The Faithfulness of Jesus Matthew 2:13-18
Notes
Transcript
On a plaque marking Abraham Lincoln's birthplace near Hodgenville, Kentucky, is recorded this scrap of conversation: "Any news down 't the village, Ezry?" "Well, Squire McLain's gone t' Washington t' see Madison swore in, and ol' Spellman tells me this Bonaparte fella has captured most o' Spain. What's new out here, neighbor?" "Nuthin' nuthin' a'tall, 'cept fer a new baby born t' Tom Lincoln's. Nothin' ever happens out here." Some events, whether birthdays in Hodgenville (or Bethlehem) or spiritual rebirth in a person's life, may not create much earthly splash, but those of lasting importance will eventually get the notice they deserve.
-Jesus delivers us from sin and suffering through His obedient life and sacrificial death.
-Jesus delivers us from sin and suffering through His obedient life and sacrificial death.
Jesus is…
Jesus is…
I. The Boy Who Enters Our Sorrow v. 13
I. The Boy Who Enters Our Sorrow v. 13
In our passage this morning, we see Herod’s reaction to the news about Jesus and its impact on His family and community
Jesus’s story is not a story of heavenly peace, but of earthly sorrow
He is under the sentence of death from Herod from the earliest days of His life
Jesus and His family will flee the familiarity and comfort of life in Bethlehem, or even a return to Galilee, and end up in Egypt
While the actions described here may seem shocking or extreme, they are very much in keeping with Herod’s character. He also killed:
The last kings who preceded him, from the Hasmonean Dynasty
More than half of the Sanhedrin
Over 300 officers of his own court
His wife, mother-in-law, and three of his own sons
Many of the most notable men in Jerusalem who he gathered together from his deathbed, to be killed upon his own death
Jesus enters into some of the worst kinds of suffering imaginable
I think this ought to give us a bit of pause
Jesus is more than a man, but He is not less than a man either
He shares in the range of human experiences and does not separate Himself from them
He is not untouched or unmoved by it all, but can genuinely say, “Me too”.
Hebrews 4:14–16
[14] Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. [15] For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. [16] Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (ESV)
II. The Boy Who Fulfills Our Obedience vv. 14-15
II. The Boy Who Fulfills Our Obedience vv. 14-15
As Matthew continues the story, Joseph and Mary depart for Egypt, waiting for the right moment to return
Matthew makes an important connection that may feel a bit out of place. He tells us that this is the fulfillment of a prophecy from Hosea 11:1
This passage highlights an ongoing issue in the life of God’s people, Israel. They have been in Egypt and He is calling them out
It speaks to the reality of a disobedient people who are constantly fighting to stay in Egypt, a land of slavery, idolatry, and sin
Left to their own devices, the children of Israel would have stayed there forever, but God raised up a leader to bring them out to a land of promise, a man named Moses
Jesus does for us what we could not do on our own and what Moses could not do for us:
He walks out of Egypt, both literally and symbolically and He carries us with Him
The Law gives us a picture, the Prophets give us a promise, and the Gospel gives us the fulfillment!
There is not a more beautiful truth present in Scripture than this one:
The Lord knew our inability to fulfill the Law, so He sent a substitute who would live the life we could not live
We see this In Matthew 3:15, where it explains His baptism
[14] John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” [15] But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. (ESV)
5. We are not going to find real hope by looking at ourselves, but we must look beyond ourselves to Jesus!
a. We are marked by a radical inability to deliver ourselves
b. But the Good News is that God is offering us a rescue through Jesus
In August 2010, thirty-three miners were trapped almost half a mile underground when their mine in Chile collapsed. It would be two months before rescuers were able to safely dig down and rescue them without causing their space to collapse. When God came to earth in Jesus, he initiated a rescue operation for humanity. Humanity was trapped in sin. Just as the miners could not dig their way out, so humanity cannot free themselves from sin and are dependent on God coming down from heaven to save them. I can’t imagine the miners sitting there for 2 months trying to come up with ways to save themselves, knowing that nothing they could do would work! We need someone to rescue us.
III. The Boy Whose Death Brings Life vv. 16-18
III. The Boy Whose Death Brings Life vv. 16-18
In this last section, we see Herod do something so shockingly evil that it is worth a pause:
He slaughters all of the male children, two and under, in the region of Bethlehem
These innocent children are killed because of the paranoia of a wicked king and there is no way to sugarcoat the circumstance; it is completely evil
All of these deaths are horrific, but there is a bit of good news concealed in the horror; one child escaped. There was a boy who lived!
In the first prophecy, Matthew showed us how Jesus fulfills the Exodus by delivering us from slavery to sin and death
In the second prophecy, Matthew shows us how Jesus fulfills the Exile by bringing hope out of great tragedy
He references Jeremiah 31:15, a passage that needs a little unpacking
In it, Jeremiah calls our attention to Rachel:
She is Jacob’s wife, the mother of Joseph and Benjamin.
She dies in childbirth, yet through her death, a new life is born
Jeremiah, in turn, is prophesying about the Exile, a horrible moment in the life of God’s people where they were taken away to captivity in Babylon
Rachel stands in as a mother for all of Judah, watching from Ramah as they are taken away to Babylon
Nothing about what will take place changes the suffering of the Exile
Yet, there is a hope, because on the other side of all of this pain, there is a new life and a new community of God’s people in Jerusalem.
God does not just rescue, He also restores His people
There may be weeping today, but there is a hope for the people of God and it is found in Jesus Christ
Dr. James Dobson relates a story of an elderly woman named Stella Thornhope who was struggling with her first Christmas alone. Her husband had died just a few months prior through a slow developing cancer. Now, several days before Christmas, she was almost snowed in by a brutal weather system. She felt terribly aloneso much so she decided she was not going to decorate for Christmas.
Late that afternoon the doorbell rang, and there was a delivery boy with a box. He said, "Mrs. Thornhope?" She nodded. He said, "Would you sign here?" She invited him to step inside and closed the door to get away from the cold. She signed the paper and said, "What's in the box?" The young man laughed and opened up the flap, and inside was a little puppy, a golden Labrador Retriever. The delivery boy picked up the squirming pup and explained, "This is for you, Ma'am. He's six weeks old, completely housebroken." The young puppy began to wiggle in happiness at being released from captivity.
"Who sent this?" Mrs. Thornhope asked.
The young man set the animal down and handed her an envelope and said, "It's all explained here in this envelope, Ma'am. The dog was bought last July while its mother was still pregnant. It was meant to be a Christmas gift to you." The young man then handed her a book, How to Care for Your Labrador Retriever.
In desperation she again asked, "Who sent me this puppy?"
As the young man turned to leave, he said, "Your husband, Ma'am. Merry Christmas."
She opened up the letter from her husband. He had written it three weeks before he died and left it with the kennel owners to be delivered with the puppy as his last Christmas gift to her. The letter was full of love and encouragement and admonishments to be strong. He vowed that he was waiting for the day when she would join him. He had sent her this young animal to keep her company until then.
She wiped away the tears, put the letter down, and then remembering the puppy at her feet, she picked up that golden furry ball and held it to her neck. Then she looked out the window at the lights that outlined the neighbor's house, and she heard from the radio in the kitchen the strains of "Joy to the World, the Lord has Come." Suddenly Stella felt the most amazing sensation of peace washing over her. Her heart felt a joy and a wonder greater than the grief and loneliness.
He will rescue you from your sin
He will restore you to God:
He does this through His suffering and death:
Jesus avoids Herod’s death sentence for a little while, but a time does come for Him to die
He willingly lays down His life under the rule of Herod’s son, but on the other side of His death is eternal life!
He dies so that others can live; He lives so that we can live with Him!
This is our hope this Christmas!
Romans 5:6–8
[6] For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. [7] For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—[8] but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (ESV)
