“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David, and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.” (Jeremiah 33:14-15)
Jeremiah’s prophecy offers an appropriate message to begin the Advent Season for his words are fulfilled in the birth of the Messiah, Jesus Christ. Jesus is God who came to earth born of a woman, as a human being, from the royal lineage of King David. In Him the Lord promised that He would restore and vindicate His chosen people. Many of the Jews of Jeremiah’s day may have thought of this Messiah as a warrior King who would destroy their enemies the Babylonians and all the nations who had assailed them in the past. The Jews of Jesus’ day thought the same in reference to Herod as well as his Roman overlords. The justice demanded these days is for crippling punishment by means of crushing retribution. It is vengeance rather than mercy.
Jesus came to execute justice not people by being executed on a cross for the sins of all mankind. His way of executing justice was to exact it from Himself. As our eternal King and High Priest Jesus offered Himself on the cross as the atoning sacrifice for the sins of all mankind. He made peace with God by taking judgment on Himself. Now He offers that peace to all men through grace and mercy, not retribution and judgment. Jesus makes people righteous by the faith which He imparts to those who come to Him in humble repentance. No one deserves His mercy. We all deserve punishment, but through Christ Jesus we are now righteous. Truly this good news gives us a reason to rejoice for we are forgiven. Yet it is good news we must proclaim in Jesus’ Name to all mankind for we are His instruments of mercy and forgiveness in this violent and sin-cursed world. Otherwise people will fall under God’s just punishment and suffer eternally.