Sermon - Christmas II, 2026 - Matthew 2:13-23

The Flight into Egypt, Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld, 1828

Rejoicing in Suffering Sent by God

1. God sends suffering

2. God guards us through the suffering

3. God turns all our suffering into glory

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

“This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet.” God’s ways are beyond human reason. For instance, the prophet Micah declared that the Christ was to be born in Bethlehem, “for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd My people Israel.” Though Jesus was conceived in Nazareth, and Joseph and Mary were already living there, because Israel was under Roman occupation the holy family needed to travel to Bethlehem in order to pay taxes to a foreign nation, and there He was born. The prophecy was fulfilled through suffering.

Then, the prophet Hosea declared that the Christ would have to come out of Egypt, saying, “Out of Egypt I called my Son.” Now the holy family had to move to Egypt because Herod in his jealous rage sought to murder the Christ. Egypt, although belonging to the Roman Empire, was out of Herod’s jurisdiction, and so the angel instructed them to flee once again and live in Egypt indefinitely. The prophecy was fulfilled through suffering.

Then, the Prophet Jeremiah declared that there would be “A voice heard in Ramah, weeping and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be comforted, because they are no more.” Rachel, the beloved wife of the patriarch Jacob (also known as Israel), had died giving birth to Benjamin and was buried apart from her husband in Bethlehem. There in the town where she was buried the daughters of Rachel wept for their baby boys who were slaughtered by mad king Herod in his blind rage to destroy the Christ child. The prophecy was again fulfilled through suffering.

One of the Marks of the Christian is the cross and suffering, for so our Lord told us: “If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” We who follow Christ share all things with Him, including His cross. Remember the words of St. Peter in our epistle today: “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 as we look ahead to this new year, wondering at all that lay before us, let us soberly remember that one thing is certain going forward, namely, we will suffer and God will send us sorrows.

I say this not to be a debbie downer today at the beginning of the new year, but so that when we do experience the cross throughout this year, as we will, we may understand what is happening and so be brought through the suffering with hope and confidence that the Lord’s hand is at work even in our sorrows. We are going to face any number of difficult trials this year, but instead of being anxious or scared about what’s going to happen, let us be filled with the Holy Spirit and boldly face these fiery trials while rejoicing in God’s guiding hand through it all. Just as the scriptures prepare us for the crosses to come, they also always remind us that God accompanies our sorrows with His many comforts. So the scriptures today paint not a frightening picture of sorrow, but one of comfort. Blessed are you who are counted worthy to suffer with Christ and to bear your crosses beside Him. It is an honor to follow the Christ child on this trail of suffering, while attended to by God’s holy angels, until we reach our blessed home with Him in our Father’s land.

It may at first seem surprising to hear that God sends us sorrows, strange to think that God’s hand is at work in the most terrible circumstances, but it’s actually very comforting. To be clear, God didn’t make Herod hate the Christchild, nor did God send Herod the idea to murder innocent baby boys; those murderous thoughts came from Herod’s own sinful heart, not the Lord. But God does work through the hands of sinful men doing sinful things in order to accomplish His good will and work those evils for the benefits of His children.

When the evangelist Matthew continually explains that these terrible things are happening to fulfill the Lord’s prophetic words, He is making it extremely clear that none of the suffering those people experienced was without God’s will and permission. God’s hand was at work meanwhile Herod was committing the most terrible atrocities. God is not powerlessly sitting by while evil is happening, but He permits it and even uses it in order to bring about something much greater. With Herod God sent the Magi to him in order to proclaim the Gospel to him, in order that Herod might be saved and have the opportunity not to hate the Christ, but to worship Him alongside the Magi. It is Herod’s own heart that rejected Jesus.

But remember that “out of Egypt I have called my Son.” God led the Israelites into Egypt, whereby they suffered immensely at the hands of the Egyptians. But out of Egypt the Israelites were led into the promised land. While the Israelites were in Egypt, although they were made slaves, they multiplied abundantly! Although the holy family had to flee to Egypt, the Lord blessed them in that place! Although Herod meant to do them harm, God used Herod’s evil and turned it to good.

We have a lesson to learn from this: like the holy innocents, like all Christian martyrs, we Christians are marked with God’s holy name and are thereby hated by the world. So long as you confess the name of Jesus, the world will hate you and be at odds with you. If the world seems friendly, if the devil seems to put on an air of piety, don’t believe him. He is like Herod putting on a show before the Magi in order to secretly kill the Christ child. The goal of Satan and the world is to lead you away from the narrow way of life and onto the broad and easy road of destruction. 

Nevertheless, although the world hates you and means to do you harm, it only does so with God’s consent and so the Lord keeps the world’s anger in check. Just as the Israelites were blessed by God in their suffering, so shall you be blessed and strengthened by God in your suffering of the world’s hatred towards you. Though you must suffer the world’s torments, you will grow stronger in faith towards the Lord Jesus and be preserved unto salvation; that stronger faith and your salvation is ultimately the Lord’s will. God is stronger than this world and He leverages the world’s sinfulness for your eternal benefit. What the devil foolishly thinks will kill you, God uses to strengthen you unto your glory.

If you’re worried about suffering, remember that the same hand which has sent you sorrows also guards you through your trials. Just look at how the Lord’s hand was upon Jesus throughout His earthly life! Although Herod hated the holy family, God sent His angels to warn and guide them to safety. Although the Spirit sent Jesus into the wilderness to fast and be tempted by the devil for forty days, angels were sent to minister to Him. Let us learn from this lesson, and believe that although God sends us such sorrows, He is also guarding us amidst these trials. 

I’m sure for Joseph, leading his little family around, it felt like one pitfall after another had to be avoided. Just as soon as he thought he had things sorted out and a plan in place, everything got shaken up again. To Joseph it would’ve appeared in the moment as if everything just kept going wrong in his life, but as we can look back on it we see that everything turned out exactly as it needed to, and God’s hand was at work in all of their life. 

This is true for us as well. We think we have everything sorted out, and then one wrench after another gets thrown into the mix and nothing works out the way we had planned. Occasionally with time we are able to look back and see how God’s hand was at work in those wrenches to actually make things go right, but most of the time we will have to wait until we reach eternity to look back and see clearly how God’s hand was tenderly guiding us in exactly the only way things could go according to His will.

Though you must face crosses, remember that the Lord has already preserved you so wonderfully, in ways that you can’t even imagine right now, so that you are escaping the eternal pit of hell and being delivered unto the joys of paradise. God is going to continue to keep you throughout this new year. Nothing is going to befall you without the Lord’s consent and guiding hand to make things go according to His good and gracious will for you. He will neither slumber nor sleep, and His hand shall preserve you.

Ultimately, the Lord is going to turn all of your sorrows to glory! Sure, Jesus had to go to Egypt, but only for a short time, and then He was called out of Egypt. Sure, God will send us sorrows, but only for a time and a season, and then He will call us out of our sorrows! God will not let you suffer forever, these crosses are merely temporary. The Lord will deliver us! You know, another year has passed which means that we’re another year closer to Jesus’ return! The more sorrows we share, the more we are filled with excitement and anticipation of the joys still to come. Jesus’ sorrows led Him to the grave from which He rose and ascended to paradise. So shall our sorrows lead us on the same path from death to life, and God will wipe every tear from our eyes. What at first appears to have no glory, shall later appear to have all the glory! 

Like the Psalmist reminds us: “When the waters saw you, O God, when the waters saw you, they were afraid; indeed, the deep trembled. The clouds poured out water; the skies gave forth thunder; your arrows flashed on every side. The crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind; your lightnings lighted up the world; the earth trembled and shook. Your way was through the sea, your path through the great waters; yet your footprints were unseen.” I know we can’t see it now, all we see is the storm around us; but the way of the Lord is through the storm. With His outstretched arms upon the cross He redeems His people and carries us through the dreadful waters of this tempestuous sea of life, until we reach the promised shore on the other side and step forth into His kingdom.

Merry Christmas, and may God guide you through the trials of this new year unto the eternal joys which He already has prepared for you in Christ Jesus.