Advent 4 & 5...Christmas Through The Eyes Of Matthew...Matthew 2:13-23

 

This is a picture of a well near Nazareth, the town that Joseph and Mary came from and also the town they ultimately returned to with the baby Jesus.  It has been our journey this Advent season to experience Christmas through the eyes of the gospel writer Matthew.  I want to share a few things I will take away from this deep dive into Matthew chapters 1 and 2.  

First - the first recording below is just part of the message on Christmas Eve.  We had some audio problems on this sermon called "The Dark Side Of Christmas" which covered Matthew 2:13-18.  Thankfully the second recording includes some recap of the Christmas Eve material on a Christmas Day service covering Matthew 2:19-23.

Here is my list.

• Matthew wanted his Jewish readers to see Jesus as their King who had come.  1) He shows Jesus not only of the kingly line of David in the genealogy but also the fulfiller of the blessing to the nations tied to Abraham.  2) Matthew identifies Joseph as a son of David, of the Messianic line, by the angel's pronouncement.  3) The magi ask the question, "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews?"  4) King Herod takes drastic measures to protect his position as king by slaying all the boys age 2 and under in Bethlehem and all its vicinity.  

• Joseph is described as a righteous man, one who follows divine laws, and we see over and over his simple obedience to commands.  With a possible connection of the Magi to the chief magi centuries earlier in the east of Babylon and then Persia, Daniel, we see another of God's men who operated under simple obedience and following divine laws.  Daniel's simple obedience was used in that region in an exalted position for over 70 years!

• Opposite Joseph is the actions of King Herod.  1) King Herod uses the Scriptures (Micah 5:2) to inflict harm on others.  2) King Herod urges religious folks (the Magi) to come up alongside of him.  3) King Herod exaggerates the scope of the plan to harm many by sheer power of position.  I can't help but see some parallels with the actions of governments over the last couple of years.  

• The Magi came to worship, bow down before, the baby Jesus and offer their treasures of items of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.  Gold for a king, frankincense for a priest (holy man), and myrrh most used for a burial.  They were coming to see a king who was holy but was also going to die like many of the prophets.  So we have Jesus represented by prophet, priest and king.  We come before Jesus in the same way but our treasure to present is our very lives, living sacrifices.  We come before Him as our King, the One we belong to; as our High Priest, the One who gave His life as a sacrifice; and as our Prophet who gave us the very words of God as God.  

• Jesus' name means "The God who saves."  Immanuel means, "God with us."  Being called a "Nazarene" was used as a derogatory term to "separate from" because they were despised.  So we have "The God who saves is with us but also responded to as despised."  That pretty much sums up the world's response to Jesus claims about being "the way, the truth and the life" and also His proclamations of being God.  They ended up putting Jesus in a despised position on a cross.

• Matthew uses 1) the covenants of God to Abraham to be a blessing to the nations and to David to be a Messiah King with a reign of no end; he uses the prophet 2) Isaiah to speak of Jesus' virgin birth; he uses the prophet 3) Micah to speak of Jesus' birthplace, Bethlehem; he uses the prophet 4) Hosea to speak of Jesus' flight to Egypt with God's provision and protection of His Son as God did for His people the Israelites centuries before from the clutches of the Pharaoh of Egypt; he uses the prophet 5) Jeremiah to speak of the suffering in Bethlehem prior to the redemption of hope to come as was centuries before when God's people were taken into exile by foreign nations because of their unfaithfulness to God's covenants but a hope was promised; and he uses all 6) the prophets to speak of the world's response to the Redemption provided as One to be and would be despised.  Matthew is not done making the connections between the Old Testament scriptures and their recordings of the coming Messiah and the New Covenant reality displayed in this Resurrected One named Jesus.

We now stretch into a new year, 2023, and I am challenged to do as Matthew and help people make the connection between the One laid in a manger as the One laid on a cross as the One laid in a tomb as the One risen from the grave after 3 days as the One ascended into Heaven and as the One who is coming again.  May many eyes and hearts be opened by faith this year to respond with belief and repentance to this grace that God has provided through His One and Only Son, Jesus Christ.  Lord, please help me with my preaching and teaching and conversations about You to others this year.

Adam

Christmas Eve - Matthew 2:13-18

Christmas Day - Matthew 2:19-23