88.3 Jesus Is Great; He Will Judge

(Luke 3:15-19)

People's hopes began to rise, and they began to wonder whether John perhaps might be the Messiah. So John said to all of them, "I baptize you with water, but someone is coming who is much greater than I am. I am not good enough even to untie his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. He has his winnowing shovel with him, to thresh out all the grain and gather the wheat into his barn; but he will burn the chaff in a fire that never goes out."

In many different ways John preached the Good News to the people and urged them to change their ways. But John reprimanded Governor Herod, because he had married Herodias, his brother's wife, and had done many other evil things.

88.2 The Liberator Comes

(Isaiah 49:8-16)

The Lord says to his people, "When the time comes to save you, I will show you favor and answer your cries for help. I will guard and protect you and through you make a covenant with all peoples.  I will let you settle once again in your land that is now laid waste. I will say to the prisoners, 'Go free!' and to those who are in darkness, 'Come out to the light!' They will be like sheep that graze on the hills; they will never be hungry or thirsty. Sun and desert heat will not hurt them, for they will be lead by one who loves them. He will lead them to springs of water.

"I will make a highway across the mountains and prepare a road for my people to travel. My people will come from far away, from the north and the west, and from Aswan in the south."

Sing heavens! Shout for joy, earth! Let the mountains burst into song! The Lord will comfort his people; he will have pity on his suffering people.

But the people of Jerusalem said, "The Lord has abandoned us! He has forgotten us." So the Lord answers, "Can a woman forget her own baby and not love the child she bore? Even if a mother should forget her child, I will never forget you. Jerusalem, I can never forget you. I have written your name on the palms of my hands.

88.1 Prepare The Coming Of The Lord

(Isaiah 40:1-11)

"Comfort my people, "says our God. "Comfort them! Encourage the people of Jerusalem. Tell them they have suffered long enough and their sins are now forgiven.  I have punished them in full for all their sins."

A voice cries out, "Prepare in the wilderness a road for the Lord! Clear the way in the desert for our God! Fill every valley; level every mountain. The hills will become a plain, and the rough country will be made smooth. Then the glory of Lord will be revealed, and all mankind will see it. The Lord himself. has promised this."

A voice cries out, "Proclaim a message!" "What message shall I proclaim?" I ask. "Proclaim that all mankind are like grass: they last no longer than wild flowers. Grass withers and flowers fade when the Lord sends the wind blowing over them. People are no more enduring than grass. Yes, grass withers and flowers fade, but the word of our God endures forever."

Jerusalem, go up on a high mountain and proclaim the good news! Call out with a loud voice, Zion: announce the good news! Speak out and do not be afraid. Tell the towns of Judah that their God is coming!

The Sovereign Lord is coming to rule with power, bringing with him the people he has rescued. He will take care of his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs together and carry them in his arms; he will gently lead their mothers.

87.4 My Sacrifice Is A Contrite Spirit

(Psalm 51:16-19)

You do not want sacrifices, or I would offer them;
You are not pleased with burnt offerings.
My sacrifice is a humble spirit, O God;
you will not reject a humble and repentant heart.

O God, be kind to Zion and help her;
rebuild the wall of Jerusalem.
Then you will be pleased with proper sacrifices
and with our burnt offerings;
and bulls will be sacrificed on your altar.

87.3 I Come To Do Your Will

(Hebrews 10:1-10)

The Jewish Law is not a full and faithful model of the real things; it is only a faint outline of the good things to come. The same sacrifices are offered forever, year after year. How can the Law, then, by means of these sacrifices make perfect the people who come to God? If the people worshiping God had really been purified from their sins, they would not feel guilty of sin anymore, and all sacrifices would stop. As it is however, the sacrifices serve year after year to remind people of their sins. For the blood of bulls and goats can never take away sins.

For this reason, when Christ was about to come into the world, he said to God: "You do not want sacrifices and offerings, but you have prepared a body for me. You are not pleased with animals burned whole on the altar or with sacrifices to take away sins. Then I said, 'Here I am, to do your will, O God, just as it is written of me in the book of the Law.'"

First he said, "You neither want nor are you pleased with sacrifices and offerings or with animals burned on the altar and the sacrifices who take away sins." He said this even though all these sacrifices are offered according to the Law. Then he said, "Here I am, O God, to do your will." So God does away with all the old sacrifices and puts the sacrifice of Christ in their place. Because Jesus Christ did what God wanted him to do, we are all purified from sin by the offering that he made of his own body once and for all.