He Frees Us With His Blood. The earliest and best Greek manuscripts indicate that, in verse 5, John refers to Christ freeing or loosing (rather than "washing") us from our sins by His blood. Because Christ gave His life for us, we can be set free from the bondage of sin and death.

August Heckscher once said, "In one sense freedom is always in crisis." That is true in the spiritual realm as well: the fact that we have been freed from sin presents us with the opportunity for choice. The challenge of this hour is to decide to live for the One who gave His life for you and me.

Advent

The four Sundays before Christmas constitute the Advent season, the beginning of the Christian year. These Sundays afford the opportunity to prepare for Christmas by hearing a variety of texts that relate to the birth of Christ. The passages follow the progression of promise, preparation, and fulfillment. They give us a sense of historical, prophetic, and spiritual dimensions of the coming of the Lord. Preaching the lectionary texts in the Advent season provides a rich opportunity for a fuller and more complete understanding of the Christ event.

THE FIRST SUNDAY

Jeremiah 33:14-16

The first Sunday of the Advent season reminds us of the prophetic tradition and the Old Testament idea of covenant. The prophet Jeremiah, speaking in hard times where political and social conditions seemed to indicate the absence of divine presence, called for renewed faith in God and His promises. God is a covenant God; he has made a promise of blessing to His people Israel that remains valid even in the midst of turmoil and chaos. Jeremiah's words:

1. God will fulfill His promises. (vs. 14). The covenant is based in part on the nature of God, a loving and just partner who will not forsake even though His people forsake Him. The divine character had been forgotten by Israel, as they had gone after other gods. Jeremiah reminds that the promise will be kept, and God's people will be blessed.

2. The promises will be fulfilled through the lineage of David (vs. 15) A "righteous branch" will come forth from the Davidic line and re-establish the kingdom, and bring forth justice and righteousness in the land. There was a great hunger among the people for justice and righteousness, the political and economic conditions of the day were so strikingly unjust and corrupt that surely the promise of a strong one who would deliver from these realities was thrilling.

3. Salvation will come to the people in the form of the righteousness of God. (vs. 16). The name the "Lord is our righteousness" implies the deliverance by a great man from the power of unrighteousness. This ruler will be a man of peace, justice, compassion and mercy. He is to be awaited with hope and urgency. Israel waited for such a Messiah, and in the coming of Jesus Christ, God fulfilled that promise. Many failed to see Him because they were looking for a warrior and a conqueror. But Jesus was what God promised-, in His life, death and resurrection, He executes judgement and brings forth righteousness. He conquered the powers that enslave.