WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:17.920 In those days, Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire 00:00:17.920 --> 00:00:24.000 Roman world. This was the first census that took place while Cyrenius was governor of 00:00:24.000 --> 00:00:31.000 Syria, and everyone went to their own town to register. 00:00:31.000 --> 00:00:38.000 Yes, it is John. 00:00:42.000 --> 00:00:45.000 Sorry, it's Matthew chapter 2. 00:00:45.000 --> 00:00:51.000 Page 966 instead, okay? 00:00:51.000 --> 00:00:58.000 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the 00:00:58.000 --> 00:01:04.000 east came to Jerusalem and asked, Where is the one who has been born King of the Jews? 00:01:04.000 --> 00:01:08.000 We saw his star when it rose, and have come to worship him. 00:01:08.000 --> 00:01:13.000 When King Herod heard this, he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 00:01:13.000 --> 00:01:19.000 When he had called together to call the people's chief priests and teachers of the law, he 00:01:19.000 --> 00:01:22.000 asked them, Were the Messiah would be born? 00:01:22.000 --> 00:01:27.000 In Bethlehem in Judea, they replied, for this is what the prophet had written. 00:01:27.000 --> 00:01:34.000 But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judea, are by no means least among the rulers of Judea. 00:01:34.000 --> 00:01:39.000 For out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel. 00:01:39.000 --> 00:01:46.000 Then Herod called the Magi secretly, and found out from them the exact kind of star that appeared. 00:01:46.000 --> 00:01:51.000 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, Go and search carefully for the child. 00:01:51.000 --> 00:01:59.000 As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him. 00:01:59.000 --> 00:02:09.000 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them, until it stopped over the place where the child walked. 00:02:09.000 --> 00:02:13.000 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 00:02:13.000 --> 00:02:20.000 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshipped him. 00:02:20.000 --> 00:02:27.000 Then they opened their treasures and presented someone's gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 00:02:27.000 --> 00:02:35.000 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route. 00:02:35.000 --> 00:02:41.000 When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. 00:02:41.000 --> 00:02:47.000 Get up, he said. Take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. 00:02:47.000 --> 00:02:54.000 Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him. 00:02:54.000 --> 00:03:02.000 So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night, and left for Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Herod. 00:03:02.000 --> 00:03:06.000 And so was fulfilled what the Lord said through the prophet, 00:03:06.000 --> 00:03:10.000 Out of Egypt I called my son. 00:03:10.000 --> 00:03:22.000 When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity, 00:03:22.000 --> 00:03:28.000 who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. 00:03:28.000 --> 00:03:32.000 Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled, 00:03:32.000 --> 00:03:44.000 A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more. 00:03:44.000 --> 00:03:50.000 After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, 00:03:50.000 --> 00:03:56.000 Get up, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel. 00:03:56.000 --> 00:04:02.000 For those who were trying to take the child's life are dead. 00:04:02.000 --> 00:04:08.000 So he got up, took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel. 00:04:08.000 --> 00:04:17.000 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea, in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. 00:04:17.000 --> 00:04:25.000 Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee, and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. 00:04:25.000 --> 00:04:45.000 So was fulfilled what was fed through the prophet, that he would be called a Nazarene. 00:04:45.000 --> 00:04:49.000 Thanks Kirsty, sorry for the whoopsy daisy at the beginning. 00:04:49.000 --> 00:04:51.000 There we are. 00:04:51.000 --> 00:04:56.000 Yes, I do make mistakes, I know it's hard to believe, but we do. 00:04:56.000 --> 00:05:01.000 Let's pray. 00:05:01.000 --> 00:05:18.000 Father again, we thank you for this account of the Lord Jesus Christ, written so many years ago, 00:05:18.000 --> 00:05:30.000 recorded for us, so that we can read and learn and come to understand more of who Jesus is, 00:05:30.000 --> 00:05:37.000 and the kind of response that is demanded of us. 00:05:37.000 --> 00:05:49.000 And so we pray that you would help us to listen carefully, to apply it to our life by your Spirit, 00:05:49.000 --> 00:05:55.000 and that indeed we would respond as you would have us respond. 00:05:55.000 --> 00:06:07.000 So be our teacher, by your Spirit and through your word, we ask in Jesus' name. Amen. 00:06:07.000 --> 00:06:11.000 So what did you think of him? 00:06:11.000 --> 00:06:18.000 Well, I really warned to him. I thought he was very genuine. Seems to be great company. 00:06:18.000 --> 00:06:23.000 Well, that's not the impression I got. I thought he was a bit weird. 00:06:23.000 --> 00:06:26.000 More interested in talking about himself. 00:06:26.000 --> 00:06:32.000 See, we make judgments about people all the time, don't we? 00:06:32.000 --> 00:06:38.000 A new person joins our work team or somebody moves into our neighbourhood, 00:06:38.000 --> 00:06:42.000 and immediately we begin to form an opinion. 00:06:42.000 --> 00:06:48.000 We judge them on how they look, how they talk, what they're like, where they come from, 00:06:48.000 --> 00:06:54.000 and from all of this we decide whether we'd like to spend time with them or not. 00:06:54.000 --> 00:07:00.000 Well, at the very start of Matthew's Gospel, we've been introduced to Jesus, 00:07:00.000 --> 00:07:07.000 God's promised King who has come to bring about the new creation of our lives. 00:07:07.000 --> 00:07:12.000 So what are your first impressions? 00:07:12.000 --> 00:07:16.000 What do you think about Jesus so far? 00:07:16.000 --> 00:07:20.000 Because in chapter 2 we are introduced to more people. 00:07:20.000 --> 00:07:26.000 Two different people who both form very different opinions. 00:07:26.000 --> 00:07:32.000 For Herod, Jesus is a threat to be destroyed. 00:07:32.000 --> 00:07:39.000 As for the Magi, Jesus is a king to be worshipped. 00:07:39.000 --> 00:07:44.000 Two very different judgments about the same person. 00:07:44.000 --> 00:07:48.000 And the big question that we need to ask ourselves is, 00:07:48.000 --> 00:07:52.000 what's my impression? 00:07:52.000 --> 00:07:58.000 Is Jesus a threat or is he a king? 00:07:58.000 --> 00:08:03.000 Well, let's get into chapter 2 and see. 00:08:03.000 --> 00:08:12.000 First, is he a threat to be destroyed? 00:08:12.000 --> 00:08:16.000 We're first introduced to Herod in verse 1. 00:08:16.000 --> 00:08:21.000 Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea during the time of King Herod. 00:08:21.000 --> 00:08:28.000 Herod had been made king of Judea, king of the Jewish people by the occupying Romans. 00:08:28.000 --> 00:08:34.000 And of course, when you became king, it gave you a God-like status. 00:08:34.000 --> 00:08:38.000 But all of a sudden, Herod is faced with a threat. 00:08:38.000 --> 00:08:42.000 And so are we. 00:08:42.000 --> 00:08:48.000 First, Jesus confronts our autonomy. 00:08:48.000 --> 00:08:51.000 Herod has a knock on the door. 00:08:51.000 --> 00:08:53.000 He has some guests. 00:08:53.000 --> 00:08:59.000 Verse 1, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem. 00:08:59.000 --> 00:09:05.000 Now the Magi weren't just stargazers, but they were well-respected astrologers. 00:09:05.000 --> 00:09:11.000 They were people of great influence and great authority. 00:09:11.000 --> 00:09:14.000 And they came to Herod and asked, 00:09:14.000 --> 00:09:18.000 where is the one who's been born king of the Jews? 00:09:18.000 --> 00:09:22.000 We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him. 00:09:22.000 --> 00:09:26.000 Well, we can hear Herod's unspoken response, can't we? 00:09:26.000 --> 00:09:27.000 What? 00:09:27.000 --> 00:09:33.000 What do you mean, where is the one who's been born king of the Jews? 00:09:33.000 --> 00:09:38.000 I'm the king of the Jews. 00:09:38.000 --> 00:09:44.000 It's like us going to Ars and Ucturon and having a private audience with Michael D. 00:09:44.000 --> 00:09:47.000 and sitting down over a cup of tea with him and saying, 00:09:47.000 --> 00:09:53.000 excuse me, Michael, I wonder if you could tell me where I could find the president. 00:09:53.000 --> 00:09:58.000 At the very least, it's disrespectful and arrogant, isn't it? 00:09:58.000 --> 00:10:08.000 And for Herod, for somebody to come into his town, into his palace, and ask where the king of the Jews was, 00:10:08.000 --> 00:10:11.000 well, that was equal to treason. 00:10:11.000 --> 00:10:20.000 Verse 3, when King Herod heard this, he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 00:10:20.000 --> 00:10:22.000 Herod was seething. 00:10:22.000 --> 00:10:24.000 He was raging. 00:10:24.000 --> 00:10:31.000 Up from his seat, throwing papers in the air, chucking whatever was nearest at hand against the wall. 00:10:31.000 --> 00:10:38.000 Prominent officials coming from another country have come to worship the king, and it's not him. 00:10:38.000 --> 00:10:47.000 This was not good news for anyone, especially for the people of Jerusalem. 00:10:47.000 --> 00:10:53.000 History tells us that Herod had killed wives of his, and knocked off some of his brothers, 00:10:53.000 --> 00:10:59.000 because he thought they were a threat and there was whispering going on in the corridors. 00:10:59.000 --> 00:11:08.000 Well, if he could do that to his nearest and dearest, what do you think he could do to the people? 00:11:08.000 --> 00:11:14.000 You see, the problem for Herod was, this was all very personal. 00:11:14.000 --> 00:11:20.000 Herod has been confronted with the reality that though he's been appointed as king, 00:11:20.000 --> 00:11:28.000 though he's acting as ruling king, he is not the king, and he doesn't like it. 00:11:28.000 --> 00:11:41.000 Now, none of us may have the grand title of being king, but we sure do like to act as king, don't we? 00:11:41.000 --> 00:11:50.000 We've all appointed self as king, and we rule our lives as if I am the king. 00:11:50.000 --> 00:11:57.000 This is my life, and I'm going to live it the way I please. 00:11:57.000 --> 00:12:02.000 We've claimed a godlike status. 00:12:02.000 --> 00:12:09.000 You see, the coming of Jesus confronts not just Herod, but he confronts you and me. 00:12:09.000 --> 00:12:12.000 He claims an authority over us. 00:12:12.000 --> 00:12:17.000 He demands complete loyalty from us. 00:12:17.000 --> 00:12:22.000 Jesus' kingship disturbs us. 00:12:22.000 --> 00:12:28.000 It's a threat to our autonomy. 00:12:28.000 --> 00:12:37.000 But Jesus also, in his coming, reveals our worship, or who we worship. 00:12:37.000 --> 00:12:42.000 Look back at verse 2, the Magi had come with a very specific purpose. 00:12:42.000 --> 00:12:48.000 They declare, we have come to worship Jesus. 00:12:48.000 --> 00:12:52.000 And now Herod wants to join in, doesn't he, verse 8. 00:12:52.000 --> 00:12:57.000 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, oh, go and search carefully for the child. 00:12:57.000 --> 00:13:04.000 As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him. 00:13:04.000 --> 00:13:09.000 But the truth is, it's not really the worship of Jesus that Herod is concerned about. 00:13:09.000 --> 00:13:14.000 He has other things that he likes to worship. 00:13:14.000 --> 00:13:19.000 You see, worship is not just reserved for the religious. 00:13:19.000 --> 00:13:23.000 Worship is something we all do. 00:13:23.000 --> 00:13:30.000 Worship literally means to serve or to bow down to. 00:13:30.000 --> 00:13:37.000 It comes from the word worth or worthy. 00:13:37.000 --> 00:13:42.000 In other words, it's giving value and honour to someone or to something. 00:13:42.000 --> 00:13:46.000 So whatever we consider to be of highest value, 00:13:46.000 --> 00:13:50.000 whatever we consider to be of greater honour, 00:13:50.000 --> 00:13:53.000 that's what we serve. 00:13:53.000 --> 00:13:55.000 That's what we bow down to. 00:13:55.000 --> 00:13:58.000 That's what we will worship. 00:13:58.000 --> 00:14:08.000 And for Herod, the thing that was of greater worth to him was power and control. 00:14:08.000 --> 00:14:11.000 And he would do whatever it takes to get it. 00:14:11.000 --> 00:14:14.000 Power is what he serves. 00:14:14.000 --> 00:14:16.000 Control is what he bows to. 00:14:16.000 --> 00:14:21.000 This is his worship. 00:14:21.000 --> 00:14:27.000 The question for us is, what do you worship? 00:14:27.000 --> 00:14:29.000 Just think about that for a minute. 00:14:29.000 --> 00:14:34.000 Whatever you consider to be your highest value. 00:14:34.000 --> 00:14:37.000 What is the thing that you treasure the most, 00:14:37.000 --> 00:14:42.000 that you can't bear to think that if it was taken away from me, I couldn't live. 00:14:42.000 --> 00:14:46.000 Whatever you consider to be your greatest honour. 00:14:46.000 --> 00:14:50.000 It could be a person, someone close to you. 00:14:50.000 --> 00:14:55.000 It could be your work, a dream, a desire. 00:14:55.000 --> 00:15:01.000 Whatever occupies your thinking when you're daydreaming, perhaps even right now. 00:15:01.000 --> 00:15:05.000 That's what you worship. 00:15:05.000 --> 00:15:09.000 That's what you give your life to. 00:15:09.000 --> 00:15:24.000 Well, Psalm 95 reminds us, or as we read in Revelation earlier, that God alone is to be worshipped. 00:15:24.000 --> 00:15:31.000 This is what Psalm 95 says, for the Lord is the great God, the great King above all gods. 00:15:31.000 --> 00:15:35.000 Come, let us bow down in worship. 00:15:35.000 --> 00:15:43.000 Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker, for he is our God. 00:15:43.000 --> 00:15:45.000 And Jesus comes, doesn't he? 00:15:45.000 --> 00:15:47.000 As the God-man. 00:15:47.000 --> 00:15:50.000 Have a look back at chapter 1, verse 23. 00:15:54.000 --> 00:15:55.000 Chapter 1, verse 23. 00:15:55.000 --> 00:16:08.000 The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him, that's Jesus, will be called Emmanuel, which means God with us. 00:16:08.000 --> 00:16:12.000 Jesus isn't just another person who comes. 00:16:12.000 --> 00:16:14.000 Jesus is God. 00:16:14.000 --> 00:16:16.000 He is the great King. 00:16:16.000 --> 00:16:19.000 He is the one that deserves our worship. 00:16:19.000 --> 00:16:21.000 He is the one we bow down to. 00:16:21.000 --> 00:16:24.000 We are to give our lives in service to him. 00:16:24.000 --> 00:16:27.000 We are to bow in submission to him. 00:16:27.000 --> 00:16:32.000 In other words, we are to let go of the things that we consider of most worth, 00:16:33.000 --> 00:16:41.000 and take hold with all our might, Jesus, who is to be our greatest worth. 00:16:43.000 --> 00:16:46.000 You see, the coming of Jesus confronts us. 00:16:46.000 --> 00:16:56.000 And as he confronts us, he reveals what our hearts desire the most. 00:16:56.000 --> 00:16:59.000 He reveals our worship. 00:16:59.000 --> 00:17:03.000 And sometimes we don't like what we see. 00:17:07.000 --> 00:17:12.000 Third, though, Jesus exposes our hearts. 00:17:12.000 --> 00:17:15.000 Herod was clearly irate. 00:17:15.000 --> 00:17:18.000 That's an understatement. 00:17:18.000 --> 00:17:19.000 He was livid. 00:17:19.000 --> 00:17:21.000 Look at verse 16. 00:17:21.000 --> 00:17:27.000 When Herod realised that he had been outwitted by the Magi, 00:17:27.000 --> 00:17:35.000 he was furious and gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity, 00:17:35.000 --> 00:17:38.000 who were two years old and under, 00:17:38.000 --> 00:17:42.000 in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. 00:17:42.000 --> 00:17:45.000 It was brutal and horrific. 00:17:47.000 --> 00:17:52.000 Historians reckon, given on the size of Bethlehem and the population at that time, 00:17:52.000 --> 00:18:00.000 that roughly around 15 to 20 families would have lost a son to this mindless murder. 00:18:00.000 --> 00:18:03.000 A small town. 00:18:03.000 --> 00:18:06.000 Yet all those families impacted. 00:18:07.000 --> 00:18:08.000 The grief. 00:18:09.000 --> 00:18:18.000 Yet behind it all was a desperate attempt by Herod to protect his autonomy and to secure his power. 00:18:19.000 --> 00:18:22.000 Destroy the threat and all will be well. 00:18:22.000 --> 00:18:24.000 Get rid of this king. 00:18:25.000 --> 00:18:28.000 And I will now live my life in peace. 00:18:33.000 --> 00:18:36.000 This account is surely disturbing to read. 00:18:37.000 --> 00:18:42.000 But perhaps what is even more disturbing is that I am Herod. 00:18:43.000 --> 00:18:46.000 And you are Herod. 00:18:46.000 --> 00:18:50.000 Because we do want to be king of our life, don't we? 00:18:50.000 --> 00:18:53.000 We want to be the centre of our world. 00:18:53.000 --> 00:18:58.000 We want to get rid of the king and live my life in peace. 00:19:01.000 --> 00:19:04.000 In fact, every time we fight against the kingship of Jesus, 00:19:05.000 --> 00:19:07.000 every time we disobey his word, 00:19:08.000 --> 00:19:10.000 each day we just decide, 00:19:10.000 --> 00:19:13.000 I am not going to open the Bible, 00:19:13.000 --> 00:19:16.000 I am not going to listen to him today. 00:19:16.000 --> 00:19:20.000 We are standing with those who call for the death of an innocent man. 00:19:21.000 --> 00:19:24.000 Remember the trial of Jesus before Pilate? 00:19:25.000 --> 00:19:27.000 Follow on the screen. 00:19:28.000 --> 00:19:32.000 What shall I do then with Jesus who is called the Messiah, Pilate asked. 00:19:33.000 --> 00:19:36.000 They all answered, crucify him. 00:19:36.000 --> 00:19:38.000 Why? 00:19:39.000 --> 00:19:42.000 What crime has he committed, asked Pilate? 00:19:42.000 --> 00:19:45.000 But they shouted all the louder, crucify him. 00:19:48.000 --> 00:19:49.000 Like Herod, 00:19:50.000 --> 00:19:51.000 and like the crowds, 00:19:52.000 --> 00:19:56.000 we too in our lives in different ways and in different times, 00:19:57.000 --> 00:19:59.000 have sought to get rid of Jesus, 00:20:00.000 --> 00:20:01.000 to silence him, 00:20:02.000 --> 00:20:03.000 to keep him at distance, 00:20:03.000 --> 00:20:06.000 to keep our autonomy, 00:20:06.000 --> 00:20:08.000 to secure our desires. 00:20:09.000 --> 00:20:10.000 You see, like it or not, 00:20:11.000 --> 00:20:12.000 Jesus is a threat 00:20:13.000 --> 00:20:15.000 to our God-like status. 00:20:16.000 --> 00:20:19.000 We much prefer to sit on the throne 00:20:20.000 --> 00:20:21.000 and be boss. 00:20:22.000 --> 00:20:23.000 And when challenged, 00:20:24.000 --> 00:20:26.000 we will eliminate him. 00:20:29.000 --> 00:20:31.000 So let me ask us all again, 00:20:31.000 --> 00:20:35.000 is Jesus a threat to you? 00:20:36.000 --> 00:20:40.000 When he claims total authority over you, 00:20:41.000 --> 00:20:44.000 demanding your loyalty and allegiance, 00:20:45.000 --> 00:20:47.000 is that a threat to you today? 00:20:48.000 --> 00:20:50.000 A threat that you want to destroy? 00:20:50.000 --> 00:20:51.000 that you want to destroy? 00:20:57.000 --> 00:20:58.000 Or, 00:20:59.000 --> 00:21:02.000 is he a king to be worshipped? 00:21:03.000 --> 00:21:08.000 We now look at the response of the Magi, verse 11. 00:21:08.000 --> 00:21:09.000 Verse 11. 00:21:09.000 --> 00:21:11.000 On coming to the house, 00:21:11.000 --> 00:21:14.000 they saw the child with his mother Mary, 00:21:15.000 --> 00:21:18.000 and they bowed down and worshipped him. 00:21:19.000 --> 00:21:23.000 Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, 00:21:24.000 --> 00:21:25.000 frankincense, 00:21:26.000 --> 00:21:27.000 and myrrh. 00:21:27.000 --> 00:21:31.000 Although the Magi were very important people 00:21:32.000 --> 00:21:34.000 and had authority and power themselves, 00:21:35.000 --> 00:21:37.000 as they come to Jesus in his infancy, 00:21:38.000 --> 00:21:39.000 young as though he was, 00:21:40.000 --> 00:21:43.000 they see one who is greater than they are. 00:21:44.000 --> 00:21:45.000 Did you see their action? 00:21:46.000 --> 00:21:48.000 They bowed down. 00:21:48.000 --> 00:21:51.000 They took up a position of submission. 00:21:52.000 --> 00:21:53.000 They stooped lower. 00:21:54.000 --> 00:21:55.000 They are saying, 00:21:56.000 --> 00:21:57.000 you are king, 00:21:58.000 --> 00:21:59.000 and I am here to serve you. 00:22:01.000 --> 00:22:04.000 In fact, in a demonstration of their submission, 00:22:05.000 --> 00:22:06.000 they give of their treasures. 00:22:07.000 --> 00:22:11.000 They bring with them the things that they value the most, 00:22:11.000 --> 00:22:16.000 and they offer them to the king who is worth the most. 00:22:18.000 --> 00:22:19.000 But why? 00:22:20.000 --> 00:22:23.000 Why would they worship Jesus? 00:22:24.000 --> 00:22:27.000 Why would they behave in such a way towards this child? 00:22:28.000 --> 00:22:32.000 Well, I think as we go through the rest of chapter 2, 00:22:33.000 --> 00:22:38.000 we are given three reasons as to why we should worship Jesus. 00:22:38.000 --> 00:22:43.000 And these three reasons all relate to a phrase 00:22:44.000 --> 00:22:47.000 that appears in the rest of chapter 2, 00:22:48.000 --> 00:22:52.000 which relates to scripture being fulfilled by Jesus. 00:22:53.000 --> 00:22:55.000 Three times we are told that this is fulfilling 00:22:56.000 --> 00:22:58.000 what God had said through the prophets. 00:22:59.000 --> 00:23:00.000 So let's look at each one in turn. 00:23:01.000 --> 00:23:04.000 First, the reason to worship him is 00:23:04.000 --> 00:23:08.000 Jesus offers a new exodus for us. 00:23:11.000 --> 00:23:14.000 Being told of, in a dream, 00:23:15.000 --> 00:23:17.000 Joseph was told in a dream of Herod's plans, 00:23:18.000 --> 00:23:20.000 Mary and Joseph escaped down to Egypt 00:23:21.000 --> 00:23:22.000 with their son, Jesus. 00:23:23.000 --> 00:23:25.000 It was about a 120-kilometer walk, 00:23:26.000 --> 00:23:27.000 quite a distance to get away. 00:23:28.000 --> 00:23:29.000 Verse 15, 00:23:29.000 --> 00:23:34.000 And there they stayed until the death of Herod. 00:23:35.000 --> 00:23:38.000 And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet, 00:23:39.000 --> 00:23:42.000 Out of Egypt I called my son. 00:23:43.000 --> 00:23:46.000 Now that's a really important phrase. 00:23:47.000 --> 00:23:49.000 Out of Egypt I called my son. 00:23:49.000 --> 00:23:52.000 It's a quote that comes from the prophet Hosea. 00:23:53.000 --> 00:23:55.000 And if you were to look up Hosea, 00:23:55.000 --> 00:24:00.000 you will see that Hosea is talking about the time of the Exodus. 00:24:01.000 --> 00:24:03.000 He's bringing the people back to the time of their slavery. 00:24:04.000 --> 00:24:08.000 When Israel had been taken as slaves down into Egypt 00:24:09.000 --> 00:24:10.000 under the brutal regime of Pharaoh. 00:24:10.000 --> 00:24:11.000 And God had confronted Pharaoh. 00:24:11.000 --> 00:24:14.000 And God had confronted Pharaoh. 00:24:15.000 --> 00:24:17.000 Like another king, like Herod was. 00:24:18.000 --> 00:24:21.000 And this is what God said to Pharaoh. 00:24:23.000 --> 00:24:26.000 Israel is my firstborn son. 00:24:27.000 --> 00:24:33.000 And I told you, let my son go that he may worship me. 00:24:35.000 --> 00:24:37.000 And that's what God did. 00:24:37.000 --> 00:24:43.000 He came down to the people and he rescued his son, his child, Israel, 00:24:44.000 --> 00:24:48.000 these people from slavery and from under the brutal regime of Pharaoh. 00:24:48.000 --> 00:24:53.000 And he brought them out so that they might worship God. 00:24:55.000 --> 00:24:58.000 They made their Exodus from Egypt. 00:24:59.000 --> 00:25:01.000 God delivered them. 00:25:01.000 --> 00:25:07.000 Now that's what we need to be thinking about when Matthew tells us 00:25:08.000 --> 00:25:10.000 that Jesus went down into Egypt 00:25:11.000 --> 00:25:14.000 and came up out of Egypt. 00:25:15.000 --> 00:25:18.000 He's telling us that someone new has come. 00:25:18.000 --> 00:25:20.000 Jesus is the one who has come to bring about 00:25:21.000 --> 00:25:24.000 a new kind of Exodus for all people. 00:25:25.000 --> 00:25:30.000 He has come to deliver us and free us from an even greater slavery. 00:25:31.000 --> 00:25:35.000 Scripture reminds us what that slavery is. 00:25:36.000 --> 00:25:38.000 The Apostle Paul put it like this, 00:25:38.000 --> 00:25:43.000 Thanks be to God that though you used to be slaves to sin, 00:25:44.000 --> 00:25:46.000 you have been freed from sin 00:25:47.000 --> 00:25:50.000 and now have become slaves to righteousness. 00:25:50.000 --> 00:25:57.000 Jesus has come to free us from a life that is enslaved from doing things 00:25:57.000 --> 00:26:01.000 and making choices that we don't want to do but we keep on doing 00:26:02.000 --> 00:26:04.000 and that just ruin our life. 00:26:05.000 --> 00:26:11.000 He delivers us from sinful patterns and habits that destroy us and break us. 00:26:11.000 --> 00:26:16.000 He offers a new kind of Exodus, a way out. 00:26:17.000 --> 00:26:22.000 He gives us a new way to live, a life of righteousness. 00:26:24.000 --> 00:26:31.000 The chains of our past, the sins that weigh us down that people will not let us forget 00:26:31.000 --> 00:26:38.000 and keep reminding us of, that continually trip us off and cut us up. 00:26:39.000 --> 00:26:44.000 He releases us from those chains and he sets us free. 00:26:45.000 --> 00:26:48.000 Isn't that what we all need? 00:26:48.000 --> 00:26:51.000 A way out from our past? 00:26:51.000 --> 00:26:57.000 To be delivered from the mess of our own choices and decisions? 00:26:59.000 --> 00:27:03.000 To be freed from a life that we cannot change ourself? 00:27:05.000 --> 00:27:07.000 Well, Jesus is saying, come to me, 00:27:07.000 --> 00:27:10.000 because I am that way out. 00:27:10.000 --> 00:27:14.000 I am the one who offers a new Exodus. 00:27:15.000 --> 00:27:19.000 So come, worship me. 00:27:22.000 --> 00:27:25.000 So Jesus offers a new Exodus. 00:27:26.000 --> 00:27:31.000 The second, Jesus also ends the exile for us. 00:27:33.000 --> 00:27:36.000 While Jesus managed to escape with his parents to Egypt, 00:27:37.000 --> 00:27:41.000 Herod went on his raging rampage. 00:27:42.000 --> 00:27:44.000 We could imagine that horrific scene. 00:27:45.000 --> 00:27:48.000 Infants being dragged and forced from their parents 00:27:49.000 --> 00:27:52.000 as they were slaughtered in the streets by his soldiers. 00:27:53.000 --> 00:27:56.000 We could only imagine the heartache and the pain 00:27:57.000 --> 00:27:58.000 that those families must have felt. 00:27:59.000 --> 00:28:01.000 We don't even want to go there. 00:28:02.000 --> 00:28:04.000 And to help us grasp the devastation, 00:28:04.000 --> 00:28:08.000 Matthew quotes from the prophet Jeremiah. 00:28:09.000 --> 00:28:10.000 Look at verse 17. 00:28:14.000 --> 00:28:16.000 So keeping in mind the slaughter, 00:28:17.000 --> 00:28:18.000 verse 17, 00:28:19.000 --> 00:28:22.000 then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled. 00:28:22.000 --> 00:28:25.000 A voice is heard in Ramah, 00:28:25.000 --> 00:28:28.000 weeping and great mourning. 00:28:29.000 --> 00:28:31.000 Rachel weeping for her children 00:28:32.000 --> 00:28:36.000 and refusing to be comforted because they are no more. 00:28:37.000 --> 00:28:41.000 That was the weeping in the morning going on in Bethlehem 00:28:42.000 --> 00:28:48.000 as families grieved over their young son being taken from them. 00:28:48.000 --> 00:28:53.000 You see, it's right to mourn such loss, isn't it? 00:28:54.000 --> 00:29:01.000 It's right to grieve over the injustices we see plastered across our screens every week. 00:29:02.000 --> 00:29:07.000 Just as our nation mourns once again over the loss of Aisling Murphy, 00:29:07.000 --> 00:29:11.000 a young woman brutally murdered at the age of 23. 00:29:12.000 --> 00:29:15.000 No, God is not immune to the hurts. 00:29:16.000 --> 00:29:18.000 He grieves with us. 00:29:19.000 --> 00:29:20.000 He comforts us. 00:29:20.000 --> 00:29:22.000 He sees, he knows and understands. 00:29:23.000 --> 00:29:28.000 But yet there is something deeper that Matthew wants us to see. 00:29:28.000 --> 00:29:33.000 This quote from Jeremiah that we've just read 00:29:34.000 --> 00:29:39.000 is taken from when Israel had ended up in exile. 00:29:40.000 --> 00:29:43.000 It was a horrific time for that time in history. 00:29:44.000 --> 00:29:47.000 The people taken away into captivity, 00:29:48.000 --> 00:29:49.000 torn from their land, 00:29:50.000 --> 00:29:51.000 carried away as slaves once again. 00:29:52.000 --> 00:29:54.000 Children separated from parents, 00:29:55.000 --> 00:29:56.000 parents from their children. 00:29:56.000 --> 00:30:00.000 There was great weeping and mourning. 00:30:01.000 --> 00:30:04.000 But into the midst of this tragedy, 00:30:05.000 --> 00:30:07.000 there is a spark of hope. 00:30:08.000 --> 00:30:11.000 Go with me back to Jeremiah chapter 31. 00:30:12.000 --> 00:30:14.000 You can keep a finger in Matthew 1. 00:30:15.000 --> 00:30:20.000 Go back to Jeremiah chapter 31. 00:30:20.000 --> 00:30:28.000 If you're using a church Bible, 00:30:29.000 --> 00:30:32.000 maybe you could just call out the page number if somebody has it. 00:30:33.000 --> 00:30:34.000 Jeremiah 31. 00:30:36.000 --> 00:30:37.000 7-9-1. 00:30:37.000 --> 00:30:44.000 So the quote in Matthew, 00:30:45.000 --> 00:30:47.000 this is what we have to have in mind, 00:30:47.000 --> 00:30:48.000 is the exile, 00:30:49.000 --> 00:30:53.000 the time when Israel were taken off by Babylon. 00:30:54.000 --> 00:30:56.000 And we pick it up in verse 15. 00:30:56.000 --> 00:31:03.000 And here is a description of the tragedy and the awfulness of it. 00:31:04.000 --> 00:31:07.000 This is what we've just read in Matthew chapter 31, verse 15. 00:31:08.000 --> 00:31:09.000 This is what the Lord says. 00:31:10.000 --> 00:31:12.000 A voice is heard in Ramah, 00:31:13.000 --> 00:31:14.000 mourning and great weeping, 00:31:15.000 --> 00:31:18.000 Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted 00:31:18.000 --> 00:31:21.000 because they are no more. 00:31:24.000 --> 00:31:26.000 It's telling us the awfulness of the exile. 00:31:27.000 --> 00:31:29.000 But it doesn't stop there. 00:31:30.000 --> 00:31:32.000 Because God promises something better to come. 00:31:33.000 --> 00:31:34.000 Read on, verse 16. 00:31:35.000 --> 00:31:36.000 This is what the Lord says. 00:31:37.000 --> 00:31:40.000 Restrain your voice from weeping 00:31:41.000 --> 00:31:43.000 and your eyes from tears. 00:31:44.000 --> 00:31:47.000 For your work will be rewarded, declares the Lord. 00:31:48.000 --> 00:31:51.000 They will return from the land of the enemy. 00:31:51.000 --> 00:31:56.000 So there is hope for your descendants, declares the Lord. 00:31:57.000 --> 00:32:01.000 Your children will return to their own land. 00:32:04.000 --> 00:32:09.000 You see, God had promised to end the exile. 00:32:10.000 --> 00:32:14.000 He promised to come and end the weeping and the mourning. 00:32:15.000 --> 00:32:17.000 To bring them back to a place of safety. 00:32:17.000 --> 00:32:18.000 To wipe away their tears. 00:32:18.000 --> 00:32:22.000 To bring them back to a home of peace and security. 00:32:22.000 --> 00:32:23.000 To bring them back to a home of peace and security. 00:32:25.000 --> 00:32:27.000 Let's go back to Matthew. 00:32:28.000 --> 00:32:31.000 Now I think that's what Matthew wants us to see. 00:32:32.000 --> 00:32:37.000 That this is what Jesus has come to do for us. 00:32:37.000 --> 00:32:45.000 You see, to some extent we can all say that we are all living in exile. 00:32:46.000 --> 00:32:54.000 If we are trusting God, we are living away from our true home, heaven itself. 00:32:54.000 --> 00:32:58.000 We live in a world where we experience pain and heartache. 00:32:58.000 --> 00:33:01.000 Tears and weeping. 00:33:01.000 --> 00:33:04.000 Lives are ruined. 00:33:04.000 --> 00:33:06.000 Our relationships break. 00:33:06.000 --> 00:33:08.000 Death robs us of our loved ones. 00:33:08.000 --> 00:33:10.000 Terrible murders happen. 00:33:10.000 --> 00:33:12.000 Acts of great injustice. 00:33:12.000 --> 00:33:15.000 And we grieve and we mourn. 00:33:15.000 --> 00:33:21.000 And sometimes the pain is so deep that there is nothing and no one who can comfort us. 00:33:22.000 --> 00:33:25.000 But that's precisely why Jesus has come. 00:33:26.000 --> 00:33:29.000 Jesus enters into a world broken by sin. 00:33:30.000 --> 00:33:34.000 And he says, I have come to end your exile here on this earth. 00:33:34.000 --> 00:33:36.000 I have come to bring you home. 00:33:36.000 --> 00:33:43.000 I will bring you to your ultimate place of peace and safety. 00:33:47.000 --> 00:33:49.000 As Revelation reminds us. 00:33:50.000 --> 00:33:55.000 That God will wipe every tear from their eyes. 00:33:56.000 --> 00:33:58.000 And there will be no more death. 00:33:59.000 --> 00:34:01.000 Or mourning or crying or pain. 00:34:01.000 --> 00:34:05.000 For the old order of things has passed away. 00:34:06.000 --> 00:34:09.000 And he who was seated on the throne. 00:34:09.000 --> 00:34:10.000 The King. 00:34:10.000 --> 00:34:11.000 The Lord of all. 00:34:12.000 --> 00:34:15.000 Said I am making everything new. 00:34:18.000 --> 00:34:19.000 Jesus has come. 00:34:20.000 --> 00:34:21.000 To end the exile. 00:34:22.000 --> 00:34:26.000 To bring us home to a place of safety and security. 00:34:27.000 --> 00:34:30.000 It is in him we put our trust. 00:34:31.000 --> 00:34:32.000 To end the exile. 00:34:32.000 --> 00:34:33.000 To end the exile. 00:34:33.000 --> 00:34:35.000 So Jesus is the new exodus. 00:34:35.000 --> 00:34:38.000 He ends the exile. 00:34:39.000 --> 00:34:41.000 But how will all this be achieved? 00:34:42.000 --> 00:34:44.000 How will this actually all happen? 00:34:44.000 --> 00:34:51.000 Well third, Jesus humbles himself for us. 00:34:51.000 --> 00:34:52.000 After the return from Egypt. 00:34:52.000 --> 00:34:56.000 After the return from Egypt. 00:34:57.000 --> 00:35:01.000 Joseph and Mary and Jesus come back. 00:35:01.000 --> 00:35:03.000 We pick it up in verse 23. 00:35:04.000 --> 00:35:09.000 And they went and lived in a town called Nazareth. 00:35:09.000 --> 00:35:10.000 Called Nazareth. 00:35:10.000 --> 00:35:14.000 So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets. 00:35:15.000 --> 00:35:18.000 That he would be called a Nazarene. 00:35:19.000 --> 00:35:24.000 Now this is much more than just an interesting detail about the place where Jesus lived. 00:35:25.000 --> 00:35:29.000 Nazareth helps us see the humility of Jesus. 00:35:29.000 --> 00:35:38.000 Nazareth is a bit like, and I hope there is nobody here from this place, Ballyhornes. 00:35:39.000 --> 00:35:43.000 Nobody goes to Ballyhornes apart from the guy in the advert. 00:35:43.000 --> 00:35:47.000 Spins the globe and puts his finger on the map. 00:35:48.000 --> 00:35:52.000 Well in a similar way, everybody looked down on Nazareth. 00:35:53.000 --> 00:35:55.000 It was a nothing kind of town. 00:35:56.000 --> 00:36:00.000 It was a useless place in the eyes of everybody else. 00:36:00.000 --> 00:36:06.000 In fact, when John, one of Jesus' first disciples, heard that Jesus came from Nazareth, 00:36:06.000 --> 00:36:09.000 came from Nazareth, he was so shocked, he said, 00:36:09.000 --> 00:36:11.000 can anything good come out of Nazareth? 00:36:15.000 --> 00:36:17.000 But this is where Jesus the King grew up. 00:36:18.000 --> 00:36:20.000 The God-man who deserves our worship, 00:36:21.000 --> 00:36:25.000 humbles himself and goes not to a palace in the capital, 00:36:26.000 --> 00:36:30.000 but to a backward town like Nazareth. 00:36:31.000 --> 00:36:34.000 You see, that's what Jesus has come to do. 00:36:34.000 --> 00:36:38.000 Rather than come demanding to be served, 00:36:39.000 --> 00:36:42.000 he humbles himself and comes to serve us. 00:36:43.000 --> 00:36:45.000 He comes in humility. 00:36:46.000 --> 00:36:52.000 But his humility goes lower than going to just a town like Nazareth. 00:36:53.000 --> 00:36:58.000 Jesus goes even lower and goes to the cross 00:36:59.000 --> 00:37:01.000 and dies for you and for me. 00:37:01.000 --> 00:37:04.000 Because when Jesus went to the cross, 00:37:04.000 --> 00:37:07.000 he humbly became like one of us. 00:37:08.000 --> 00:37:11.000 He was treated as a slave to sin 00:37:12.000 --> 00:37:16.000 so that we might be set free from our sin. 00:37:17.000 --> 00:37:19.000 He was exiled from God, 00:37:20.000 --> 00:37:23.000 shut out so that we might be welcomed in 00:37:23.000 --> 00:37:26.000 and brought close to God forever. 00:37:26.000 --> 00:37:31.000 You see, this is what makes Jesus the King to be worshipped. 00:37:32.000 --> 00:37:37.000 Rather than earn our way or work our way towards him, 00:37:38.000 --> 00:37:40.000 he is the King who comes to us. 00:37:41.000 --> 00:37:42.000 He provides the way for a new exodus, 00:37:43.000 --> 00:37:45.000 delivering us from our past, 00:37:46.000 --> 00:37:47.000 ending the exile 00:37:47.000 --> 00:37:49.000 and giving us a future. 00:37:50.000 --> 00:37:56.000 That's why the Magi came and bowed down in worship, 00:37:57.000 --> 00:37:58.000 stooping lower, 00:37:59.000 --> 00:38:00.000 looking up to the King, 00:38:01.000 --> 00:38:02.000 giving of their treasures 00:38:03.000 --> 00:38:05.000 because they saw in Jesus 00:38:06.000 --> 00:38:08.000 one of greater worth 00:38:09.000 --> 00:38:12.000 and one who is worth greater honour. 00:38:12.000 --> 00:38:19.000 So what are your first impressions? 00:38:20.000 --> 00:38:24.000 Is Jesus a threat to you today? 00:38:25.000 --> 00:38:29.000 Does he expose what you worship? 00:38:29.000 --> 00:38:31.000 Is he a threat to your autonomy? 00:38:32.000 --> 00:38:34.000 Or is he your King? 00:38:35.000 --> 00:38:39.000 The one who demands our loyalty and allegiance? 00:38:39.000 --> 00:38:43.000 The King who gave his life for you 00:38:44.000 --> 00:38:45.000 and says, 00:38:46.000 --> 00:38:47.000 walk with me and trust me. 00:38:48.000 --> 00:38:50.000 For I have your future secured, 00:38:51.000 --> 00:38:52.000 your past dealt with. 00:38:53.000 --> 00:38:54.000 You can trust me today. 00:38:55.000 --> 00:38:58.000 Let's pray together. 00:38:58.000 --> 00:38:59.000 Let's pray together. 00:39:16.000 --> 00:39:21.000 Let's just take a moment to reflect on what we heard and thought about. 00:39:21.000 --> 00:39:37.000 Maybe there's things where the Lord by his Spirit has pressed upon our life 00:39:38.000 --> 00:39:42.000 and exposed where we feel Jesus is a threat to us. 00:39:42.000 --> 00:39:52.000 Father, we confess that there are many times in this past week 00:39:53.000 --> 00:39:58.000 and in many ways we have once again pushed you off the throne 00:39:59.000 --> 00:40:01.000 and demanded our rights, 00:40:02.000 --> 00:40:04.000 wanting to do our own thing. 00:40:04.000 --> 00:40:05.000 Please forgive us. 00:40:05.000 --> 00:40:07.000 Please forgive us. 00:40:07.000 --> 00:40:14.000 We turn from that and we turn in faith and look to you, 00:40:15.000 --> 00:40:17.000 the Lord Jesus, the King, 00:40:18.000 --> 00:40:22.000 who humbly came to die for us, 00:40:23.000 --> 00:40:25.000 to give us a new way out, 00:40:25.000 --> 00:40:30.000 to end all the brokenness and the hurts, 00:40:31.000 --> 00:40:34.000 to end the mourning and the suffering. 00:40:36.000 --> 00:40:37.000 You are King. 00:40:38.000 --> 00:40:40.000 We bring our lives, 00:40:41.000 --> 00:40:44.000 our greatest treasure that we have is ourself 00:40:45.000 --> 00:40:47.000 and we bow before you today. 00:40:48.000 --> 00:40:49.000 We submit to you. 00:40:50.000 --> 00:40:51.000 We honour you. 00:40:51.000 --> 00:40:52.000 We worship you. 00:40:53.000 --> 00:40:54.000 Help us 00:40:55.000 --> 00:40:57.000 with the power of your Spirit 00:40:57.000 --> 00:40:59.000 that we might serve your good 00:41:00.000 --> 00:41:01.000 and your glory 00:41:02.000 --> 00:41:03.000 and not our own. 00:41:04.000 --> 00:41:05.000 In Jesus' name. 00:41:06.000 --> 00:41:07.000 Amen. 00:41:07.000 --> 00:41:08.000 We're going to sing. 00:41:08.000 --> 00:41:18.840 We're going to sing.