12-29-19 Benson, Vail Sermon

Mathew 2:13-23 [Christmas 1 CWS A] Pastor Ron Koehler

Grace—Benson/Vail, AZ

December 29, 2019

In the name of our Newborn Savior, dear friends,

Why are good people forced to change their habits and lives because of evil people?

Going through airport security might make you ask yourself that question! Shoes off…belts off…laptops out…food in the bin too…no liquids over so many ounces…

“Do I look like a terrorist?!” It is tough to deal with isn’t it? Why should good people have to suffer or be inconvenienced because of evil people?

And another thing—why are evil men and women allowed to rule and wreak devastation on people? Why are terrorists allowed to do evil things as they exercise control over others by their wicked acts? You might think that I have in mind some leader of ISIL or Al Qaeda, but that’s not who I’m thinking of. I’m thinking of a terrorist ruler from long ago. If we look at what Matthew records in his gospel, we’ll have a better understanding that God has a divine plan and that, instead of questioning his tolerance or wisdom or power, we can step back and see how

GOD USES INCREDIBLE MEANS TO ACCOMPLISH HIS WILL 1. INCREDIBLY BAD THINGS 2. INCREDIBLY GOOD THINGS

If you want to look into the mind of a terrorist, search no farther than Herod the Great, King of Judea, Galilee, Ituraea and Traconitis. Herod was a paranoid king who killed many people, even a number of his own family. When he heard about the birth of the King of the Jews, he feared another serious revolt of the Jewish people against himself and Rome—and he certainly did not want to lose his position of power! Since he had recently killed his own son Antipater, the idea of killing a few Jewish babies in and around Bethlehem was probably not a big deal to him. So when we read what history tells us about Herod, then read in Scripture that (Herod) issued orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and in all the surrounding countryside, from two years old and under, we’re horrified, but not surprised, considering the source.

Imagine all the children in our congregation under the age of 3 suddenly gone. We have 23 children about that age at Grace, a similar number to what was probably in Bethlehem at that time (between 15-30). Think of little ones you know also. What would our lives be like without them? What would our church family be like without them? Who could be so evil and do such a thing? And perhaps our biggest question: “Why would God allow it?”

Sometimes God uses incredibly bad things so that his will might be accomplished.

We are not always privy to the reasons, or what all God accomplishes through difficult, even tragic, events or evil people’s schemes. There is something in this account about Jesus, however, that we can see. God’s prophets had foretold that the Savior would be called out of Egypt. Since Mary and Joseph were from Nazareth and Jesus was born in Bethlehem, how would the prophet’s words be fulfilled? Through the evil intentions of a terrorist king and his wicked command.

The other thing to consider is that if these Jewish toddlers were members of God’s family—and you can bet many (maybe all of them) belonged to families who were waiting for the Savior—then God used the cruel actions of Herod to bring those little ones to heaven. Although difficult for families and friends, how much better isn’t that for those babies. They received the eternal reward that every person who trusts in God is looking forward to.

Tradition in the Christian Church marked the first Sunday after Christmas as the “Slaughter of the Innocents” Sunday. That’s why this text occurs today. It gives us the sobering reminder that even though Christmas is a joyous time of the year and we are happy to know our Newborn King, the fact is—he is the Savior from sin. He had to come because sin affects each of us. It fills us like it filled the terrorist ruler of Judea.

The sin of others touches our lives just as it touched the lives of the Bethlehem families and Joseph and Mary too. The little children who were from God-fearing families were, in a way, really the first Christian martyrs. They died because of the Savior Jesus.

We are to listen to what God tells us about those children who died. But if we only focus on them, we miss the child who was whisked away to safety. God wants us to know that Herod could not stop God’s plan of salvation. In fact, God used his evil actions for the good of his people then and for his glory—just as he promises to do for us as well. GOD USED INCREDIBLE MEANS TO ACCOMPLISH HIS WILL. But God also uses incredibly good things to serve his purpose. Just look at the divine protection he gave Mary and Joseph and Jesus. Incredibly, God sent three dreams to Joseph to give him direction. As the head of the household and the stepfather, really, he was entrusted with the safety of the Son of God himself. The obedient faith of Joseph and Mary is shown as they follow the Lord’s direction.

The wise men had just left when God sent the first dream where an angel told him to take Mary and Jesus to Egypt. They would be safe there—removed from the cruel soldiers of Herod as they searched the area for Jesus. The little family remained in Egypt until Herod died. Again, an angel appeared in a dream to Joseph, directing him to return to Israel. But things didn’t appear to be totally safe there yet because Herod’s son, Archelaus, was now in power. Understandably, Joseph was afraid conditions still wouldn’t be safe for his wife and him…and God’s own Son. A third dream sent from God kept him from harm, instructing him to head far north of Jerusalem to Galilee, to their original hometown of Nazareth.

Those revelations from God—the dreams, the angels—were incredible events!

God used those to accomplish his will. He saved the life of his one and only Son, Jesus. He protected his faithful parents, Mary and Joseph. And he again ensured that the prophet’s words of long ago were fulfilled in Christ. God had a plan of salvation that went back to the Garden of Eden. No little earthly terrorist like Herod was going to ruin that plan. No Roman soldier would end the little Savior’s life prematurely. No wellintentioned, but uninformed parents would be allowed to unwittingly do something or go somewhere that would endanger the Christ child.

God’s plan included many prophets who told God’s people what to look for in a Messiah. They made promises about this Savior. They spoke of a miraculous virgin birth. They talked about him coming from Bethlehem, Egypt, Galilee. That’s pretty specific. How could it happen that way? What would be the circumstances? They must have wondered. But they didn’t need to know why or how. God told them what he wanted them to know, and what he didn’t tell them, he wanted left up to faith. They were to trust and rely on the truth of his Word and his great love for his people.

We get to look back on these bits of history and tie the prophecies to the exact events.

We might say, “I wouldn’t have done it that way!” but we’re not God, are we? We may still wonder why God chose to do things the way he did. But I’ll be honest with you— you can chase after those answers all you want to and be frustrated for the rest of your life and maybe even lose your faith over it—but what good will that do? We are sinful human beings who cannot see the whole divine picture that is the backdrop to everything that happens in this world. Besides, God calls us to trust him—even in spite of some of the things we do see.

And let me tell you what you’re missing if you choose to disagree with God or accuse him or stop trusting his divine will. You miss out on seeing that GOD USES INCREDIBLE MEANS TO ACCOMPLISH HIS WILL. You miss sitting back and seeing the Almighty God work in the lives of people. You miss God thwarting the sinful actions of his enemies. You miss seeing the miracles of Jesus’ birth and the angels’ protective warnings. You miss the examples of faithful obedience in Joseph and Mary. You miss seeing aspects of the divine plan of salvation in Christ!

And if you miss all of that, then you’ll end up missing other important things God tells us about—like the way Jesus led a perfect life, the way he went to the cross with your sins, the way he rose victorious on Easter, and the way he ascended back into heaven.

You’ll miss the comfort that comes from knowing that God watches out for his people in all circumstances—good and bad. You’ll miss the comfort of knowing that he works everything for your good and for his glory. He tells you those things in the book of Romans and here, in Matthew’s gospel, he even shows you how he did that once.

You don’t want to miss those things, I’m sure of it! There was a fight for the throne between Herod and Jesus. That’s the way King Herod viewed it. Jesus actually wasn’t interested in Herod’s earthly throne at all; the Ruler of all things was coming to be the world’s Savior from sin. But there is an important battle being waged today. There is a throne that is being contested. It is a throne for which Jesus fought sin and death and Satan. It is the throne of your heart. Jesus had his heart pierced so that he could rule in your heart. Incredible love moved him to do everything necessary to save us.

Incredible means were sometimes used by God to accomplish it. And God still works in incredible ways today.

We ought to look back at what happened there in Jerusalem and Bethlehem and Egypt and Galilee and be in awe of God’s power and plan and love. We can also be reminded today of how we might better view things that go on in our lives and around us in the world.

God has a plan. His will is accomplished through incredible means—sometimes good things, sometimes bad things. As his people, we need to simply trust that God is there and that he is working. We must be willing to pray, “Your will be done.” Sometimes our lives get shuffled around a bit because of the bad things others do. At those times, remember how Mary and Joseph were inconvenienced—having to move to Egypt for a while. They hadn’t done anything wrong; they weren’t the terrorists! In fact, it sounds like they listened to God all the way along! They were doing the right things. But despite the awful things going on around them and the changes they had to make, they trusted in God and faithfully followed his direction. They are good examples for us.

I’m sure they had questions just like we do, which is okay. I know they were sinful just like we are, which is not okay. Fortunately, we have One who is not merely an example for us to follow, but who is our Savior. That newborn—or probably a toddler by the time of these events—Jesus, whom they cared for and protected, knows what we endure because he endured them. He grew to be our Redeemer. He has taken away our sins and rules in our hearts. Even the grim reminder of sin and its effects as we see them in Herod and his soldiers cannot crowd out the joy that is in our hearts in these days after Christmas! In fact, because it reminds us of our own sin and because we see how Jesus came to take that away, it even intensifies our love and joy for our Newborn Savior! Let the comfort of Jesus’ love and forgiveness live in you richly today and always! Amen.

Now the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.