Connect Malachi 4:2 with Jesus' role as the Light of the World. The Promise of Rising Light: Malachi 4:2 “But for you who fear My name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings, and you will go out and leap like calves from the stall.” Key Pictures in Malachi’s Prophecy • The “sun of righteousness” — a blazing, life-giving light that brings justice and wholeness. • “Healing in its wings” — warmth radiating like rays that mend what sin and darkness have broken. • “Leaping like calves” — exuberant freedom after long confinement. How the New Testament Identifies Jesus with This Rising Sun • Luke 1:78-79 calls Christ “the Sunrise from on high” who “shall shine on those who sit in darkness.” • John 1:4-5, 9 declares that “in Him was life, and that life was the light of men… the true Light that gives light to everyone.” • John 8:12; 9:5; 12:46 record His own words: “I am the Light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” • 2 Corinthians 4:6 links creation’s first light to new-creation light: “God… has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” Shared Themes: Malachi 4 and Jesus’ Light • Righteousness Revealed – Malachi: the sun rises in righteousness. – Jesus: perfectly fulfills all righteousness (Matthew 3:15) and radiates it to believers (1 John 3:7). • Healing Granted – Malachi: healing in the sun’s wings. – Jesus: heals bodies (Matthew 4:23) and, by His wounds, heals souls (1 Peter 2:24). • Liberating Joy – Malachi: leaping calves released from the stall. – Jesus: sets captives free (Luke 4:18) and fills hearts with inexpressible joy (1 Peter 1:8). • Light Overcoming Darkness – Malachi anticipates dawn after a night of judgment. – Jesus dispels the darkness of sin and death (John 12:46; Revelation 21:23). Practical Implications for Today • Confidence: the same righteous Light that rose in Bethlehem still shines; His promises stand firm. • Healing: sin’s wounds, emotional scars, and bodily afflictions find ultimate remedy in His redeeming rays. • Freedom: no bondage—spiritual, habitual, or relational—can withstand the sunrise of Christ’s liberating power. • Witness: as “children of light” (Ephesians 5:8), believers reflect His brightness into a shadowed world until the full day dawns (Proverbs 4:18). |
    |