Jesus' Advent Means Restoration

I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking that the verses I just read have nothing to do with fallen descendants of Adam and everything to do with David’s descendants, the Israelites. Yes, some of what Amos said was fulfilled when God brought the Israelites back from captivity in Babylon, but the other things Amos prophesied apply to all fallen descendants of Adam. You see, prophets like Amos had the habit of talking about New Testament spiritual realities using Old Testament pictures. So when Amos said that in the future the grape harvest would be so abundant that when the grapes were pressed the juice would overflow the collecting vats and run down the mountains, he was illustrating how in Christ spiritual blessings overflow. Isn’t that true of forgiveness? It doesn’t matter how many sins we’ve committed or how big those sins may seem to us, they have all been forgiven in Christ. His cleansing blood is so plentiful and powerful that it cannot be contained. It pours out of his heart like the grape juice in Amos’ prophecy poured down the mountain!

Forgiveness is just one blessing we have in Christ. Think of all the other promises God has given us through his Son. God has promised to provide our daily clothes and food. He has promised to protect us and to work everything for our good. He has promised us strength in the midst of trial. He has promised eternal life. Do you remember how else Amos illustrated the wealth of blessings we have in Christ? He said that the day would come when the harvest would be so plentiful that farmers would still be gathering it in when it was time to plant. In the context of North America this would mean harvesting from October until May!

What God wants us to see this morning, Brothers and Sisters, is that Jesus’ advent is not just something that happened in the past with his birth, nor is it something that will only happen in the future with his second coming. Jesus’ advent is now. He comes to us today through Word and Sacrament to restore us fallen descendants of Adam. He does this by cleansing us with his blood and renewing our strength and our will to live through his promises to be with us. We may still feel and look like an old worn house, but Jesus has restored us from the inside out so that we are fit for heaven. Amen.