Sermon - Christmas II, 2020 - Matthew 21:13-23

Merry Christmas! God’s ways are mysterious, yet wonderful. Many things we’ve heard about the past few weeks are obviously wonderful and even quite joyful. John the Baptist was born to Elizabeth. The angel Gabriel announced to Mary and Joseph that the Christ would be born to them. Then Christ was born, with angels and shepherds rejoicing together. On the 8th day, He was brought to the temple and circumcised and named. Later on, the Magi come from the east and present Jesus with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 

But today, it’s a 180, a complete and sudden change of mood! An angel appears and says to Joseph: “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.” So the holy family flee Herod’s jurisdiction and hide out in Egypt until Herod dies. Meanwhile, 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.”

You can’t help but wonder: Why did God permit this tragedy? These baby boys didn’t deserve this kind of death, and their mothers didn’t deserve this kind of anguish from seeing their babies ripped from their hands and killed before their eyes. With all the angels flitting about talking to people, surely God could’ve just sent a couple over to Herod to explain things. 

So why didn’t God prevent this tragedy? Why didn’t God prevent all of the other tragedies in the scriptures? God’s ways are indeed mysterious! Joseph, the son of Israel, is sold into slavery and put into prison in Egypt. Moses and the Israelites wander in the desert for 40 years. David is hunted by Saul and later by his own son Absalom. Shadrack, meshack, and Abednego are thrown into the fiery furnace and Daniel is thrown into the lion’s den. Why didn’t God prevent all of those bad things!?

We can say the same thing today. Why did God allow the holocaust, or all of the deaths from Communism? Why does God permit abortion? Why do children die before their parents? Why are there deadly viruses which kill people? Why is the church shrinking? Why is there so much depression and suicide? Why so many bad things? Is it all just random chance, or a matter of fate? Is God taking a nap, or is He watching it and enjoying it? Is He powerless and without the ability to fix things? What’s going on?

Well it’s not all just random chance. God’s ways are mysterious and wonderful. If we don’t understand them at first, that’s okay, because God is lovingly working through these tragedies for the sake of His dear children. Today’s Gospel gives us a glimpse into why God does what He does, and shows us how it is all used for His divine purposes.

So what was God’s purpose in sending Christ to Egypt and permitting the murder of the holy innocents? It was all to proclaim the Christ Child as the Savior! Three times it says in our text that “This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet...” These three things happen in our text in order to reveal Jesus as the Son of God and our Messiah. Through faith that Jesus is the Messiah and the Son of God, eternal life is granted to them that believe. 

The baby boys of Bethlehem, the Holy Innocents, are the first martyrs who died confessing Christ. God took them out of this world of sadness and to be with Him and delight in the joys of heaven. Their deaths served a purpose, it wasn’t random. You can imagine all the town of Bethlehem was quite shaken by this tragedy, but through this tragedy, they were awakened to consider who their sons died for: namely, the Christ! Suddenly a town which was probably oblivious to Jesus living among them, were thinking about the great Child who scared Herod enough to kill hundreds of babies. In their temporal deaths, these babies perhaps brought thousands of people to Christ and eternal life. They accomplished more in two years than many accomplish in a lifetime. God’s ways are mysterious, yet wonderful!

So our text today teaches us three things. Firstly, it teaches us that God permits and even brings about suffering and affliction in our lives. God is fully and completely in control of all things, even when it appears He’s not in control. This means that when tragedies happen in our lives, we can continue to rejoice in Christ, because God is using it for a better purpose. “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.”

So when we suffer death and loss and every other affliction, we may be unhappy, but we’re not without faith! God is always in control, even when we’re dying. When there’s a pandemic, a virus more deadly than normal viruses, we may be uncomfortable, but we’re not afraid because God is in control. When we get a bad diagnosis from the doctor, or that dreaded call about a family member, we may weep but we still rejoice with Christ since we share His sufferings. 

Every time we suffer or experience some sort of tragedy, we’re reminded that our suffering is connected to Christ’s suffering. He suffered all things for us, not only in Bethlehem or Egypt, but outside Jerusalem on the cross. In Him we’ve already died to this world and have been born anew to the joys of everlasting bliss. Christ refocuses our minds and gives us a new sense of time, so that we wouldn’t be so stuck in our nearsightedness, but see our lives within the context of eternity. These present sorrows are passing away and making room for the joys which shall never end.

The second thing this text teaches us is that God always has a purpose for our suffering. There is no such thing as blind fate. Things don’t just happen without a reason. It’s not Karma, you’re not the one in control; God is in control. So when you suffer and you’re having a hard time figuring out why some bad things are happening to you, be comforted to know that God has a plan and is using it for good. It may not be clear at the moment, and it may not ever be in this life, but it is clear to God. Your suffering is not without purpose.

Oftentimes God uses suffering for correction, such as if we’re straying from the straight and narrow path, and God is now bringing us back. Suffering is always used by God to direct us to Christ, to point us to the one thing necessary. When you suffer, it’s good to go to God in repentance and seek His grace and favor. Regardless of how seemingly minor or severe the affliction may be, always turn to God, since He has a purpose for your sorrow. God’s ways are mysterious, yet wonderful!

The third thing we should learn from this text is that God cares about His Word. I mentioned this already, but three times in our text it says: “This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet.” The first time was in Jesus’ flight to Egypt, the second time is the weeping of the mothers, and the third time is the holy family moving to Nazareth. God’s Word is important to Him. When He says that something is going to happen, it happens. God’s Word is always fulfilled! Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of all of God’s promises!

I know we hardly care about God’s Word, which is evidenced by how little of God’s Word we know. We therefore maybe consider it a petty idea that God would allow Herod to kill hundreds of babies in order for His Word to be fulfilled. But God’s Word is actually important, and if it wasn’t important, and God didn’t bother fulfilling it, then neither would we be saved because none of the Word would matter. 

But because God’s Word does matter, and He fulfills all of His promises, therefore we have hope. “She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” That Word has been fulfilled too, and you’ve been saved from your sins. “All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).”

God’s ways are mysterious and wonderful! “Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.” Merry Christmas!