Advent 3 - Joel 2:28-32 - The Promised Savior

Intro

Joel 2:28–32 (ESV)

28 “And it shall come to pass afterward,

that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh;

your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,

your old men shall dream dreams,

and your young men shall see visions.

29 Even on the male and female servants

in those days I will pour out my Spirit.

30 “And I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke. 31 The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. 32 And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Text: Joel 2:28-32 Theme: The Advent season reminds us that the Promised Savior brings the outpouring of the Spirit, salvation for all who call on His name, and deliverance for His people.

Introduction

Many many centuries ago, the descendants of Abraham were freed from their slavery in Egypt and followed Moses into the desert to seek out the Promised Land.

However, because of their disobedience and hard-heartedness, they ended up wandering in that desert for 40 years. In those 40 years they faced the problem of needing water more than once. They cried out to Moses and God to give them water or they should die of thirst!

And each time God provided water. Twice, in Exodus 17 and Numbers 20 God provided water from the most unlikely source - a rock! Through his servant Moses, God caused a great outpouring of water to satisfy the thirst of his people in a barren land.

About 600 years later, there was a different kind of drought for those who followed God’s will, a spiritual drought. And the prophet Joel was sent to warn them that if they continue in unrepentance then they would face God’s judgement.

But God promised to quench that spiritual thirst by pouring out his Spirit. But this would not be something limited to just the biological children of Israel. This would be offered to people from every tribe, language, and nation, to everyone who would call upon the name of the LORD. And this Spirit would be brought by a Promised Savior.

Advent Connection: During this Advent season, let’s reflect on the fulfillment of God’s promises of the Holy Spirit, salvation and deliverance, through the first coming of Christ and anticipate their ultimate completion at His return.

Outline

I. The Promised Savior Brings the Holy Spirit (v. 28-29)

Text: “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh...”

Explanation:

The Spirit’s outpouring signifies a new era in salvation history.

The New Covenant:

Jeremiah, Ezekiel - 600s and 500s BC

Jeremiah 31:31–34 ESV

31 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, 32 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord. 33 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34 And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”

Ezekiel 36:24–28 ESV

24 I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land. 25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. 26 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. 28 You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God.

Unlike the limited covenants throughout much of the Old Testament, this promise extends to "all flesh"—people of all ages, genders, and social statuses.

Fulfilled at Pentecost (Acts 2:16-21) and continues as Christ builds His church.

Christ-Centered Fulfillment:

Jesus, the Promised Savior, makes the Spirit’s outpouring possible through His life, death, and resurrection (John 16:7).

John 16:7 ESV

7 Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.

Application:

During Advent, celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit, who empowers us to live for Christ and bear witness to His salvation.

Reflect on how the Spirit equips us to proclaim the gospel and live in obedience to the Savior.

II. The Promised Savior Offers Salvation to All Who Call on His Name (v. 30-32)

Text: “And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

Explanation:

The signs in heaven and earth (v. 30-31) signify cosmic upheaval and divine intervention, pointing to the day of the Lord.

And the promised signs were fulfilled through the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ!

Through Christ, Salvation is given to all who call on the name of the Lord in faith and repentance.

This prophecy in Joel is quoted in Acts 15 with the Jerusalem Council where they argued over whether people must become Jews before they could become Christians and this passage is the reason why they said “no! Salvation is for all who call on the name of the LORD!”

Romans 10:13 , emphasizing Jesus as the fulfillment of this prophecy.

Romans 10:11–13 ESV

11 For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. 13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Now, they understood that life change follows that calling. Saying I am a Christian does not make me a Christian any more than saying I’m a unicorn will make me a unicorn. I am not saved by my deeds at all.

I am saved by the Savior.

I once was blind, lost in darkness, but God...

Christ-Centered Fulfillment:

Jesus is the Savior to whom we call; through Him, salvation is extended to Jew and Gentile alike.

His first Advent inaugurated the salvation promised in Joel, and His second Advent will complete it.

Application:

Advent is a time to call on the name of the Lord for salvation and to invite others to do the same.

Rejoice that Christ’s coming makes salvation freely available to all who believe.

III. The Promised Savior Ensures Deliverance for His People (v. 32)

Text: “For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape, as the Lord has said, and among the survivors shall be those whom the Lord calls.”

Explanation:

God’s people are assured of deliverance, not because of their merit but because of His sovereign grace.

God has promised, God has kept his promise in His Son Jesus, and God is continuing keep his promise through the person and work of the Holy Spirit.

Christ-Centered Fulfillment:

Jesus secures deliverance through His atoning work, ensuring that all whom the Lord calls will be saved (John 6:37 ).

John 6:37 ESV

37 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.

His first coming guarantees the ultimate deliverance of His people at His return.

Application:

Advent reminds us to rest in the Savior’s deliverance, knowing that nothing can separate us from His love.

Live with confidence and hope, trusting in the Promised Savior’s faithfulness to bring us safely into His kingdom.

Conclusion

Advent Reflection: Joel 2:28-32 directs our gaze to the Promised Savior, Jesus Christ, who fulfills God’s promises through

the outpouring of the Spirit,

the offer of salvation to all,

and the assurance of deliverance for His people.

Call to Response:

Call on the name of the Lord for salvation and encourage others to do the same.

Rejoice in the gift of the Holy Spirit, given by Christ to lead and empower His people.

Await with hope the return of the Promised Savior, who will bring final restoration and reign forever.

Isaiah 53 ESV

1 Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? 2 For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. 3 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 4 Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. 8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people? 9 And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth. 10 Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. 11 Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. 12 Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.