What The Baby In The Manger Didn't Do Series

"What The Baby In A Manger Didn’t Do"

Christmas In The Real World Series

December 15, 2002 FBC, Chester, Illinois Mike Fogerson, Speaker

Introduction:

A We sing it every year during this special season: "Joy to the World." The inspiration for this hymn came to Isaac Watts from Psalm 98:4-9.

a Centuries later, we can read verse one, "Sing to the Lord a new song,"

b and turn to the Seventh Day Adventists for additional inspiration. They altered this carol when they chose to focus on the Second Coming. They changed the lyrics to read, "Joy to the world, the Lord will come."

* As Christians at Christmas, we have two reasons to celebrate: "the Lord is come," and "the Lord will come."

* The Lord has come, is coming...but in between those two things...there is some rough sailing.

B Today’s message is "What The Baby In A Manger Didn’t Do"

a Text: Matthew 2:13/23

MT 2:13 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." 14 So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, [15] 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." 16 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. [17] Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled: 18 "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." 19 After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt [20] 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." 21 So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. [22] 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, [23] 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."

b Christmas didn’t stop King Harod from killing innocent babies in Bethlehem. (ETS)

C Christmas shows us that evil will ultimately be done knocked out. (ESS)

a I hope this Christmas you’ll know that all of the evil in this world will be thoroughly dealt with. (Objective)

b What are you hoping for this Christmas?

T.S.: Let’s look at two things that the baby in the manger didn’t do.

I The baby in the manger didn’t stop bad things from happing.

A King Herod proved that evil was alive and well even after Jesus was born.

a Right after the star, Magi, shepherds, stable birth....we see Harod killing babies.(vv:16) 16 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.

*In the same chapter we have.....

the innocence of Jesus and the corruption of Herod,

Salvation of God & the slaughter of innocent babies,

Purely Good & Purely Evil....Jesus’ birth didn’t eliminate evil in this world.

b His birth didn’t eliminate suffering either. (vv:17-18)

[17] Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled: 18 "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."

*Most biblical scholars believe that between 20 & 30 babies were murdered in Bethlehem that day. (Sons, Nephews, Cousins, Grandsons...)

*Intense suffering, didn’t want to be consoled,

(IL) When we were in the five week process of losing Kaylea I couldn’t pray with woman in our church about it (Diane), when I was leaving Wardline she told the church I wasn’t a man of prayer because I refused to pray to when she offered to pray with me. I was simply devastated, empty...refusing to be comforted. Suffering.

B I don’t have to prove to you that bad things still happen even though Jesus was born.