The Herods cannot kill the Christ

Matthew 2:13-15, 19-23 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." … 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."

Behold the Holy Family. Joseph a righteous man watching over his beloved wife and the infant Christ. Mary, virgin mild and lowly cradles her firstborn son, nurses Him, warms Him in the cold, dark night. The infant Jesus, the One come to save His people from their sins, like all children He is trusting in the mercy of His parents, totally dependent on them for everything; clothing and shoes, food and drink, house and home, protection and safety. Whatever He needs He receives it through Joseph and Mary. 

Behold the Holy Family and note that such holiness is not flowing from their moral character but their moral character flows from their holiness – a holiness they hold in their arms, for they have the Son of God cradled in their arms. He makes them holy even as He sanctifies the whole earth with His presence. Joseph and Mary receive this by faith, faith in the word and promises of God connected to the miraculous birth of this Child. They have faith for they are holding the Word made flesh. He is the fulfillment of all God’s promises.

Behold the Holy Family for it is time for them to depart Bethlehem. The echo of the angelic chorus of “Gloria in Excelsis Deo” has faded away. The Wise Men are no longer singing “We Three Kings of Orient Are.” It has been months since the shepherds last sang “Joy to the World.”

King Herod now seeks to destroy the Child’s life and thereby preserve his own. The angel of the Lord once again leaves heaven in order to visit heaven’s King. He warns Joseph about murderous King Herod. Joseph hears and believes and obeys. God’s Word is always for our good, even when it means packing up and moving south, leaving the Promised Land and returning to Egypt. With Joseph goes Jesus.

Herod is pursuing the Child – not to worship, not to adore, not to cradle the Messiah in his arms. He is unlike the shepherds who say, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened.” He does not travel great distances in order to bring expensive gifts like the Magi. Herod pursues in order to kill. He and his henchmen go after Joseph and Mary in order to make sure the newborn King of the Jews was dead. This should not be surprising for this is how far people will go in order to preserve their lives … or should I say lifestyle.

Herod sees Jesus as a threat – a threat to his dominion, his wealth, his status, his power, his happiness.  The world we live in is no different. Our world is full of Herods. Just look at social media and cable news over the past few weeks. A&E tries to silence Phil Robertson for his outspoken defense of God’s commandments on sexuality. Thrivent Insurance first gave support to a Planned Parenthood organization and then when their members voiced their opinions, they pulled their support of both pro-choice organizations and pro-life ministries. The Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster desecrates Nativity scenes of the Holy Family by placing their atheistic displays in state capitols alongside the crèche. Barbara Walters admits that she had thought the president would be the next Messiah.

None of this should surprise us. Unbelievers are only doing what they have always done – hated God. Jesus predicted all this would happen: “At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold” (Matthew 24:10-12).

Whether we are TV personalities or everyday Christians, we seek to bring Christ into our world. We say what we should be expected to say as Bible-believing Christians, and the world jumps all over us. The Herods respond with ridicule and mockery, vandalism and persecution.

Although, we Christians in America do not yet know what real persecution is like. LBGT may threaten, Christians may be silenced, we may not hear the “Merry Christmas” from the store clerks, we may see Santa specials and no Christ Childs, but we don’t feel real persecution, not like what is going on around the world. Christians are being put to death, crucified, burned alive, raped, murdered and bombed. 37 Christians were killed in Iraq during their Christmas Mass. That is persecution. Unbelievers are only doing what they have always done – hated God.

That hatred is very strong in other parts of the world … and it is growing here in America. People will go to great lengths – destroy the definition of marriage, even kill their own babies, to preserve their self-esteem, social status, economic viability, popularity amongst friends, and thus tilt the balance of this world’s favor toward themselves. Trying to save themselves and their trivial treasures, the world enacts Herod’s decree again and again as they hurt one another, destroy families, abort their children, and follow the forked tongue of the serpent against holy families and the Holy One of God.

That first Christmas, Israel did not know what God was doing, and those who did made every attempt to crush it in the cradle. The sons of Bethlehem surrendered their lives while the Christ Child is swept away to Egypt. Jesus departs for a time because the time of His departure has not yet come. As the Word made flesh, Jesus is the fulfillment of the Old Testament, the promises of God incarnate. His departure and subsequent return fulfill the prophecy: “Out of Egypt I have called my Son” (Hosea 11:1). The words of Hosea found their fulfillment at Jesus’ return from Egypt — Jesus was Israel reduced to one.

Jesus goes to Egypt as Israel once went to Egypt. Jesus leaves the Promised Land as Jacob’s family once left to find shelter and safety in Egypt. Once Herod is dead, the Holy Family returns, but this time to Nazareth. The Savior has been kept safe.

St. Paul told us today in Galatians 4 that “when the time was right, God sent his Son.” But the time was not yet right for that Son to die. So Jesus was protected so He might protect you from your sins, from Satan and from the Herods of our time.

The world, Satan and sin have always tried to defeat, deny and discredit the Savior. Yet, nothing can stop the Savior from coming … or returning. He was born of a woman to be one of us, yet He is better than us. He was kept safe from Herod’s wrath so that He could receive the wrath of His own heavenly Father poured out on Him. He retreated from the soldier’s spear that killed all the toddlers in Bethlehem, so that He could receive the soldier’s spear piercing His heart on the cross.

Having no room in the inn indicated how there would be no room for Jesus to lay His head or call His home during His earthly ministry. The rough wood of the manger foreshadowed the rougher wood of the Roman cross. His chubby little baby hands will one day be pierced to save you. His beautiful head crowned with brown hair will one day be crowned with thorns and blood. His first cry would be echoed 33 years later as He proclaims that our salvation is finished. He is Immanuel, God with us in human flesh and blood so that He might give you that flesh and blood and be with you in His holy Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper.

Satan and the Herods of our world think they win when they can silence Christians or persecute us or kill us. But Jesus’ escape to and return from Egypt reminds us that not Satan, nor Herod, nor any of their ilk will ever win.

We Christians will stand up and be heard – via social media or in the workplace or in the voting booth. We continue to proclaim the Word made flesh. But even when we falter, we have a God who can never be silenced or defeated or killed … unless He wishes to be killed for His divine purpose and at His appointed time.

This is the peace, joy and hope that transcends the problems and persecutions of this world. For we know we have One who has come to deliver us from evil.

It may appear that the baby boys of Bethlehem died in order to save Jesus – that they gave their blood that He might escape. It was actually the other way around. Jesus grew up to give His life and blood for them … and for all humanity – not to Herod, but on the cross.

Satan and his appointed Herods may try to remove our comfort, our security and our riches, even our very lives. But we remember on this first Sunday after Christmas that no matter what the enemies of God may try, they can never truly remove our riches from us. For we find our riches in the manger, in the divinity of God wrapped in human flesh. Our riches are found in the Son of God becoming the adopted Son of Joseph so we might become the adopted sons and daughters of God. This adoption took place when we were marked with the cross as redeemed children of God in the holy waters of our Baptism. On that day we died to sin and were raised to a new life – a new life as a child of God, a Holy Innocent, in the forgiveness of our sins. A new life where each day is Christmas Day, as Christ is born in us and we in Him. A new life as we partake in Immanuel, God with us in body and blood. A new life that reminds us that King Jesus is always greater than the King Herods of this world.

When you read this story right after celebrating Christmas, it reminds us that sin and death always try to intrude upon Christmas. But in reality, the first Christmas intruded upon the sin and death that was rampant in the world. Satan and Herod tried their best to kill the baby, but their best wasn’t good enough. That baby grew up to undergo the sinner’s baptism, to defeat the devil at his own game in the desert, to drive out the devil’s demons and take on kings and governors at the cross. And when Satan and his governments thought they had finally won, that was their greatest defeat. For Jesus overpowered death. He stomped on Satan’s throat. He crushed sin. The King of kings could not be held in the ground by king’s soldiers or emperor’s guards or governor’s seals. God’s Son, our Savior, always, always wins!

The King Herods and unbelievers will continue to do what they have always done – attack us for our faith. So believers will do what we will always do – find safety in our Savior and salvation in our King. Amen. 

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