensual desires and appetites. How can we say we trust Christ completely and not live the Christian life? How can we say we love Christ and yet not read His words? Or how can we say we believe His words and yet not obey them? The Christian life is a life that pleases Christ; it is a life that is fruitful. What does Jesus see when He looks at our lives? Will He be pleased with us?
We cannot become Christians after Christ returns. We would have missed the greatest opportunity in the world to enjoy the blessings of eternal life. Let none of us miss the opportunity today to make sure that we belong to Christ. The time for Christ’s return is closer today than it was yesterday, and its closer this moment than it was an hour ago, even a minute ago. Every second that passes brings us one second closer to Jesus’ return, and so we must treat every moment as though it is the moment He will appear. Today could be the day Jesus returns. Today could be the end of time and the beginning of eternity. Today could be the day of reckoning. And even if Jesus does not appear, there is no guarantee that you will live to see tomorrow, and so today could very well be the last day you live before Jesus returns. Would you be ready if He came this moment? Would you be ready if this were the last moment you had before facing Jesus? We should each take a critical look at ourselves because not everyone who calls himself or herself a Christian has a personal relationship with Christ. Have you put your trust in the Saviour? We should be sure of our future now. Prepare for Christ today, tomorrow may be too late.
Although everyone is concerned about the future not many people invest in it. This is because for most people their understanding of future relates only to time – to tomorrow. Only very few people understand that future extends beyond time and into eternity. An average person invests 10-20 years of his or her life preparing for a working life of 20-50 years. He or she often expects that this will take care of him or her for the rest of their life. But what does he or she do about eternity? He or she spends very little time preparing for it. When Christ returns it will not be like His first coming when He was mocked, beaten, spat upon, and crucified on a cross. He is going to return in glory, clothed in power and every knee on earth and in heaven will bow down before Him and every tongue will confess that He is Lord. What would happen to those who had refused to acknowledge His lordship and who had rejected and made fun of Him? They would now have to kneel before Him and face His judgement. If we reject His offer of salvation now, we will have to meet Him as our Judge at the time of our death or at His return. Today is the day of decision and you may not have another day to make your decision. Today let each one of us prepare for Christ by being sure that we have a personal relationship with Him. Amen!
