WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.439 Matthew chapter 2 at verse 1. 00:00:03.439 --> 00:00:11.099 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise 00:00:11.099 --> 00:00:17.480 ! men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? 00:00:18.179 --> 00:00:25.260 For we saw his star when it rose, and have come to worship him. When Herod the king heard this, 00:00:25.260 --> 00:00:31.900 he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And assembling all the chief priests and scribes 00:00:31.900 --> 00:00:38.120 of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. They told him, 00:00:38.560 --> 00:00:46.620 In Jerusalem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet. And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, 00:00:46.920 --> 00:00:53.660 are by no means least among the rulers of Judah. For from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd 00:00:53.659 --> 00:01:02.859 my people Israel. Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly, and ascertained from them what time the 00:01:02.859 --> 00:01:10.319 star had appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, Go and search diligently for the child, 00:01:10.759 --> 00:01:18.979 and when you have found him, bring me word that I too may come and worship him. After listening to 00:01:18.980 --> 00:01:25.600 the king, they went on their way, and behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before 00:01:25.600 --> 00:01:34.560 them, until it came to rest over the place where the child was born. When they saw the star, they rejoiced 00:01:34.560 --> 00:01:42.300 exceedingly with great joy. And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary, his mother, and they fell 00:01:42.299 --> 00:01:51.759 down and worshipped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. 00:01:52.700 --> 00:02:00.259 And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way. 00:02:01.519 --> 00:02:06.700 Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, 00:02:06.700 --> 00:02:15.580 and said, Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you. 00:02:16.120 --> 00:02:24.000 For Herod is about to search for the child, and to destroy him. And he rose, and took the child and 00:02:24.000 --> 00:02:32.379 his mother by night, and departed to Egypt, and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill 00:02:32.379 --> 00:02:41.960 what the Lord had spoken by the prophet. Out of Egypt I called my son. Then Herod, when he saw that 00:02:41.960 --> 00:02:49.439 he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in 00:02:49.439 --> 00:02:56.659 Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had 00:02:56.659 --> 00:03:03.759 ascertained from the wise men. Amen. And may God bless to us the reading of his own precious 00:03:03.759 --> 00:03:05.340 and most holy word. 00:03:06.240 --> 00:03:12.400 Well, Christmas is over. And in the run-up to Christmas Day, all through December, churches 00:03:12.400 --> 00:03:18.120 all over Edinburgh, all over Scotland, all over the world have been so keen to impress upon us the 00:03:18.120 --> 00:03:25.879 reason for the season. Christmas is a wonderful time of community, gift-giving, food-sharing, 00:03:25.879 --> 00:03:32.060 even forgiveness, maybe. But the real reason that we celebrate Christmas is because Jesus, God's 00:03:32.060 --> 00:03:40.240 own son, came into the world to save his people. God himself came down, humbled himself to be with us 00:03:40.240 --> 00:03:46.859 so that sinners can be reconciled with God. So we know the reason for the season. We know why we 00:03:46.859 --> 00:03:53.240 celebrate Christmas. But once Christmas is over, what then? What happens now? What does it mean for us on 00:03:53.240 --> 00:03:59.939 the 28th of December? What does it mean for us in the middle of July? Well, I think the passage that 00:03:59.939 --> 00:04:08.140 George read for us today presented us with clear guidance for what it means for how we should live. 00:04:08.659 --> 00:04:15.400 We're presented with two kings in that passage, representing two very different ways of living. 00:04:15.400 --> 00:04:24.079 We see an imposter in the palace who will demonstrate that he'll do anything to hold on to power. And we see a true 00:04:24.079 --> 00:04:33.360 king, a real king, who demonstrates his power in humility. And we're left with a choice. Which way for us? 00:04:34.519 --> 00:04:41.740 Which path? Which king will we follow? Well, first of all, I'd like to look at the king who'll do anything 00:04:41.740 --> 00:04:49.560 to hold on to power. So in our passage after Jesus, the first person that Matthew mentions is Herod. This 00:04:49.560 --> 00:04:57.819 is Herod. He built great palaces. That's why he's called great, great feats of engineering. He's not 00:04:57.819 --> 00:05:08.000 called great because he's a great guy. Herod is known throughout history as a power hungry and 00:05:08.000 --> 00:05:17.339 bloodthirsty dictator. We've got extra biblical accounts from Jewish historian Josephus and other 00:05:17.339 --> 00:05:23.420 people. They record him as a man of great ambition and power, but also a man marked by cruelty and 00:05:23.420 --> 00:05:34.680 paranoia. So Herod was king in Judea, the king under Roman power. He was only half Jewish. In fact, 00:05:34.680 --> 00:05:43.560 his father's family were from the land of Edom and they were conquered and incorporated into Judea and 00:05:43.560 --> 00:05:51.899 they were kind of made Jews by adoption, forced to adopt the Jewish religion. And we know that his 00:05:51.899 --> 00:06:02.319 family was rich. His father before him was politically very savvy. And we know that Herod too was a bit of a 00:06:02.319 --> 00:06:09.099 slippery customer. And when he saw opportunities to grab power, to stab people in the back, well, he took 00:06:09.099 --> 00:06:17.620 them. He made alliances with the Romans, Roman rulers to gain power. And he went to extreme lengths to hold 00:06:17.620 --> 00:06:26.659 on to that power. So the man who's on the throne of Judea is not tricky, but he's ruling at the time when 00:06:26.660 --> 00:06:34.360 Jesus is born. And we read in our passage that wise men came to him. And these wise men, we don't know 00:06:34.360 --> 00:06:39.800 exactly who they were. We don't know how many there were. Maybe we thought there were three. That's what 00:06:39.800 --> 00:06:47.440 we usually see depicted, but the Bible doesn't say how many. We likely get the idea of three because 00:06:47.440 --> 00:06:52.520 they bring three gifts, gold, frankincense, and myrrh. That's not in the Bible how many there are. 00:06:52.519 --> 00:06:57.719 We do know that they come from the East and the gifts that they bring are commonly associated with 00:06:57.719 --> 00:07:06.579 Arabia. So maybe that's where they came from. And even calling them wise men is a translation choice. 00:07:06.759 --> 00:07:16.959 The word in Greek is magos. We sometimes hear that as magi. And in Acts, Paul and Barnabas meet magos 00:07:16.959 --> 00:07:24.259 and pathos. And there, the word's translated as magician. It's called a false prophet. So maybe 00:07:24.259 --> 00:07:33.679 there are magicians. Maybe there are astrologers looking to the skies for guidance. So these magi, 00:07:33.939 --> 00:07:39.019 they've seen a star and they followed it. The astrologers reading their star signs. 00:07:39.019 --> 00:07:46.319 And they come to Herod and they ask Herod, where's this king? Where's this child that's been born 00:07:46.319 --> 00:07:56.199 king of the Jews? And of course, when Herod hears that there's another king, he is troubled. And we 00:07:56.199 --> 00:08:02.000 read that the whole city's troubled too. Now these visitors have maybe brought a large caravan of people 00:08:02.000 --> 00:08:07.439 with them, lots of goods for their journey. So maybe they're causing tons of traffic and that's why 00:08:07.439 --> 00:08:13.759 all Jerusalem's troubled. Or maybe they know, they've heard why these people are here looking 00:08:13.759 --> 00:08:19.040 for the king of the Jews. And they know the king who's currently sitting on the throne. They know 00:08:19.040 --> 00:08:26.680 what his reaction is likely to be. And they're anxious. So Herod calls the chief priests and the 00:08:26.680 --> 00:08:33.799 scribes together and he asks them where the Christ will be born. It's interesting, the wise men, the magi, 00:08:33.799 --> 00:08:39.620 they come, they ask for the king of the Jews and Herod asks for the Christ. It's maybe that he can't 00:08:39.620 --> 00:08:45.419 bring himself to say, where's the king of the Jews? Because that's his title. But I think it's also 00:08:45.419 --> 00:08:52.539 because Herod knew something of the coming Messiah. He knew that there was a savior prophesied 00:08:52.539 --> 00:08:58.980 and that was going to come. So he goes to the chief priests, the seminary professors of the day. 00:09:00.399 --> 00:09:06.740 And they tell him that through a combination quotation, two different passages put together 00:09:06.740 --> 00:09:13.199 from the Old Testament, Micah 5, which we read at the beginning, and 2 Samuel chapter 5. 00:09:14.079 --> 00:09:15.860 And in verse 6, we can read, 00:09:15.860 --> 00:09:30.320 So Herod finds out the place, Bethlehem, that's where he's going to be born. 00:09:31.560 --> 00:09:39.060 We're going to come to the horrific acts that Herod commits as a result of this, known as the 00:09:39.060 --> 00:09:45.840 massacre of the innocents. But before that, there's another lesson, I think, here. Another reason why 00:09:45.840 --> 00:09:54.840 Herod makes us feel so unsettled. You see, Herod's not ignorant of Christ. He recognizes it as the 00:09:54.840 --> 00:10:04.040 coming Messiah. He just refuses to surrender to him. Maybe for us, it's like being brought up in a 00:10:04.040 --> 00:10:09.340 Christian home with Christian parents and continuing to go to church. You know that there's a God. 00:10:09.340 --> 00:10:16.840 You know that you're in need of a Savior. You know that Jesus is a Savior. He's come to earth. 00:10:18.340 --> 00:10:26.540 You never really receive that truth in your heart. Maybe you've been in church all your life, 20, 50, 00:10:27.340 --> 00:10:36.820 70 years, but you've never let Jesus enter into your heart. Maybe you're deliberately holding him 00:10:36.820 --> 00:10:43.700 at a distance, never surrendering because you're not willing to give up control over your life. 00:10:46.200 --> 00:10:52.000 Maybe you think to yourself, okay, Jesus, you can have Christmas. Just don't take my throne. 00:10:53.040 --> 00:10:58.420 I'm happy to celebrate. I'm happy to give you a whole day, a fortnight, the whole month of December. 00:10:58.419 --> 00:11:06.299 But my life's my own. And when January rolls around, I want to pursue the things that I want to do. 00:11:07.120 --> 00:11:11.559 Don't hold me back from being true to my true desires. 00:11:14.399 --> 00:11:19.959 Well, Herod starts plotting straight away. He quietly asks the visitors, quietly, 00:11:19.960 --> 00:11:28.700 when the star appeared to them. And he tells them to go and find the child and then come back and tell 00:11:28.700 --> 00:11:35.720 him under the pretense of wanting to go and worship this king of the Jews himself. And the men go and 00:11:35.720 --> 00:11:43.460 they search for Jesus. And when they don't return, when Herod realizes he's been duped, he's furious. 00:11:43.460 --> 00:11:51.780 And because he's secretly asked the time of when the star appeared, he now has a clear timeline. 00:11:53.200 --> 00:11:59.680 And he commands that all the baby boys who were born, who are under two years old, are killed. 00:12:00.860 --> 00:12:10.259 This is pure evil. But it's not out of character for Herod. According to historians, he'll go on to kill 00:12:10.259 --> 00:12:18.259 more people than this. Even his own sons and his own wife, when they threatened his place on the throne, 00:12:19.120 --> 00:12:26.620 were killed. He killed his own family to protect his seat on the throne of Judea. 00:12:28.200 --> 00:12:35.799 Herod's the epitome of evil. He's an emblem for evil now. And Shakespeare's Macbeth, when somebody's 00:12:35.799 --> 00:12:44.759 playing the role of the villain, he's told, don't out-Hered, Herod. Herod is now a byword for 00:12:44.759 --> 00:12:52.779 pure badness and evil. Or maybe you're sitting in your seats today after a lovely Christmas and 00:12:52.779 --> 00:12:59.279 you're thinking, why is this guy preaching about a murderous megalomaniac? Well, it's because, 00:12:59.279 --> 00:13:08.179 well, Herod's obvious outward sin is cold-blooded murder. I think his inward sin, the thing that's 00:13:08.179 --> 00:13:18.179 driving him to act, is his pride. You see, Herod's an imposter on that throne. He didn't inherit it. He 00:13:18.179 --> 00:13:24.459 bought it. He schemed for it. And he didn't fulfill the role of a king. He didn't love his people. He 00:13:24.460 --> 00:13:31.320 didn't care for them, protect them, and provide for them. He used them to serve himself. 00:13:33.700 --> 00:13:39.620 Herod made himself a king. And his pride means he'll do anything that he has to do to stay on 00:13:39.620 --> 00:13:46.440 that throne. Pride's the first sin that we have in the Bible. Adam and Eve, when they were in the 00:13:46.440 --> 00:13:50.139 Garden of Eden, they had everything that they could have wanted, all the beauty, the comfort, 00:13:50.139 --> 00:13:56.879 the food, even the presence of God himself. And yet they wanted more. And when they were told that 00:13:56.879 --> 00:14:03.080 they could have more, that they themselves could be like God's, their pride allowed them to reach out 00:14:03.080 --> 00:14:08.559 and take it. They wanted to sit on the throne of their own lives. They wanted to be their own king. 00:14:09.539 --> 00:14:16.799 They didn't want to bow to anybody else. No matter how great and powerful and kind and loving 00:14:16.799 --> 00:14:24.059 that king that king was. So you see the relevance for us. The reason I think it makes sense for us to 00:14:24.059 --> 00:14:29.019 talk about Herod today is that when it comes to pride, without God's grace, I am Herod. 00:14:30.359 --> 00:14:34.819 Without Jesus, I want to sit on the throne of my own life. I want to be in charge. 00:14:36.319 --> 00:14:39.199 I want to serve myself and no one else. 00:14:39.200 --> 00:14:47.560 When we meet Herod in the gospel, he's already, he already has power. He's got authority. He's got 00:14:47.560 --> 00:14:54.420 tons of wealth. His pride wasn't satisfied. Because when you live by pride, you wake up every 00:14:54.420 --> 00:14:59.800 morning telling yourself that this is all on you. Everything you have is what you've earned. 00:15:00.720 --> 00:15:07.520 And everyone else is a threat. C.S. Lewis, who wrote the Chronicles of Narnia, he also wrote a book 00:15:07.519 --> 00:15:13.819 called Mere Christianity. And in the chapter in that book on pride, he calls it, the chapter is 00:15:13.819 --> 00:15:22.819 called The Great Sin. And Lewis says that pride is the complete anti-God state of mind. 00:15:23.899 --> 00:15:31.259 The complete anti-God state of mind. So two things on pride. So first of all, pride separates us from 00:15:31.259 --> 00:15:39.799 God. Pride isn't primarily about liking yourself too much, but it's refusing to be dependent on anyone 00:15:39.799 --> 00:15:49.299 or anything else. Pride is a desire to live without surrender to anything or anyone. I'll work it out for 00:15:49.299 --> 00:15:57.460 myself. I'll justify my own existence. And then I'll remain in control of my life. Pride even resists 00:15:57.460 --> 00:16:06.280 grace. So we're saved by God's grace from our sins. But grace isn't something that we can earn for 00:16:06.280 --> 00:16:13.780 ourselves. Ephesians 2.8 tells us, for by grace you've been saved through faith. This is not your own 00:16:13.780 --> 00:16:22.440 doing. It's a gift of God. It's a free gift. But every gift must be received. And pride doesn't receive. 00:16:22.440 --> 00:16:31.840 Pride insists on earning or ruling. So Herod's the perfect example, and by perfect example I mean 00:16:31.840 --> 00:16:41.320 worst possible example of what it means to be prideful. He can't receive the kingdom. He can only possess 00:16:41.320 --> 00:16:49.540 things. So pride separates us from God. And secondly, pride also separates us from other people. 00:16:49.539 --> 00:16:57.679 So maybe you don't feel like you have a pride issue. But if that's the case, why does it bother you so 00:16:57.679 --> 00:17:03.699 much when somebody snubs you? Or when somebody doesn't take notice of you the way that you think 00:17:03.699 --> 00:17:11.099 that they should? Why does it wind you up so much when other people flaunt their successes in front of 00:17:11.099 --> 00:17:17.940 you? If you're not pride, you should be able to shrug these things off. Don't let them get to you. 00:17:19.539 --> 00:17:27.579 But they do get to us. They get right under our skin. And they gnaw away at us. Because our pride 00:17:27.579 --> 00:17:36.440 is in competition with other people. So pride's competitive by its very nature. You can't be proud 00:17:36.440 --> 00:17:43.299 in isolation. You need somebody to be proud against or proud over. You need somebody to be smarter than. 00:17:43.299 --> 00:17:45.619 You need somebody to be more successful than. You need somebody to be more successful than. 00:17:45.919 --> 00:17:50.500 More hardworking than. Somebody to be more Christian than. 00:17:51.700 --> 00:17:58.259 Pride's even in churches when we think that our performance is going to make us better than someone 00:17:58.259 --> 00:18:08.299 else. Pride doesn't care what you're proud of. It only places you above others. 00:18:08.299 --> 00:18:14.339 Robert Green's a famous author. I don't know if you've maybe seen his book. 00:18:15.839 --> 00:18:23.940 The 48 Laws of Power. He writes about strategy and power and seduction. Herod would have loved his 00:18:23.940 --> 00:18:31.259 stuff. And I saw a video of him recently. And in that video, he said, everyone has an aura. And when 00:18:31.259 --> 00:18:38.420 you walk into an office or into a world, everyone is reading that aura off you. And he says, you've got 00:18:38.420 --> 00:18:43.720 two kinds of aura. You've got weakness and you've got power. And he says, and this is a quote, 00:18:44.299 --> 00:18:50.779 you want to project an aura that excites, intrigues, or even intimidates people. 00:18:50.779 --> 00:18:58.980 That's how you get a promotion. That's how you beat the loser at the desk next to you to go in that 00:18:58.980 --> 00:19:05.119 sales conference with the boss. Because that's how you earn his trust. And that's how you get into his 00:19:05.119 --> 00:19:12.420 role when he slips up. This isn't just a description of a prideful heart, but a celebration of it. 00:19:12.420 --> 00:19:20.380 It's like we're called to be like this by a world that wants to climb to the top, embrace pride, 00:19:20.720 --> 00:19:27.700 climb over other people to get what you want. Lewis, C.S. Lewis writes, pride leads a person to 00:19:27.700 --> 00:19:35.320 look down on others and makes it impossible to look up to God. Tim Keller says that in the ancient 00:19:35.320 --> 00:19:42.380 pagan world, people thought the world was brought into existence by warring gods. So it 00:19:42.380 --> 00:19:46.600 makes sense that they believe that that's how you to live your life, warring against each other. 00:19:47.780 --> 00:19:54.560 And then maybe today, post-Enlightenment Edinburgh, we believe that the world was brought about by 00:19:54.560 --> 00:20:04.920 wild, violent forces of nature. So maybe we have to fight for our agenda to be pushed through, 00:20:04.920 --> 00:20:06.720 for our place in the world. 00:20:06.720 --> 00:20:16.980 But the most ancient and the most modern ideas about existence, about life, we've got the same 00:20:16.980 --> 00:20:25.400 essence at their core. Do what you do to manipulate yourself into a position of power. Use it to your 00:20:25.400 --> 00:20:31.779 advantage. I mean, do everything you can to hold on to it. Maybe Herod was merely a product of his time. 00:20:31.779 --> 00:20:41.599 Maybe we're just a product of ours. But the nativity has turned the pagan and the modern idea of what it means 00:20:41.599 --> 00:20:50.619 to be human on its head. Because the nativity introduces us to the king who shows his power in humility. 00:20:50.619 --> 00:21:01.419 So our passage today starts by laying down concrete historic facts about the people and places that the good news of Jesus took place in and around. 00:21:02.079 --> 00:21:09.659 And this is really important because Matthew's a man who Josephus calls, has the scriptures imprinted in his heart. 00:21:10.359 --> 00:21:16.099 He's going to show us that Jesus coming into the world fulfills Old Testament prophecy. 00:21:16.099 --> 00:21:25.879 And by pinning us down to real people and places and times, we see that Matthew isn't merely writing a story that fits the things that God promised long before. 00:21:26.959 --> 00:21:33.799 But that in Jesus, God is, in fact, fulfilling those promises, bringing his promises to life. 00:21:34.859 --> 00:21:37.619 So our passage starts after Jesus was born in Bethlehem. 00:21:38.319 --> 00:21:41.500 And Bethlehem is a city of David where King David was born. 00:21:41.500 --> 00:21:45.119 And this is where the Messiah is going to be born also. 00:21:46.819 --> 00:21:52.279 Matthew's already put considerable effort into making it clear that Jesus is of the lineage of David. 00:21:54.819 --> 00:22:01.099 Just really quickly, in chapter one, we begin with a genealogy of Jesus, where he came from. 00:22:01.880 --> 00:22:05.240 It tells us that Jesus is the Christ, the son of David, the shepherd king. 00:22:05.240 --> 00:22:08.920 And then he gives us the generations of Abraham leading to Jesus. 00:22:09.319 --> 00:22:13.339 And then we see that Jesus is, in fact, descended from the line of David. 00:22:14.200 --> 00:22:19.440 And then as we read, it goes on from Abraham to David in 14 generations. 00:22:20.160 --> 00:22:25.059 Then David to Israel going into exile in Egypt is 14 generations. 00:22:25.339 --> 00:22:28.660 And then from exile to Jesus coming is 14 generations. 00:22:29.599 --> 00:22:32.440 We know that it's not a comprehensive list of all the names. 00:22:32.440 --> 00:22:34.299 So why is it presented like this? 00:22:35.059 --> 00:22:37.940 Well, there's a Jewish number code called Gemachia. 00:22:38.680 --> 00:22:41.160 14 is the value of David. 00:22:42.240 --> 00:22:48.820 So in this genealogy, Matthew is saying David, David, David, 14, 14, 14, David, David, David. 00:22:48.820 --> 00:22:54.980 It's really important for us to understand that Jesus is coming from the line born in the city of David. 00:22:54.980 --> 00:23:07.380 And the one who's prophesied, the one who's coming, he's prophesied in 2 Samuel, chapter 5. 00:23:08.099 --> 00:23:11.180 The second part of that quotation that we read earlier on. 00:23:12.460 --> 00:23:17.620 The one who's going to shepherd the scattered sheep of Israel has appeared. 00:23:17.619 --> 00:23:28.759 And unlike Herod, he was born into a rich family, lived in palaces, used people for his own ends. 00:23:29.519 --> 00:23:33.699 The rightful king, the true king, arrives in humility. 00:23:35.339 --> 00:23:36.959 Born where the animals are kept. 00:23:37.959 --> 00:23:38.919 Laid in a manger. 00:23:39.919 --> 00:23:42.159 In feed and animal spit. 00:23:42.160 --> 00:23:45.080 Jesus is born in squalor. 00:23:45.720 --> 00:23:47.779 And born into a world in chaos. 00:23:48.440 --> 00:23:50.000 There's an illegitimate king on the throne. 00:23:50.740 --> 00:23:56.279 The people of the city of David, who should be overjoyed that the king has come, are troubled. 00:23:57.400 --> 00:23:58.560 Innocent bloodshed. 00:23:59.400 --> 00:24:00.980 The world's sick with sin. 00:24:02.300 --> 00:24:03.340 And it's the magi. 00:24:04.240 --> 00:24:04.920 The outsiders. 00:24:05.540 --> 00:24:08.080 The ones who are searching for the king. 00:24:08.079 --> 00:24:09.859 They follow the star. 00:24:10.619 --> 00:24:12.879 The star that they'd seen before that had led them to Herod. 00:24:13.159 --> 00:24:16.279 And it goes ahead of them and stands over the place where the child was. 00:24:17.960 --> 00:24:18.659 The magi. 00:24:19.179 --> 00:24:23.879 When they see the star, they rejoice exceedingly with great joy. 00:24:24.839 --> 00:24:28.179 In Greek, that word for great is megas. 00:24:28.419 --> 00:24:29.759 They were filled with mega joy. 00:24:30.839 --> 00:24:34.000 Mega joy because they saw that the Messiah had come. 00:24:34.000 --> 00:24:36.140 And they came in. 00:24:36.940 --> 00:24:38.740 And they collapsed in front of Jesus. 00:24:39.079 --> 00:24:40.039 And they worshipped him. 00:24:41.559 --> 00:24:42.920 This is the Gentiles. 00:24:43.720 --> 00:24:45.259 Not the Jewish people. 00:24:46.440 --> 00:24:48.759 This is the Gentiles coming from far away places. 00:24:49.759 --> 00:24:51.339 To worship the Jewish Messiah. 00:24:55.059 --> 00:24:57.559 We then have these two dreams. 00:24:57.559 --> 00:25:02.339 The first is seen by the magi who avoid Herod on their way home. 00:25:02.339 --> 00:25:06.879 And the second is where Joseph sees an angel. 00:25:07.319 --> 00:25:13.319 He tells him to flee with the royal, with the holy family to Egypt. 00:25:14.059 --> 00:25:15.899 And they live there until Herod dies. 00:25:17.639 --> 00:25:24.599 Now, for us, we just read that as God speaking to Joseph and saving Jesus' life. 00:25:24.599 --> 00:25:28.299 But for Matthew's immediate Jewish audience, alarm bells are going off. 00:25:28.359 --> 00:25:30.399 There's a siren going off for them. 00:25:30.879 --> 00:25:37.419 Because the great hero of the Jewish faith, Moses, he was living under the kingship of an Egyptian ruler. 00:25:37.779 --> 00:25:42.779 And he decided that the people that they held as slaves were becoming too powerful. 00:25:42.899 --> 00:25:45.539 And he decided to kill all the newborn babies. 00:25:46.599 --> 00:25:53.279 And Moses' mother made a basket and placed it on the river so that Moses would be discovered. 00:25:53.279 --> 00:25:55.339 And he was found by Pharaoh's daughter. 00:25:55.639 --> 00:25:56.680 And he was saved. 00:25:59.059 --> 00:26:04.559 Later, Moses had to flee from the place where Israel was held in exile. 00:26:05.420 --> 00:26:08.740 And he waited until the evil king died before coming home. 00:26:09.399 --> 00:26:15.240 And in here we see Jesus fled to the place of exile to keep him safe until Herod has died. 00:26:15.899 --> 00:26:19.660 This is the story of Exodus happening again. 00:26:19.660 --> 00:26:26.720 And to help us see it fully, verse 14 quotes Hosea 11.1 for us. 00:26:28.300 --> 00:26:30.420 Verse 15, it says, 00:26:31.019 --> 00:26:33.420 This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet. 00:26:33.920 --> 00:26:37.040 Out of Egypt I have called my son. 00:26:38.380 --> 00:26:43.240 In Hosea, it's Israel who's God's child. 00:26:43.240 --> 00:26:51.819 What Matthew's showing us here is that Jesus is a personification of the true and obedient Israel. 00:26:52.019 --> 00:26:55.240 Everything God's chosen people were supposed to be. 00:26:56.400 --> 00:27:02.579 And Jesus is also the new and better Moses who's going to lead his people from slavery to sin 00:27:02.579 --> 00:27:06.519 and into a new land flowing with blessings. 00:27:06.519 --> 00:27:10.960 Jesus is the opposite of Herod the Great. 00:27:11.900 --> 00:27:13.259 He's Jesus the humble. 00:27:13.940 --> 00:27:14.779 Jesus the lowly. 00:27:15.440 --> 00:27:16.279 Jesus the gentle. 00:27:16.799 --> 00:27:18.180 He wasn't born into richness. 00:27:19.180 --> 00:27:20.740 He didn't build fortified palaces. 00:27:21.940 --> 00:27:26.960 He didn't win friends and influence people by handing over brown envelopes stuffed with cash. 00:27:26.960 --> 00:27:28.160 Jesus the king of glory. 00:27:28.160 --> 00:27:30.279 Jesus the king of glory. 00:27:30.680 --> 00:27:34.720 Left the majesty of heaven to be born into the world as a helpless baby. 00:27:35.259 --> 00:27:36.279 Fully dependent. 00:27:38.380 --> 00:27:40.380 So what does this mean for us? 00:27:42.039 --> 00:27:45.840 Well it shows us that the Christian path is one of humility too. 00:27:48.059 --> 00:27:49.200 Pride was Herod sin. 00:27:49.860 --> 00:27:51.160 Pride was Adam and Eve sin. 00:27:52.019 --> 00:27:53.259 Pride was Satan sin. 00:27:53.259 --> 00:27:59.259 Pride told Herod that this little baby had come to compete with him. 00:27:59.480 --> 00:28:00.879 To take something from him. 00:28:01.960 --> 00:28:07.339 And even today the proud look at Jesus and see a rival to the throne of their life. 00:28:09.160 --> 00:28:11.700 But God's not come to compete with us. 00:28:12.259 --> 00:28:16.099 He's come to give us so much more than we could ever achieve ourselves. 00:28:16.579 --> 00:28:18.799 Even with all the gold or all the armies on earth. 00:28:18.799 --> 00:28:23.980 The more pride learns about Christ. 00:28:24.359 --> 00:28:25.379 The more it panics. 00:28:26.720 --> 00:28:28.039 Because pride doesn't ask. 00:28:28.279 --> 00:28:29.139 Is this true? 00:28:30.200 --> 00:28:30.819 It asks. 00:28:31.099 --> 00:28:32.399 Does it leave me in charge? 00:28:34.579 --> 00:28:35.579 Meanwhile the humble. 00:28:36.680 --> 00:28:38.419 Knowing that they can't save themselves. 00:28:39.079 --> 00:28:41.659 They see this God child. 00:28:42.639 --> 00:28:44.639 And they rejoice with mega joy. 00:28:44.640 --> 00:28:48.380 I wonder if that's how we're feeling today. 00:28:51.540 --> 00:28:54.160 Friends Christ hasn't come to take anything from you. 00:28:55.060 --> 00:28:56.580 He's come to give you life. 00:28:57.840 --> 00:29:00.620 He's a true king who laid aside his glory. 00:29:01.360 --> 00:29:03.300 Bore our sin on the cross and rose again. 00:29:03.920 --> 00:29:05.960 So that proud rebels like us. 00:29:06.100 --> 00:29:06.840 Could be forgiven. 00:29:07.480 --> 00:29:08.900 Restored and made new. 00:29:08.900 --> 00:29:12.620 But listen. 00:29:12.860 --> 00:29:13.420 This is important. 00:29:14.120 --> 00:29:16.400 He won't share the throne of your heart. 00:29:17.820 --> 00:29:20.340 The invitation to come to Jesus is simple. 00:29:21.019 --> 00:29:22.200 But it's costly. 00:29:23.740 --> 00:29:25.060 You must repent of your pride. 00:29:26.019 --> 00:29:27.040 Lay down your crown. 00:29:28.300 --> 00:29:31.000 And trust yourself fully to Jesus. 00:29:32.220 --> 00:29:33.300 In losing your life. 00:29:33.380 --> 00:29:34.680 In giving your life away to him. 00:29:35.060 --> 00:29:35.900 You'll find it. 00:29:35.900 --> 00:29:38.480 And in bowing to this king. 00:29:39.620 --> 00:29:41.480 You'll discover the freedom. 00:29:41.980 --> 00:29:42.980 That you were created for. 00:29:44.200 --> 00:29:44.920 Let's pray. 00:29:48.920 --> 00:29:49.800 Lord God. 00:29:49.960 --> 00:29:51.140 Humble us before you. 00:29:52.519 --> 00:29:55.980 Let us not ever fall into serving only ourselves. 00:29:57.180 --> 00:29:59.180 Let us not become too prideful. 00:29:59.280 --> 00:30:02.080 To see others as fellow creatures. 00:30:02.460 --> 00:30:04.400 And only as rivals to get ahead of. 00:30:04.400 --> 00:30:04.480 Lord. 00:30:05.780 --> 00:30:08.060 Make us constantly bowing down before you Lord. 00:30:08.120 --> 00:30:08.980 In everything that we do. 00:30:09.720 --> 00:30:11.920 Help us to surrender to you each and every day. 00:30:12.580 --> 00:30:13.440 Acknowledging our weakness. 00:30:13.740 --> 00:30:14.460 Our forgetfulness. 00:30:14.800 --> 00:30:15.380 Our pride. 00:30:16.360 --> 00:30:17.960 Lord would you lead us and guide us. 00:30:18.140 --> 00:30:19.200 In the ways of righteousness. 00:30:19.420 --> 00:30:20.640 Because you know everything we need. 00:30:21.600 --> 00:30:23.580 And you give to all who ask. 00:30:24.240 --> 00:30:25.759 So we ask that in Jesus name. 00:30:26.380 --> 00:30:26.720 Amen. 00:30:26.720 --> 00:30:26.840 Amen. 00:30:26.840 --> 00:30:26.840 00:30:26.840 --> 00:30:26.840 00:30:26.840 --> 00:30:26.840