Your Kingdom Come, Your Will Be Done!

Matthew 2:12-23

Why Herod?

 

This morning I want to begin by showing you a painting.  This painting was done in 1879 by Luc Oliver Merson.  It is entitled, “Rest on the Flight to Egypt”.  The emotions this painting evokes are all over the spectrum.  We have gloomy, dark colors.  Joseph is exhausted, lying on the ground by a tiny fire.  The donkey looks like I feel sometimes.  The powerful sphinx has this vacant, uncaring, arrogant expression on its face.  It kind of makes you want to shoot off its nose.  But in Mary’s arms is Jesus.  There is this glow of hope.  In a world of uncaring-gloom there is hope.  That hope is found in the Epiphany of the newborn King of the Jews. 

 

Last week we celebrated Epiphany.  We rejoiced with the Magi as the star led them to toddler Jesus.  We shared in the Magi’s gifts to the little King!  We worshipped the toddler Jesus, not only as the King of the Jews, but as pagans, we worshipped him as King of All.  In the Epiphany we celebrate “Your Kingdom Come” to us, who live at the ends of the earth! 

 

Last week we had four questions about Epiphany.

-Why did God send the star to pagan priests?  We answered, because that is where Jesus’ Kingdom is going; to the pagans of all nations.

-Why did the Magi come?  Because when God calls pagans, they respond.  That’s us.  We respond to the star in worship.

-We asked why Matthew included this story.  Matthew brought out old treasures and new; old connections to Prophets and the Psalms which predicted Jesus as the new Solomon.  New treasures of King Solomon’s kingdom spreading throughout the world.

-We asked why involve King Herod the Terrible in the Epiphany?  That is the question we are going to tackle in this morning’s sermon.  That question needs an entire sermon. 

 

So, let’s get back to the paranoid King Herod and his devious plan to “worship” the new king of the Jews.  Remember, he has asked the Magi to tell him where this newborn king was.  Herod thought he was clever in tricking the Magi into revealing this new rival. 

 

Let’s continue the story in Matthew 2:12.

 

========

 

Matthew 2:12-15 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.  When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream.  "Get up”, he said, "take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt.  Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”  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.  And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: "Out of Egypt I called my son."

 

That is the setting for our Merson painting.  On the 200+ mile journey to Egypt, they could have stopped for the night at some Egyptian ruin.  They left in a hurry, during the night, and got out of Bethlehem before the anger of Herod got there.  How was Joseph going to manage to care for his family in the foreign land of Egypt?  Wait a second, he as a gazillion dollars’ worth of treasure from the Magi.  That is the hope glowing in the arms of Mary.  There is nothing man can do to stop the spread of His Kingdom!

 

It is odd that Herod is afraid of a baby.  Part of the reason Herod is involved in the story is the irony.  The powerful Herod the Great, ruler for over 30 years, the great builder of the Temple… is afraid of a baby.  It is a contrast in two kings; the child king born in Bethlehem and the brutal king ruling Jerusalem.  Matthew is setting the stage for his answer to why Herod.  There are two different kinds of kings… you are going to have to make a choice as to which kind of king you are going to serve.

 

Instead of being afraid of toddler Jesus, Herod should have been afraid of his own death; of meeting his maker after the brutal way he lived his life.  King Herod died in 4 BC.  That makes Jesus birth somewhere in the neighborhood of 6 BC.  Herod only lives a few more years after the birth of Jesus.  Here is how terrible Herod was.  He knew no one would cry when he died.  So, he gathered children from most of the wealthy families in Jerusalem and ordered that they be killed at his death!  People did cry at his death.

 

There are two kinds of Kings.  Let’s keep reading.

 

=======

 

Matthew 2:16-18  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 who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi.  Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:  "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."

 

In keeping with his paranoia and brutality, Herod thinks, “If I can’t kill just one baby King, I will kill them all.  I am bound to get the right one if I kill them all”.  Every boy in Bethlehem less than two years old died.  Except Jesus, who has already escaped.  There is weeping in Bethlehem as little boys are killed in a futile attempt to stop the coming kingdom.  That is the nature of the old kind of king; brute force.

 

Jesus is born with a price on his head.  Herod is right in realizing the threat Jesus makes to the status quo.  This newborn king of the Jews is going to challenge the might and brutality of old kings.  Later, the Jewish leaders would realize this truth.  These leaders would force Pilate to finish what Herod could not. 

 

There are two kinds of kings.  Let’s keep reading.

 

========

 

Matthew 2:19-23 After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, "Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child's life are dead.”  So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel.  But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there.  Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee, and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth.  So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets: "He will be called a Nazarene."

 

For a third time an angel commands Joseph from a dream.  It’s time to go home.  Once again, without question, Joseph obeys the LORD.  Joseph is an amazing guy.  God orders; Joseph obeys.

 

At Herod the Great’s death his kingdom is divided amongst his sons.  Archelaus ends up ruling over Judea.  He is as cruel as his father was.  But, Archelaus is not as good at staying in power.  He rules for about 10 years.  Joseph knows Archelaus is going to continue his father’s paranoia.  So, Joseph, who is still in charge of taking care of Jesus; savior of the world, Immanuel; God with us, Toddler Jesus who is King of the Jews.  Joseph decides the further away from Jerusalem the better.  He takes the family to settle back in his home town of Nazareth.

 

Archelaus is old school king.  Jesus, the new kind of king, is now growing up in Nazareth.

 

That is the rest of the story of Matthew chapter 2.  But we still haven’t answered our question, “Why involve Herod in the birth of Jesus?”

 

=======

 

The answer to our question lies in the three times Matthew uses our clue word… fulfilled.  Remember, whenever Matthew uses the word fulfilled he is bringing out an old treasure.  If you were really paying close attention, you noted there are three “fulfilleds” in today’s scripture readings  which have to do with  places.  These places are the clue to what is going on with Herod’s involvement.

 

Before I show how these three places all tie together to give us our answer, I need to tell you a little history of the Jews and share some of their expectations.

-The nation of Israel began at the Exodus.  It was led by… Moses.  At the end of the ten plagues and the release of the slaves, they crossed the Red Sea out of Egypt and became a nation.  This nation of Israel existed from about 1500 BC till 586 BC, about a 1000 years.

-The nation of Israel ended when Babylonia took them into captivity.  Jerusalem was destroyed.  The temple was dis-resembled.  Their kings were done.  Even after the captivity when some of the remnants were allowed to return to Jerusalem, the nation of Israel never really gained its independence.  There were never any kings or much of being a free nation.  Babylon, Persia, Syria, Rome all controlled the people of Israel.  But, no independent country.

-So, at the time of the birth of Jesus the Jews wanted a new Exodus.  They wanted to a new Moses.  They expected God to bring them out of slavery and make them a glorious, free nation again.

 

That is what these three fulfilled prophecies are all about.  The first prophecy is from Hosea  11.

 

Hosea 11:1 "When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.” 

 

Matthew is telling us that Jesus is the new Moses!  Notice the similarities between the story of Moses and the story of Matthew 2.  Both stories have:

-Wicked tyrants.

-Killed baby Jewish boys.

-Miraculous baby deliverance.

-Those who sought you are dead.

-Sons called out of Egypt.

 

God involved Herod in the story:

-So we would know that Jesus is the new Moses. 

-So, we would know that Jesus is going to lead us in a new exodus.

-To fulfill his promises to restore the nation of Israel to freedom!

 

Wow, Jesus is the new Moses!

 

The second prophecy is from Jeremiah 31.

 

Jeremiah 31:15 This is what the LORD says: "A voice is heard in Ramah, mourning and great weeping, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because her children are no more."

 

Ramah was in Babylon.  Jeremiah is saying the Jews in Babylonian captivity are weeping for their children.  But we need to read the next two verses in Jeremiah.

 

Jeremiah 31:16-17 This is what the LORD says: "Restrain your voice from weeping and your eyes from tears, for your work will be rewarded," declares the LORD.  "They will return from the land of the enemy.  So there is hope for your future," declares the LORD.  "Your children will return to their own land.”

 

God is going to bring his people out of captivity!  The nation of Israel would be reborn from captivity.  This is going to happen in the new kingdom which Jesus is bringing.  “Your kingdom come… is the promised kingdom.  Jesus is going to fulfill Jeremiah!  God’s people are coming out of captivity!

 

The third prophecy is a little more complicated.

 

Matthew 2:23 So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets: "He will be called a Nazarene."

 

There is a word play going on here.  The Hebrew word for Nazarene sounds a lot like the Hebrew word for branch.  Nazareth comes from the Hebrew word, nazir and branch is from, neser.  Matthew wants us to connect Jesus to Isaiah 11.  Matthew is pretty slick so you have to pay attention. 

 

The third prophecy is Isaiah 11.

 

Isaiah 11:1-5   A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.  The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him-- the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD-- and he will delight in the fear of the LORD.  He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.  He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.  Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist.

 

 

Matthew wants us to connect Jesus to the fulfillment of Isaiah 11.  The one from Nazareth, this branch of Jesse is the one who is going to be filled with the Spirit and who will rule the earth with righteousness.  There is a new king and he is coming from Nazareth. 

 

The three “fullfilleds” are the Old treasure:

-There is a new Moses which brings us out of slavery.

-There is a new nation which comes out of Babylonian captivity.

-There is a new King who is filled with the Spirit of the LORD.

 

Guess what?  There is a new treasure as well.  Keep reading in Isaiah 11.

 

Isaiah 11:6-12 The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them.  The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox.  The infant will play near the hole of the cobra, and the young child put his hand into the viper's nest.  They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.  In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his place of rest will be glorious.  In that day the Lord will reach out his hand a second time to reclaim the remnant that is left of his people from Assyria, from Lower Egypt, from Upper Egypt, from Cush, from Elam, from Babylonia, from Hamath and from the islands of the sea.  He will raise a banner for the nations and gather the exiles of Israel; he will assemble the scattered people of Judah from the four quarters of the earth. 

 

Wow, Isaiah is predicting a new nation, a new Israel.  The Branch, the Nazarene, who is full of the Spirit of the LORD will lead a righteous nation into glory.  This nation will gather Judah from the four corners and it will be a banner for all nations.  That is us again.

 

Here is the New Treasure.  This new Moses is not going to triumph with military might but with Righteousness and Peace!  Notice the images… wolf with lamb, leopard with goat, lion and calf, infant and cobra.  This new Moses comes from humble Nazareth.  The new king comes as a child!

 

Not only is there a new kingdom, there is a new way of the Kingdom!  Jesus is bringing a new way.  It is not the political might of Herod.  It is the way of the Nazarene…  God with us replaces violence with humility!  It is the way of the child.  Not the way of Herod!  There are two kinds of Kings!  King Jesus brings a new way of the kingdom!

 

“For Matthew the real Christmas story isn’t a nice story with sentimental pictures; it’s a dangerous tale.  And once we agree to join with Jesus, we embark on a dangerous path.  If forces us to side with Jesus and the little ones rather than Herod with all of his pomp and brutality.  The way of Jesus causes us to become vulnerable.”  - Matt Wooley -

 

=======

 

Why Herod?  God wants us to see the contrast.  The power of “Your Kingdom Come” is the power of vulnerability.  It is the gift of the Magi, not the gift of Herod.  It is Nazareth, not Jerusalem.  It is baby, not brutality.  God wants us to see there are two kinds of kings.

 

Luc Olivier Merson's Rest on the Flight into Egypt captures all these emotions.  The new Kingdom comes in the power of a child.

 

Tim Stidham

Los Alamos Church of Christ

January 15, 2012