Matt. 2:13-20 - It Is Never Too Early to Defend the Savior
Doug Partin – The Christian Church – Jan. 5, 2014
It is the twelfth day of Christmas, the end of the Christmas season, the
day on which the unknown “true love” received 12 drummers
drumming, and the last day that Merry old England indulged before the
regular work days resumed. So it was on this day which Shakespeare
premiered “Twelfth Night” in 1601. The people were ready for one last
“hurrah,” and Shakespeare was ready to make a profit from it. You may
not know much, if anything, about his comedy, but you are sure to be
familiar with this quote from it, “But be not afraid of greatness: some
are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust
upon them.” (Twelfth Night, 2.5)
King Herod whom the Magi visited is commonly known as Herod
the Great. Herod’s father was procurator of Judea, and appointed his
son of the same name military prefect of Galilee. He was so ruthless in
suppressing uprisings in the Galilee that the Roman Governor of Syria
was impressed and made him military prefect of the whole region. He
actually turned back Cleopatra’s push to put Judea under Egypt’s
control.
After Julius Caesar was assassinated, Herod courted the goodwill
of Antony and Octavian, and when the Parthians invaded Syria and set
Hamonaean Antigonus on the throne of Judea, the Roman senate, on
Antony and Octavian’s recommendation, retaliated by conferring upon
Herod the title, “King of the Jews.” It took 3 years of hard fighting for
King Herod to vanquish the Parthians and make his title good. He
succeeded in displacing the Hasmonaean family from their rightful place,
and he fixed the “blood line” problem by marrying the daughter of the
High Priest who happened to be a Hasmonaean; but he still felt
threatened by their presence, so one by one, Herod killed off the
Hasmonaean line, including his own wife.
King Herod tried to gain the people’s favor through lavish building
projects. He rebuilt Samaria, renaming it Sebaste; and he rebuilt Strato’s
Tower on the Mediterranean coast, equipping it with an artificial
harbor, and renamed it Caesarea. He fortified cities throughout Judea.
And while he built a palace for himself on the Western wall, he also
rebuilt the fortress of Antonia, and much of Jerusalem for that matter,
including the Temple itself. So while he was great in many ways, King
Herod was never viewed as a great man by the people he ruled. They
never forgot his ruthless murders and massacres to retain power.
The Magi, Matthew records, had already gone back to their
country – a wise choice, and Matthew implies that it wouldn’t be long
before King Herod figured it out. Before this information ever reached
his ears, God knew what was in his heart. God knew what kind of man
Herod was, what he was capable of doing, and his real motive for
finding the new born King. One of the amazing aspects of our God is
His Omniscience. His ability to know all things, but one of the
frustrating things about our God is that He doesn’t always act on that
knowledge as we might expect, but what He does is always good.
Joseph, on the other hand, had no idea whatsoever of the
imminent danger Jesus was in before he went to bed. But then he began
to dream, I wouldn’t call it a sweet dream, but it was a good one. An
angel appeared and yelled in a parent to their teenager sort of way,
“Get up!” Before he did so, the angel not only revealed to Joseph that
King Herod was going to search for the child, but that he planned on
destroying it when he found it. If there is any question about King
Herod’s intention than consider that this is the word used to describe
those who are lost in battle; the new wine that is lost when the old
wineskin breaks; and it is the same word used to identify the lost sheep,
the lost coin, and the lost son. If you recall, when the son returned, the
father proclaimed, “Let us celebrate, for this son of mine was dead and
has come to life again, he was lost, but has been found.”
King Herod wanted Jesus lost in the same way that his in-laws
became lost, so the translations that use “destroy” and “kill” are
accurate in conveying Herod’s intent. Matthew leaves us with the
impression that King Herod’s men would arrive with the rising sun, but
where could Joseph and Mary go to escape King Herod reach? Egypt
was the closest place in which King Herod had no control, and which
the rulers held King Herod in contempt.
No time was lost in protecting the new born King. As a babe,
Jesus, the one who came to save, was vulnerable. There would be a
time and place for His death, but this was not it. Jesus needed someone
to defend him, and Joseph was willing. He immediately woke up Mary
and they took off in the middle of the night. The gifts they received
from the Magi would be more than enough to cover their expenses as
well as support them while in Egypt.
King Herod had no idea of their escape, and when he learned that
the Magi had “played” him. Your translation may say “tricked” or
“outwitted,” but it is a term that means first “to play with,” “to dance
around,” and “to mock.” Of course, it wasn’t really the Magi who
tricked King Herod, but God who was at work defending his Son. Still,
the result was the same. King Herod became so enraged that he sent
his minions to Bethlehem to slay the boys who were two years old and
below. It is a horrendous truth, an affirmation of Herod’s ruthlessness,
and a reminder that those in power will do anything to keep it.
The prophet, Jeremiah, had spoken of the terror of that night, so
we can assume that God knew that it would take place well in advance
of Herod’s rage; and yet, God did nothing to keep this massacre from
taking place. His own son was spared, but the other boys were not. It
should make anyone pause and wonder, “How do we handle the reality
that tragedies are known to God which He does not prevent?” Some
suggest that this reality makes God capricious, heartless, and uncaring.
We have to be honest. It is true that God does not prevent every
evil episode from taking place. History is full of horrendous happenings.
God does not stop every terrorist who strives to kill innocents; every
dictator who strikes out in fear; and yet, we know that God is good,
that He is loving, and that He will bring about justice in His time.
When God does not prevent an evil that impacts our own lives,
we often give up on Him, concluding that either God doesn’t exist, isn’t
powerful enough to help, or He doesn’t care. I once asked a friend,
who was Jewish, why he didn’t actually believe in God, and he told me,
“If God was real, the holocaust would not have happened.”
Rather than giving up on God we might consider the answer
expressed by those who raised the same questions, but managed to
maintain their faith through times when evil seemed to have the upper
hand. That answer is found in Psalm 94. Listen and learn:
1
The Lord is a God who avenges. O God who avenges, shine
forth. Rise up, Judge of the earth; pay back to the proud what they
deserve. How long, Lord, will the wicked, how long will the wicked be
jubilant? They pour out arrogant words; all the evildoers are full of
boasting. They crush your people, Lord; they oppress your inheritance.
They slay the widow and the foreigner; they murder the fatherless.
They say, “The Lord does not see; the God of Jacob takes no notice.”
Sounds familiar doesn’t it? But the Psalm does not stop there, it
goes on express the truth: 8 Take notice, you senseless ones among the
people; you fools, when will you become wise? Does he who fashioned
the ear not hear? Does he who formed the eye not see? Does he who
disciplines nations not punish? Does he who teaches mankind lack
knowledge? The Lord knows all human plans; he knows that they are
futile.
Did you catch that – evil plans are futile. The Herods and Hitlers
of the world are not great. The cannot keep God from bringing about
His plans. They can wreak havoc, they can spread fear, they can
murder, but they will one day have to stand before the Lord, they will
be judged, and they will be punished. God is the one who is great.
But what are we to do until God’s greatness is revealed? The
Psalmist answers: 12 Blessed is the one you discipline, Lord, the one you
teach from your law; you grant them relief from days of trouble, till a
pit is dug for the wicked. For the Lord will not reject his people; he will
never forsake his inheritance. Judgment will again be founded on
righteousness, and all the upright in heart will follow it.
16
Who will rise up for me against the wicked? Who will take a
stand for me against evildoers? Unless the Lord had given me help, I
would soon have dwelt in the silence of death. When I said, “My foot is
slipping,” your unfailing love, Lord, supported me. When anxiety was
great within me, your consolation brought me joy.
Did you catch that? God helped King David, who was the
psalmist, stand against Israel’s enemies and defeat them. Until the Lord
brings about the end, we are invited to take a stand against evil, to
defend the defenseless.
But the Psalmist continues: 20 Can a corrupt throne be allied with
you — a throne that brings on misery by its decrees? The wicked band
together against the righteous and condemn the innocent to death. But
the Lord has become my fortress, and my God the rock in whom I take
refuge. He will repay them for their sins and destroy them for their
wickedness; the Lord our God will destroy them.
Herod, who destroyed so much, was destroyed. He was not
great, but God is. Still, we read in our text about the weeping of the
mothers who lost their boys and their refusal to be comforted. It
would have been disturbing, heartbreaking to witness. But be assured
that those voices were heard by God.
King Herod’s cruelty reminds me of Pharaoh’s decree that all
male children were to be put to death in the time of Moses. He, like
King Herod, was afraid of losing power. Yet, God can bring about
something good, from evil. If you recall, Moses alone was saved from
among those children; and he became the very one whom God used to
deliver those living in slavery; just as God would use Jesus, the one who
was saved from the slaughter in Bethlehem to save us all.
It is true that when Jesus taught his disciples to pray, He taught
them to ask God to deliver them from evil. At times this prayer
seemed to have an immediate answer. They were delivered multiple
times. They escaped from prisons, evaded murderous plots, and
endured all sorts of persecutions; but in the end each of Jesus disciples
suffered at the hands of evil men. In fact, Jesus told his disciples to
expect to be treated just as He was treated by the world. And they
were. Jesus told his disciples to consider it all joy when they suffered
for His name’s sake. And they did.
Our deliverance from evil will only be fully realized in the
resurrection, on that day evil will come to a final end, and we will
rejoice; but until that day arrives we should be grateful that we do not
encounter evil more often. I cringe when I read the world news: Suicide
bombers, bloody uprisings, and school shootings.
Rather than asking what God will do, God asks us, “Will you
stand with me against it?” I don’t know about you, but however our
stand against evil looks, whether fleeing as did Joseph, tricking as did
the Wisemen, or turning the other cheek, or opposing with force to
defend the defenseless, I want to do so with God, rather than giving up
on Him and taking matters into my own hands.
I am certain that when the time comes for us to take a stand
against evil that God will direct us in how we are to do it.