This Week's Message

“Christmas Rejected”

Matthew 2:13-20

In the small town of Pierson, Iowa this week this town of 360 people had to lay to rest four young girls ages, 10, 10, 11, and 13. They were killed when their snowmobile pulled out in front of a truck driven by a 16-year-old boy. Surely just about everyone in town knew some, if not all of the girls. The town was staggered by their grief.

We’ve had, it seems, more than our share of tragic losses in the last several years. We know what it is like to see several communities mourning at once.

Keep this picture in mind as we turn to Matthew 2:13-20 this morning. This text tells us a story that is unique to the gospel of Matthew. It is the story of how King Herod tried to kill Jesus before he ever had a chance to live.

THE EVENTS

As you recall, the Magi from the East came to Herod looking for the new King that was born to the Jews. When the Magi came to Herod’s palace and asked about a King, they had Herod’s attention.

To say that Herod was a little paranoid would be an understatement! Herod was known as an impulsive tyrant. He was of the same fabric as people like Saddam Hussein and Adolf Hitler. There are some legendary stories about Herod. One of Herod’s young but popular competitors, a high priest, had a “drowning accident” in a pool that was only a few feet deep. Enraged at his favorite wife, Herod had her strangled; he had two innocent sons executed; and on his own deathbed Herod had another son executed (admittedly a guilty one). Although probably fictitious, a purported comment of the emperor is appropriate: Better to be one of Herod’s pigs than his son. The Jewish historian Josephus, reports that Herod ordered nobles executed at his death to ensure mourning when he died; they were instead released at his death, producing celebration. [Bible Background Commentary]

This madman, Herod, wasn’t going to give any new King a chance to usurp his position! Herod had a plan. He would let the Magi do his “dirty work” for him. They were to go and find this “new King” and then report back to Herod. Supposedly, Herod would then go and honor the King also. Herod questioned the Magi as to when they first saw the star declaring the King’s birth. It may have been a year earlier.

After the Magi found Mary and Joseph and presented their gifts, we are told they were warned “in a dream” not to return to Herod. The men listened to the dream and avoided Jerusalem on their return to the their home in the East.

As soon as the Magi had departed from Bethlehem, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. The angel told him to pack up Mary and his new son and head to Egypt because Herod was going to try to kill him. Joseph got up (it appears immediately) and the family left in the night (which would mean no one would know when or where they departed). We must marvel at the obedience of this young man of God. God told him to go and he went!

Herod knew the trip to Bethlehem would only take a day. Consequently, I suspect he looked for the Magi within a couple of days of when they left Jerusalem. After those couple of days had passed, Herod figured he had been double-crossed. Since he didn’t know which of the children in Bethlehem was the alleged new King, he decided to execute ALL the boys under 2 years of age (taking the time from when the Magi had seen the star and most likely adding additional time to that . . . just to be sure) who lived in Bethlehem and the vicinity around Bethlehem.

Bethlehem was a town of about 1000 at this time. This means the number of children killed would have been around 20-30. It may not be a large number but I’m sure it devastated the community of Bethlehem. I know it would devastate the communities of this region if that many children were brutally killed.

Mary, Joseph, and Jesus stayed in Egypt until the death of Herod. He most likely died within a year or so of their exile. After his death, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph for the third time. The angel told him that the “coast was clear” and they could return to Israel. Since Herod’s son was on the throne in Judea, they did not return to Bethlehem (where they probably had begun a business), but instead returned to their hometown of Nazareth.

THE PROPHECIES

Matthew relates this account because he believes it is further evidence of fulfilled prophecies predicted in the Bible. Matthew points to two texts. The first is from Jeremiah 31:15. This refers to the figurative weeping of Rachel (one of the matriarchs of Israel), who was buried in Bethlehem (Gen 35:19). Jeremiah pictures her as mourning as her descendants were carried off into captivity after being subdued by the Babylonians. On the surface, the prophecy doesn’t seem to have anything to do with Jesus. However, Matthew believed everything in the Old Testament was pointing to Christ. The exile of Israel and the mourning associated with that exile (Matthew believed) was a picture of what would happen to Jesus.

The second reference is to Hosea 11:1. Again the context refers plainly to the Israelites leaving Egypt in the Exodus. Matthew applies the text to Jesus because he believes Jesus fulfills Israel’s history.

To be honest, if I heard someone use a text in this fashion in a sermon, I would conclude that it was a bad sermon! Matthew seems to be engaging in “proof-texting” which means taking a text out of context to make it say what you want it to say. (It’s kind of like sound bites in television news coverage – you can take an innocent statement and make it sound bad/or good if you don’t care about context.)

There are two things we must remember about Matthew: First, Matthew was giving us an accurate record of history, even if we don’t understand his use of these Old Testament texts. Second, Matthew is writing under the inspiration and guidance of the Holy Spirit. Since the Holy Spirit does not lie, it means Matthew is using the text appropriately whether we understand it or not.

Some people are concerned that the story of the murder of these children is not found in any historical records. However, it is really not that surprising. As with Saddam Hussein, so many people were killed under his regime that you stop recording them all. Since Herod was killing people all the time, this act of madness would not be deemed “newsworthy”.

LESSONS FROM HEROD’S HORROR

It’s a horrible story. Is this merely a historical record of can we learn something from this tragedy? I’d like to suggest several practical lessons.

First, we should be prepared for attacks against us. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” [Mt. 5:10-12] In Matt. 10:22 Jesus said, “All men will hate you because of me.” In John 15 we read these words,

¹⁸“If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. ¹⁹If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. ²⁰Remember the words I spoke to you: ‘No servant is greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. ²¹They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the One who sent me. [John 15:18-21]

In the middle of November there was quite a controversy about the New York City School system. Under city policy, Jewish menorahs could be displayed for Hanukkah and the Islamic star and crescent could be shown during Ramadan but the Nativity scene could not be displayed during the Christmas season.

There was another story reported just the other day in a West Virginia public school. A fourth grader by the name of Matthew Bartlett drew a picture of a manger scene as his picture of Christmas. The pictures were to be displayed at the annual Christmas program. The young boy was told his picture would not be displayed. The reason? Some people might find it “offensive”. Matthew’s mother complained and explained the damage that would be done to HER son if the picture were not included with the others. She quoted the schools handbook, which said, the school would deal “with each child individually to bring out their qualities and their values and their cultural background." She said. "So I put that in the letter -- and I asked them to treat Matthew in accordance with his values and cultural background." The school reconsidered.

The present seed of persecution toward Biblical Christians is taking several forms. These are presented in a compelling volume written by David Limbaugh titled “PERSECUTION; How Liberals are Waging War Against Christianity”. Limbaugh gives hundreds of examples of the kind of deliberate attempts to silence, marginalize and even criminalize Christianity. He gives examples

Anything associated with Christianity is forbidden in schools while at the same time some schools (in California) are actually teaching children how to practice the Muslim faith! At the University of North Carolina, reading the Koran was required reading, yet they wanted to revoke the charter of the Inter-Varsity fellowship because they would not allow non-Christians to be leaders in the group!
A New Jersey Public School banned the classic Charles Dickens play a Christmas Carol because of it’s spiritual overtones and redemptive message. The watchful officials of St. Paul Minnesota ordered that a few red poinsettias be removed from the decorative holiday display at the Ramsey County Courthouse, because these particular flowers could be associated with Christmas and might offend certain people. The City Council of Little Rock, Arkansas, changed the name of its annual December parade from the “Christmas Parade” to the “Holiday Parade,” in order not to offend religious people.
Christian morality is attacked with regularity. Teaching about abstinence (the only real way to stem the tide of AIDS) is ridiculed as “unrealistic”. Biblical teaching about Homosexuality has been under attack since 1987 when the Homosexual lobby openly admitted that they were going to promote homosexuality so much that it would make the behavior seem normal. (This is a common contemporary strategy called “the Big Lie”…if you say something loud enough and often enough, people will eventually believe it is true.)
Evangelical (people who believe the Bible is God’s standard for living) judges who aspire to the Supreme Court are almost sure to be rejected, not because of their legal skill, but because of their moral foundation. Evangelical Politicians face open ridicule of their faith and will be called narrow- minded and backwards.
Evangelical churches are often discriminated against when it comes to zoning regulations because people seem to think of them as dangerous.

We could go on and on, but you get the idea. Christians are being discriminated against and this may very well lead to being phsycially persecuted (as they already are in many parts of the world). The real question is why? After all Christianity has done not only in forming our country but in humanitarian efforts around the world, why are Christians being attacked? Let’s go back to the words of Jesus.

In John 3, Jesus said,

¹⁹This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. ²⁰Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. ²¹But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.”

Jesus tells us people will hate us because their deeds are evil. People are sinful and they don’t want that sin exposed. The gospel tells it like it is. We are people who are lost and in need of extreme mercy from God. Most of the world wants to believe that they are “o.k.” They want to blame their sinfulness on their genetics or their upbringing. They would rather try to re-define truth than admit the truth of their own sinfulness. This is a secret they want to hide so badly that they will attack anyone who threatens exposure by calling their sin, sin.

Jesus also tells us that we will be persecuted because we do not belong to the world. In other words, people are going to hate us because we have a different mindset than they do. It’s sad, but true. When we were children we did not welcome the children who were different—we made fun of them! It is the same way here. Christians have different values. We belong to Christ. The rest of the world is serving the Devil. We are natural enemies.

Jesus tells us we will be persecuted because He was persecuted. He warns us that we should not expect different treatment than our master. We should not expect different treatment than those who have gone before us. For some reason, people reject the idea that God has come to us and offered us a salvation that we could never earn or deserve. They seem to reject that gift because it would mean they would have to turn away from the things they currently trust for happiness and life. Most people are too proud to change directions!

I’m not telling you this to provoke a Christian “whine” session. I’m not trying to get us talking about politics or current events. I’m just telling you to be prepared. If we know the persecution is coming we should be prepared to answer our critics, we should be prepared to stand for the truth, and we should be bold in the proclamation of the gospel. If we are to suffer, let it be because of our faithfulness, not our weakness.

There is a second lesson from this text. There are hurting people all around us. This is a wonderful story about how God protected the Messiah from the ravages of a mad King. However, we must not forget those who buried their children in Bethlehem. They had a hundred questions: Why us? Why didn’t God protect our children? Did we do something wrong? How could a good God allow something like this?

Frankly, we could try to address these question but discussions and lectures cannot ease the pain of the heart. Rather than defend God in the painful times, we are called to extend His compassion to those who hurt.

During the Christmas season we must be especially attentive to those who hurt. Solomon reminds us, “Even in laughter the heart may ache and joy may end in grief.” (Prov. 14:13). Some of the people who party the hardest during the holidays are those who may be hurting the most.

During this Christmas season I challenge you to look past the superficial platitudes and try to connect with people. Take note of those who have had serious losses in the last several years. Pay attention to those who are alone. Sometimes a simple question, “What are you doing for the holidays?” may open a door to a person’s pain.

It was the evil of men that caused the death of the children in Bethlehem. The whole point of the coming of Christ was to defeat that very evil that caused such intense pain. We must remind people that the Christ of Christmas is the one who has come to “bind up the broken-hearted, preach good news to the poor, and set the prisoners free.” Ours is a message of hope and joy and there are many who need to hear the message clearly.

Finally, We should be Grateful. God loved us enough to send His Son into danger. The same child that escaped the executioners in Bethlehem was nailed to a cross in Jerusalem 33 years later. God sent Christ into the world, knowing the world would hate Him. He sent Him into the world knowing people would twist His words, attack His ways, and resist His message. He did it all for you and for me.

God knows there will be many who will hold their ears. He knows there will be the Herod’s, Hussein’s and Hitler’s of the world. He knows that in spite of His demonstration of love, some will still hate Him and revile Him. He knows there will be those who will engage in pretend faith and those who will try to use Christ to further their own means and line their own pockets. God knows all this, but he sent Jesus anyway.

God sent Jesus because He also knows that some will hear, believe, and follow. Some people will receive God’s offer of grace. Some will find new life. Some will love Him and celebrate His goodness and mercy. These are the people Jesus lived for. These are the people Jesus died for. These are the people who may be attacked in this life, but will celebrate in the next. These people are the reason for Christmas.

We are reaching a point in history when it may be costly to follow Christ. You may soon have to get off the fence. The question that remains is: which group will you be in? Will you stand with those who resist or will you stand with the Savior? Will you stand with those who believe they can do it on their own; or will you stand with those know they have no hope apart from Christ? Will you stand with those who grumble about Christmas or with those who are grateful for Christmas?

It seems to me that the group you choose will determine whether or not you have a Happy Winter Holiday or a truly Merry Christmas.