God's Hope Will Get You through the Hardest Times
The Gospel of Matthew
Matthew 2:13-23
Sermon by Rick Crandall
Grayson Baptist Church - December 26, 2012
(Revised September 22, 2020)
BACKGROUND:
*Please open your Bibles to Matthew 2, as we take another look at the story of the Wise Men. And though we sing about three Wise Men who went to see the baby King Jesus, the Bible doesn't tell us how many there were.
*We also put the Wise Men in our Manger scenes, even though they don't really belong there. By the time they got to Bethlehem, Joseph and Mary had already moved into a house. And based on what the Wise Men told King Herod, Jesus may have been two years old when they finally saw Him.
*But the Wise Men are an important part of the Christmas story, and their story begins in vs. 1-12:
1. Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem,
2. saying, "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him."
3. When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
4. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.
5. So they said to him, "In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet:
6. 'But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are not the least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.'"
7. Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared.
8. And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also."
9. When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was.
10. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy.
11. And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
12. Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way.
*Before we see what happened next, it's important for us to understand more about King Herod. He was an evil monster. John Phillips explained that Herod’s reign was one of bitter hatred, suspicion, and terrible atrocities. No man or woman was safe while Herod reigned. One by one, he murdered every rival to the throne. He murdered his wife’s 17-year-old brother, because he was popular with the Jews. He murdered the beautiful Maccabean princess he had married, because he was suspicious of her, and he murdered both of her sons. Five days before Herod's death he also murdered his own son and heir.
*Herod hacked and hewed his way through life, slaughtering thousands of people. A typical afternoon’s entertainment for this man was to watch seven or eight hundred of his subjects being crucified on a public platform set up in the middle of the city. He would get drunk while he and his concubines enjoyed the gruesome sight. (1)
*King Herod was a human monster, and tonight's Scripture tells about one of his cruelest atrocities. But this part of the Wise Men's story can give us hope that overcomes the most horrible things in life. Let's begin by reading Matthew 2:13-23.
MESSAGE:
*King Herod was a human monster, and there are many monstrous people in the world today, evil people filled with murderous hatred and cruelty. They rule with an iron grip in countries like Communist China. And some people in our own country would love to rule us with that kind of power. Our nation has only survived by the grace of God, the prayers of God's people, and the willingness of good people to take a stand.
*But terrible things can happen anytime, anywhere in our fallen world. In 2020, Covid 19, the summer riots, the wildfires out west, and destructive hurricanes are just a few examples that come to mind.
*Then there are the personal tragedies we all go through. About two weeks ago, one of the outstanding young men in our community passed away. His name was Corban Gulde, and He was 18. Corbin's obituary said that "he worked in the Monroe DA's Office and planned to pursue a career in criminal law. He loved music and was an avid guitar player and singer.
*He is remembered for his strength, compassion, sense of humor, and his faith even in the midst of trial. In all these ways, Corbin was a light to people around him. He had a passionate hope that his legacy would be to move people to support the life-saving work of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and to point people to the soul-saving work of the gospel of Jesus."
*Corbin was so impressive that one of the doctors from St. Jude came down to speak at his funeral. That young man battled cancer 4 different times during his short life, and from a human point of view, what's the sense of that? But Corbin had the hope that never fails, and God wants to give it to you.
1. FIRST, GOD WANTS TO GIVE YOU THE HOPE OF HIS PROTECTION.
*This may seem like an odd thing to say in light of what's been going on in 2020. But according to God's grace and according to His perfect will, we have God's protection in this world.
*In vs. 13, Matthew says: "Now when they (the Wise Men) had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, 'Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him.'''
*We may think, "Well, God has never protected me like that." But if you are breathing in this world, it is because Almighty God has protected you.
*Daniel spoke to wicked King Belshazzar of the judgment that was about to fall on him. And here is part of what the prophet said in Daniel 5:23: "You have lifted yourself up against the Lord of heaven. . . AND THE GOD WHO HOLDS YOUR BREATH IN HIS HAND and owns all your ways, you have not glorified."
*God holds our breath in His Hands, and He is protecting us moment by moment. One great place to see this truth is in Psalm 121. But before I read it to you, understand that our words "keep" and "preserve" are the exact same word in the original language. And it means to "guard" or "protect". So, six times in this short Psalm, God promises to guard and protect His people.
*No wonder the Psalmist said:
1. . . I will lift up my eyes to the hills -- From whence comes my help?
2. My help comes from the LORD, Who made heaven and earth.
3. He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber.
4. Behold, He who keeps Israel Shall neither slumber nor sleep.
5. The LORD is your keeper; The LORD is your shade at your right hand.
6. The sun shall not strike you by day, Nor the moon by night.
7. The LORD shall preserve you from all evil; He shall preserve your soul.
8. The LORD shall preserve your going out and your coming in From this time forth, and even forevermore.
*Let me tell you about one of the times God protected me. I was a senior in high school, lost as a goose and as foolish as can be. Two of my best friends and I were in Atlanta for a function at Georgia Tech. There we started talking about finding a new place to have the next summer's week-long beach-party for our high school fraternities and sororities.
*On a whim, we decided to drive over to Myrtle Beach South Carolina, and check it out. Of course, our parents didn't know. We were 2 or 3 hours out of Atlanta on I-20, when we looked over at the west-bound lanes and saw people waving and hollering. We thought maybe it was a caravan having a party or something like that. And for no particular reason, my friend driving switched over to the right-hand lane.
*A few seconds later, we topped a big hill, and passed a man who was driving on the wrong side of the Interstate. If my friend hadn't changed lanes, we would have hit that car at a combined speed of 140 mph! We would have surely been killed. But our merciful God spared our lives. And Heaven only knows how many times He has protected us from danger and death. God wants to give you the hope of His protection.
2. HE ALSO WANTS TO GIVE YOU THE HOPE OF HIS PURPOSE.
*Joseph reminds us of this great truth in vs. 13-14. Here God's Word says:
13. Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, "Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him.''
14. When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt.
*Here an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream, and that is an extraordinary thing. But please focus on what happened next: "Joseph took the young Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt."
*Joseph didn't have to do that. Danger was coming and he could have bailed on Mary and Jesus. But Joseph was faithful. He was faithful to his family and faithful to our God.
*I also want to stress that Joseph was faithful to serve in the ordinary things of life: packing for the trip, helping provide food and clothing for his family, helping provide all the things they needed to live.
*Joseph also helped teach the Lord how to walk and talk. He helped teach Jesus the things all fathers need to teach their sons. Joseph was taking care of the ordinary, everyday duties of a godly man. That was his Heaven-sent purpose in life, and what a difference he made! All eternity was changed because Joseph was faithful in the everyday things of life.
*And you may not have thought much about it. But I want to tell you that if you are a Christian, God has a heavenly purpose for your everyday life.
*Just before Christmas in 2012, "The Telegraph" online reported on a survey of children in Britain. Those kids were asked to list the things they most wanted for Christmas, and the tenth most popular request was "a dad." (2)
*Never underestimate your importance Dad! Your faithful attention to the everyday things will make an everlasting difference in your family, your church, your community, and the Kingdom of God.
*Of course, moms are crucial too! Chuck Swindoll saw an example in the life of a young mother who sat across from him in a doctor's waiting room. She was pregnant, already had a toddler, plus one in diapers in her arms. And boy was she busy!
*Dr. Swindoll described the scene: "Untied shoes, runny noses, twelve questions a minute, dropped rattle -- (five times), three falls, -- once on his face, loud crying, a bottle of juice that spilled in her bag. And as she mopped it up with her last clean diaper, the baby barfed right down the back of her neck. Yet with incredible patience, that mother hung in there."
*Chuck Swindoll wondered if that young mother realized that she was modeling an unforgettable display of Christ's message. She was going the extra mile out of patience and love. (3)
*Just being a dad or a mom or a good friend or a good worker doesn't sound like a glamorous thing to do. But Christians, God can add eternal value to our everyday lives, and He wants to give you the hope of His purpose.
3. HE ALSO WANTS TO GIVE YOU THE HOPE OF HIS PROPHECY.
*In these few verses, Matthew shows us three of God's Old Testament prophecies being fulfilled.
[1] THE FIRST PROPHECY IS FOUND IN VS. 13-15:
13. Now when they (the Wise Men) had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, "Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him.''
14. When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt,
15. and was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, "Out of Egypt I called My Son.''
*This prophecy came from Hosea 11:1, and it was written 725 years before Jesus was born.
[2] THE SECOND FULFILLED PROPHECY IS FOUND IN VS. 16-18:
16. Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men.
17. Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying:
18. "A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, refusing to be comforted, because they were no more.''
*This prophecy came from Jeremiah 31:15, and it was written 600 years before Jesus was born.
[3] THE THIRD PROPHECY IS FOUND IN VS. 19-23:
19. But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt,
20. saying, "Arise, take the young Child and His mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the young Child's life are dead.''
21. Then he arose, took the young Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel.
22. But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea instead of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And being warned by God in a dream, he turned aside into the region of Galilee.
23. And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, "He shall be called a Nazarene.''
*This prophecy is hard to pinpoint, but it may refer back to Judges or Numbers, and both of those books were written over 1,000 years before Jesus was born. J. Vernon McGee suggested that this fulfilled prophecy may be related to the fact that the Hebrew word for Nazareth was "Netzer," which meant "a branch or shoot." And there are several Old Testament verses that talk about the Messiah being a branch. For example, Isaiah 11:1 says: "There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots." (4)
*Here we see three of God's Old Testament prophecies being fulfilled, and that is a big, big deal.
*Also let me point out that some people criticize Jesus for arranging situations in order to fulfill Old Testament prophecy. And there are times when Jesus could have done that. But there is nothing wrong with Jesus seeking to fulfill Old Testament prophecy, if He is the Almighty Savior, who was prophesied to come. And He is!
*Tonight's Scripture is different. Here we see three Old Testament prophecies fulfilled when Jesus was just a small child. That young preschooler couldn't have manipulated these things. These prophecies were fulfilled because Jesus IS Lord!
*And these are just a few of many prophecies already fulfilled by Jesus Christ. Josh McDowell tells us that the Old Testament contains over 300 references to the Messiah that were fulfilled by Jesus. And that is mathematically impossible to have been a coincidence.
*Mathematician and author Peter Stoner considered just eight of the Old Testament prophecies concerning Christ, not all of them, just eight. And he showed that coincidence is ruled out by the science of probability. Dr. Stoner wrote: "We find that the chance that any man might have lived and fulfilled all eight prophecies is 1 in 10 to the 17th power." That would be one out of one hundred million billion, and that is a 1 followed by seventeen zeroes!
*To help us understand this giant number, Dr. Stoner gave an illustration using that many silver dollars. And he said, "Suppose we take one hundred million billion silver dollars, and lay them out, covering the state of Texas. They will cover the whole state two feet deep.
*Now mark one of these silver dollars, and thoroughly stir them up all over the state. Blindfold a man and tell him that he can travel as far as he wishes anywhere in the state. But he must pick up the one silver dollar that was marked. What chance would he have of getting the right one? Just the same chance that the prophets would have had of writing these eight prophecies and having them all come true in any one man." (6)
*Christian, this means that if you brought your Bible to church tonight, you have a miracle sitting in your lap! This miraculous book proves that Jesus is Lord. It proves that Jesus is the promised Messiah. And it gives us the sure hope that Jesus Christ came into the world to save us from our sins. Jesus died on the cross for our sins. And now the Risen Savior offers the sure hope of eternal life to everyone who will trust in Him. God wants to give you the sure hope of His prophecy.
4. AND HE WANTS TO GIVE YOU THE HOPE THAT OVERCOMES OUR PAIN.
*Verses 16-18 remind us how painful life can be:
16. Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men.
17. Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying:
18. "A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, refusing to be comforted, because they were no more.''
*Being a Christian doesn't exempt us from terrible hurts in life. But we have hope that goes beyond the hurt!
*Please listen to the rest of God's prophecy from Jeremiah 31. There, in vs. 16-17 God made a wonderful promise to the grieving mothers of Bethlehem:
16. Thus says the Lord: "Refrain your voice from weeping, and your eyes from tears; for your work shall be rewarded," says the Lord, "And they shall come back from the land of the enemy.
17. There is hope in your future," says the Lord, "That your children shall come back to their own border."
*"The land of the enemy" in Jeremiah 31:16 is the land of death. In 1 Corinthians 15:26, Paul tells us that "The last enemy to be destroyed is death." Then Paul described the ultimate victory for everyone who believes in Jesus Christ:
51. Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed --
52. in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.
53. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality.
54. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory."
55. "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?"
56. The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.
57. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
*There is hope that goes beyond the deepest hurts, because Jesus Christ came to share in our suffering and overcome our death.
*There were horrible cries of anguish that night in Bethlehem. But the one little boy who escaped would also die a horrible death. About thirty years later, Jesus Christ died on the cross, not for His own sins, but for our sins. Jesus was the sacrifice for our sins. But He rose again from the dead! And through His resurrection, He defeated death forever for all who will trust in Him. So, Christians have hope that goes beyond the hurt! (6)
*The only real hope for the world is Jesus Christ! And a wonderful part of that hope is the reunion we will have with other Christians, babies and the little children who have died. In Jeremiah 31:17, "'There is hope in your future,'' says the Lord, 'That your children shall come back to their own border.'"
*About 20 years ago, a young Christian lady named Jennifer went into labor. Tragically, her uterus and bladder ruptured. The baby boy was deprived of oxygen too long to live. It was a miracle that Jennifer survived.
*I had never met Jennifer, but she was a friend of a friend, and I went to see her in the hospital. In God’s perfect timing, Jennifer was there with her parents. It was just before she got out of the hospital.
*As I got ready to leave, I said, "Some people wonder if you will be able to recognize him in Heaven." Jennifer said, "We want to think that we will."
*I replied, "Yes, you will. Remember when Jesus was on the mountain of transfiguration? Moses and Elijah were there with Him. And everybody there knew who they were. 'Hey, that’s Moses and this is Elijah.' So, you will know your baby when you get there."
*Jennifer’s mom then amazed me by saying: "Do you know what the baby’s name was? -- It was Elijah. I know that the Lord led you to say that. That’s the reason He brought you here today. That’s what we needed to hear."
*Glory to God! There will be a reunion with every believer, with every child who died young, with every child who died in the womb. This is our sure hope in Jesus Christ.
CONCLUSION:
*Do you have this hope? The best person in the world has no real hope without Jesus Christ, so put your trust in the Lord. Open your heart to receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior.
*You can call on the Lord to save you right now, as we go to God in prayer. Then start living in God's hope, -- the hope that will carry you through the toughest times in life.
(1) Adapted from EXPLORING THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW by John Phillips, Kregal Publications, Grand Rapids - "The King’s Advent" - Matthew 1:18-2:23
(2) Sources:
-"A 'dad' is tenth most popular Christmas list request for children" by Hannah Furness - 24 December 2012 - https://www.telegraph.co.uk/topics/christmas/9764688/A-dad-is-tenth-most-popular-Christmas-list-request-for-children.html
-My source: "Tenth most popular request for kids' Christmas gift: a 'dad'" by Rick Moran - December 25, 2012 - www.americanthinker.com/blog/2012/12/tenth_most_popular_request_for_kids_christmas_gift_a_dad.html
(3) "Intrusions" - Excerpted from Day by Day with Charles Swindoll, Copyright 2000 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. (Thomas Nelson Publishers)
(4) Through the Bible with J. Vernon McGee - Matthew 2:23
(5) SermonCentral illustration contributed by David Parks - Source: "Evidence that Demands a Verdict" by Josh McDowell
(6) Adapted from SermonCentral sermon "Christmas: Do You Hear What I Hear?" - Melvin Newland - Matthew 2:13-18
