Good morning, church.
Our sermon text is Matthew chapter 2, verses 13 through 23.
That's page 758 in the Pew Bible, if you want to turn there with us.
We're taking these Sundays leading up to Christmas to follow the story of Jesus' birth from the gospel of Matthew.
Last week we saw how the wise men came and worshipped Jesus as their king.
And today, we'll see what happens next.
Let's pray as we come to God's word together.
Oh, Father, we thank you that we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses who have run this race before us.
Father, we thank you that your word has spoken to generation after generation after generation of your church.
So, Lord, it is with confidence and with expectation that we come again to your word this morning,
trusting that you will make good on your promise,
that where two or three are gathered, there you are in the midst.
Father, that is our desire.
Father, we pray that you would meet with us, open our minds and our hearts to understand your word,
to repent and believe you and your word, and to go forth today living life shaped by it.
In Jesus' name, amen.
Matthew chapter 2, verses 13 through 23.
Now, when they, that is the wise men, had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said,
Rise, take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt,
and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child to destroy him.
And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt and remained there until the death of Herod.
This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet.
Out of Egypt, I called my son.
Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious,
and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under,
according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men.
Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah.
A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and loud lamentation.
Rachel, weeping for her children.
She refused to be comforted because they are no more.
But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying,
Rise, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel,
for those who sought the child's life are dead.
And he rose and took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel.
But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in the place of his father Herod,
he was afraid to go there.
And being warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee.
And he went and lived in a city called Nazareth,
so that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled,
that he would be called a Nazarene.
Well, on the surface, our text today seems to be answering a very straightforward question.
The question is this, if God foretold that the Messiah would come from Bethlehem,
how can Christians call Jesus the Messiah when he so clearly came from Nazareth?
Well, what we see here is that God providentially protected his son Jesus
from the hatred and violence of wicked rulers.
Though born in Bethlehem, as God foretold,
Jesus was forced to be raised in Nazareth.
Because of the threat of violence against him as a child.
But there's an even deeper question that our text addresses.
And it is the question of whether God,
the almighty, holy creator of all things,
the one true God of the Bible,
whether God actually really cares for us.
And cares for us not in some distant general way,
but whether God actually cares for us in a real intimate way,
deep down in the nitty gritty of our broken lives,
even down into our suffering,
even down into our shame.
Does God know what that's like?
Does God care for us with real compassion?
And the surprising answer of Matthew chapter 2,
verses 13 through 23,
is yes.
In ways even deeper than you or I had ever imagined,
our suffering and even our shame are not foreign to God.
Look again at our text.
First, we see here that Jesus,
the Messiah,
who we learned in chapter 1,
was God with us, incarnate.
The first thing we see is that Jesus,
the Messiah,
enters into our suffering and shame.
He enters into it.
In verses 13 through 15,
we're told that after the wise men depart,
an angel of the Lord warns Joseph
that King Herod is about to search
for the child to destroy him.
Herod, history tells us,
was a violent man.
And the actions here are completely in keeping
with what we know of his character.
Not willing to have any threats to his power,
he seeks to destroy this would-be child king.
And so, Joseph takes the child and Mary
and they flee to Egypt,
a place where Jewish refugees would often go
when escaping political turmoil
or when avoiding famine or drought.
Now, the UN currently has estimated
that there are over 70 million people today
who are displaced because of persecution,
conflict, violence,
or human rights violations.
70 million.
And what we see here is that
the earliest years of Jesus' life
were spent in the shoes of the displaced.
Our Savior came to earth
and lived as a political refugee,
seeking asylum and protection
in a foreign land.
Now, it's likely that Joseph found fellow Jews
to live with in Egypt.
There was a sizable Jewish community there.
But the fact still remains.
Our Lord entered into human suffering.
On the flight to Egypt, there was fear.
There was escape.
There was a long journey.
And there was the uncertainty
of not knowing what or who they would find.
Many people come here to New Haven
having been displaced.
Many of you know about the work of IRIS,
Integrated Refugee and Immigrant Services.
They help people every year
from Sudan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria,
helping them to get the support
and services they need
to become self-sufficient
and resettled here in their new home.
I wonder, has it ever struck you
that when you learn the stories
of these families,
when you serve families like these,
you are catching a glimpse
of your Savior's earliest experiences on earth?
But the truth that's here
in this part of Matthew 2
applies to all of us,
not just to those of us
who've been displaced.
We all face many trials,
many unforeseen sorrows.
I wonder what part of your life
are you tempted to think
that God just doesn't seem to understand?
Where does his knowing care seem absent?
Conflict with family members?
The experience of poverty or homelessness?
Sadness at the loss of a friend?
Betrayal?
Fatigue?
But then we come to the Gospels
and we read them for ourselves.
And there we find that
not just in Jesus' birth,
but throughout his life,
Jesus entered into our suffering
and our shame.
He identified fully with his people.
His people went down to Egypt,
so did he.
His people experienced fierce temptation
in the wilderness,
so did he.
His people were oppressed
and persecuted
by the world powers that be,
so was he.
This identification with his people
was so complete
that in verse 15,
Matthew quotes
the Old Testament prophet Hosea,
chapter 11, verse 1.
And there Hosea is retelling
the story of Israel's sojourn
in Exodus from Egypt.
And Israel in the Old Testament
is often metaphorically called God's son.
And here Hosea says,
God brought them out of Egypt
in the Exodus.
And now Jesus,
Israel's Messiah,
God's true son,
so deeply represents
and identifies with his people
that he can now fulfill
that text,
going down into Egypt himself
and coming back again.
I wonder when you are hurting,
when you are sorrowful,
yes, there are times
when you call out
for answers to the question why,
but deep down,
isn't what your heart longs for,
isn't what we really want,
is for someone
to be present with us,
to walk with us
through the valley,
to know that we are not alone,
to know that perhaps
in our own Egypts,
when we are running
and when we are afraid,
someone might be there with us.
Be with us
and sit by our hospital bed
as we battle illness
or give us a shoulder
to lean on
as we miss our loved ones
or to hold our hand
when we are afraid.
This is what Matthew
is showing us here, friends.
God,
incarnate in his son Jesus,
is present with us
even in suffering,
even in shame.
And this should open up for us
great permission
and invitation
in our prayer
and our communion with God
to go to him
corporately
and personally
in our sorrows,
knowing that he cares
and that he knows.
There's an old song
that we don't sing a lot
here at Trinity,
but I think it captures this well.
It says,
what a friend
we have in Jesus,
all our sins
and griefs to bear.
What a privilege
to carry
everything to God
in prayer.
Oh, what peace
we often forfeit.
Oh, what needless pain
we bear,
all because
we do not carry
everything to God
in prayer.
Have we trials
and temptations?
Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never
be discouraged.
Take it to the Lord
in prayer.
Can we find
a friend
so faithful
who will all
our sorrows share?
Jesus knows
our every weakness.
Take it
to the Lord
in prayer.
Are we weak
and heavy laden,
encumbered
with a load
of care?
Precious Savior,
still our refuge.
Take it
to the Lord
in prayer.
Do your friends
despise,
forsake you?
Take it
to the Lord
in prayer.
In his arms,
he'll take
and shield you.
You will find
a solace there.
Jesus has entered
into our suffering
and our shame
that we might find
a solace
in him.
Christian,
take advantage
of that solace.
Go to him
in prayer.
But there's more.
Jesus hasn't
just entered
into our suffering
and shame.
The second thing
we see here
in Matthew 2
is that he will
also one day
put an end
to our suffering
and shame.
In Matthew 16
through 18,
we have here
recounted
perhaps the darkest
moment
in the Christmas story.
Herod
infuriated
that the wise men
refused to go back
and tell him
where he might
find the child
lashes out
in rage.
Not willing
to risk
any threat
to his power,
he orders
the death
of every male
child two years
old and younger
in Bethlehem
and the surrounding
region.
Now,
it's hard to estimate
how many children
died in Bethlehem
at the hands
of this wicked ruler
on that night.
Some speculate
that it could have
been a dozen
or more
given estimates
of the population
in first century
Bethlehem.
But what sense
are we supposed
to make
of this account?
Psalm 2 says,
why do the nations
rage
and the peoples
plot in vain
against the Lord
and against
his anointed?
The Bible
is honest
with the fact
that there is
evil
in the world
and that
in this fallen
world
there will be
violence
and injustice
and the church
will often
be subject
to that violence
and injustice.
The book of Acts
shows us time
and again
how the church
faces persecution
and even martyrdom
for Christ's sake.
The last book
of the Bible,
Revelation,
was written
to the persecuted
churches at the end
of the first century
to remind them
that the powers
of this world
will revolt
against the growth
of the gospel
the history
of the church
shows the same
whether it be
the martyrs
of the first,
second,
and third centuries
or the martyrs
of the 20
and 21st centuries.
Let us not be
ignorant of the fact
that identification
with Christ
like these first
martyrs
in Bethlehem
will often bring
the hatred
of the world
and its rulers.
And yet this hatred
is not the last word.
Matthew quotes
the prophet Jeremiah,
Rachel weeping
for her children.
And while this text
from Jeremiah 31
written in the heartbreak
of the Babylonian exile,
while it seems
simply to give voice
to the tears
of God's people
throughout the centuries,
it does that
but there's more.
Because if we go back
and we read
Jeremiah 13,
there's also
a message of hope.
The verses
surrounding the one
that Matthew quotes here
in this chapter
of Jeremiah 31
tell of how God
would bring
his people home
from exile
and how he would
make a new covenant
and cover all
their sins
in forgiveness.
What Matthew
seems to be saying
then
is that the tears
of the mothers
and fathers
in Bethlehem
are the tears
of exile.
The final tears
before
the Messiah
would come
and make for us
a new covenant
and bring us home.
And Jesus
did just that.
You see,
the death of Jesus
wasn't completely
avoided
in Matthew 2.
It was simply
postponed.
At the still
young age
of 33,
Jesus would be
killed at the hands
of jealous
political
and religious
authorities.
the full
rage
of the world
against
the Lord
and his anointed
would come
thrashing down
on Jesus.
But his death
would not
be that
of a mere
martyr
dying for
a good cause.
No,
the death
of Jesus
would be utterly
and completely
unique.
his death
would be the
one
true
sacrifice
of atonement
for the sins
of the world.
Being truly
human,
Jesus could
take our
place.
Being truly
God,
Jesus could
pay the penalty
of our sin
in full.
Such that
when all of
our anger
and hatred
and jealousy
came crashing
down on Jesus
at the cross,
Christ was
able to
swallow up
that in
himself
and extinguish
it.
But more
than that,
it was the
wrath of God
against sin
that could
come down
on him
in our
place
so that
we could
be forgiven.
And to
demonstrate
that this
sacrifice was
acceptable,
Jesus was
raised on the
third day,
breaking the
power of
death and
offering
forgiveness
and new
life to
all who
trust in
him,
that finally
the last
tears of
exile could
be shed
at the
cross and
the exile
could end.
And with
his death
and resurrection
comes the
promise
that though
tears will
come in
this age,
one day
all tears
will be
wiped away
for good.
You see,
God doesn't
just know
our suffering
and shame.
He's done
something about
it.
He's put
in motion
a plan
accomplished
through his
son that
will gather
up our
broken humanity
and raise
it to new
everlasting life
where death
and sorrow
are no
more.
When Christ
returns in
glory,
death will
be destroyed,
injustice
will be
ended,
and creation
will be
released from
its bondage
to decay
because Christ
has gone
down into
the tears
of Rachel
weeping
for her
children.
He can
come up
again
and bring
life.
Now,
that doesn't
mean,
church,
that we
should not
weep now.
Most definitely
we should.
There will
still be
occasions
that are
right for
tears and
weeping
in this
age.
the remnants
of death
and sin
still abound.
Rachel is
still weeping
for her
children.
But as
Paul says
in 1 Thessalonians,
we do not
weep as
those who
have no
hope.
I wonder,
friend,
do you have
that kind
of hope?
Perhaps you're
here this
morning and
you're not
a Christian.
I wonder,
in your
spiritual
searching,
have you
found the
kind of
hope that
allows you
to neither
deny the
reality and
the awfulness
of death,
but also not
to despair
in the face
of it?
Many
spiritual
paths will
tell you that
death is
simply an
illusion or
that death
is simply
natural,
and yet,
doesn't our
heart sort
of revolt
against that?
have you
found a
hope that
allows you
to neither
deny the
reality of
death nor
despair in
the face
of it?
Let me
suggest to
you that
only
Christianity,
only faith
in the risen
Lord Jesus
who went
through death
and rose
bodily in
defeat of
death can
give you
that sort
of hope.
hope.
And that
sort of
hope is
yours for
the taking
if you
will take
him.
You can
have the
kind of
hope that
gives you
courage in
the face of
death and
also allows
you to say
that it is
wrong and
it is an
enemy that
will one
day be
defeated.
Now
Christians,
I know many
of us are
facing sorrows
of many
kinds.
Don't lose
heart.
Remember that
your Savior has
entered into
your deepest
sorrows and
promises one
day to bring
them to an
end.
Though
weeping may
last for the
night, the
psalmist says,
joy comes in
the morning.
How can it
not be so
for us who
know the
risen Jesus
that joy
will come
in the
morning?
And so
Matthew shows
us that Christ
enters into
our suffering
and shame
and will
one day end
our suffering
and shame.
But third,
he shows us
that Jesus
can even
redeem
our suffering
and shame.
In verses
19 through
23,
Matthew tells
us how God
led Joseph
to settle
in Nazareth.
Now, in
the first
century,
Nazareth
wasn't known
for anything.
It was
insignificant.
It was
marginal.
It was
obscure.
In fact,
it was so
insignificant that
it was ridiculed.
In the
Gospel of
John, when
Nathaniel, who
eventually comes
to follow
Jesus, first
hears that
Jesus is
from Nazareth,
he responds,
can anything
good come
from Nazareth?
Fill in the
blank from
your own
experience of
nowhere's
bills that
you have
either come
from or
been familiar
with.
I won't
say them
from the
pulpit because
I'll get in
trouble afterwards.
You can fill
them in, in
your own
mind.
Can anything
good come
from that
place?
And when
the early
Christians were
called that
Nazarene sect,
it was not a
compliment.
So you see,
Jesus grew up
in a forgotten
town, far
away from
the halls of
power and
prestige and
success in a
place despised in
the eyes of the
world.
God.
But friends,
that was God's
plan.
Matthew says
that Jesus
lived in
Nazareth so
that what was
spoken by the
prophets might
be fulfilled,
that he would
be called a
Nazarene.
Now you can
scour the Old
Testament and
you will never
find a verse
that says he
will be called
a Nazarene.
But it's
clear, isn't
it, when you
compare this
verse to the
other verses in
chapter 2 where
Matthew's quoting
a prophet, that
Matthew isn't
trying to quote a
particular prophet.
Rather, it's
pretty clear he's
giving a summary
statement of what,
as you see there,
the prophets,
plural,
foretold.
Matthew's giving
a synthesis
statement of a
theme that runs
throughout the
Old Testament,
throughout the
Psalms and the
prophets.
What is this
thing that the
prophets foretold
about the
Messiah?
Well, the
theme that
Matthew is
pulling on
here is that
the Messiah,
despite the
expectations of
many, would be
a man of
sorrows,
acquainted with
our grief,
that he would
be despised and
rejected, that he
would be forsaken,
that he would be a
servant, even a
suffering servant.
The passage that
we read early in
our service, Isaiah
53, is perhaps the
best-known example
of this, where the
one who would come
to be our king
would also know our
griefs and be
rejected by men.
Or in the language
of the first century,
he would be a
Nazarene, forgotten
and despised.
But here is the
mystery.
The mystery is
that the kingdom
of God is like a
mustard seed.
At first, small
and seemingly
insignificant.
You see,
friends, God
delights to use
the marginal
places.
He delights to use
the places that
are despised in
the eyes of the
world to make
his glory known.
It's not the
strong or the
powerful or the
wise or the
successful that God
needs to advance
his kingdom.
Just the opposite.
Paul says to the
church in Corinth,
you know, not many
of you were wise
according to worldly
standards, and not
many were powerful,
and not many were of
noble birth, but God
chose what is foolish
in the world to
shame the wise.
And God chose what
is weak in the world
to shame the strong.
And God chose what
is low and despised
in the world, even
the things that are
not, to bring to
nothing the things
that are.
So that no human
being might boast
in the presence of
God.
God delights to
take those places
in our life that
are weak and
that are shameful
and that are
broken and
through those
things to bring
about his
greatest work.
The Messiah
lived in Nazareth
in forgotten
obscurity for
30 years
so that we
might know
that when we
are weak,
weak, then
we are strong.
Those things
that we consider
our greatest
liability,
our greatest
weakness,
the things that
we would never
dream to put
on a resume,
the things in
our lives that
we don't put
on social media,
all of our
Nazareth's,
so to say,
so often
those are
the things
that God
will use
and those
are the
places
where his
grace
will pour
forth.
Friends,
let us not
judge with
earthly
judgment.
Nazareth
was politically
insignificant,
but it was
theologically
very significant.
You wonder,
don't you,
can God
use me?
Can he
work through
me?
But I'm
too broken
and I'm
too insignificant
and I'm
too weak,
but here
God says,
my grace
is sufficient
for you
and my
power is
made perfect
in your
weakness.
God
didn't
launch
his kingdom
from Jerusalem
or from
Rome,
but from
Nazareth.
perhaps
you're in
a season
of trial
right now,
a particularly
trying moment
in your
marriage
or in
your work
or in
your family
or in
your health
or just
in your
inner
emotional
state
and you
think,
what good
could come
of this?
and yet
there,
in your
weakness,
God is
present,
caring for
you,
knowing
you,
drawing
himself to
you,
revealing
himself to
you.
He is
present
redeeming
this
time,
redeeming
this
period
of
suffering,
of
shame,
of
trial
for
your
good
and
for
your
glory
so
that
you
can
know
him.
And so
we ask
the question,
does God
care for
us
in our
suffering,
in our
shame,
is God
there?
Oh,
friends,
what good
news we
have.
That Jesus
has borne
our sorrows,
he's
acquainted
with our
griefs and
losses,
he knows
our every
weakness,
but more
than that,
he's
redeeming
them,
and he's
bringing
us to
the day
when our
tears
will be
no more.
Let's
pray.
Oh,
Jesus,
we think
about
this
morning,
all the
places in
our lives
where we
feel weak,
where we
feel embarrassed,
and Lord,
in these
silent moments
before you,
we confess
that it is
ultimately
our sin
that brings
us our
deepest
sense
of shame
before you,
that we've
willingly sought
other gods
and other
goods
in your
place,
and yet,
Lord,
mystery of
mysteries,
you,
the perfect
one,
would come
and take
on our
imperfection
and be
crushed
so that
we might
be healed.
Lord,
that you
would be
willing to
have the
iniquity of
us all
laid upon
you so
that we
could know
the lightness
of your
righteousness
and light
and life.
Oh,
Lord,
if you
can take
care of
our sin,
if you
can redeem
us even
there,
what can
you not
redeem?
What can
you not
know,
and what
can you
not handle?
So,
Lord,
we entrust
all these
things into
your hands
praying
that you
would grant
us courage
and that you
would grant
us your
dignity for
the facing
of these
hours.
In your
mighty name
we pray.
Amen.