In the name of Christ Jesus, dear fellow redeemed people of God,

How long does the joy of Christmas last in your home? Families get together on Christmas Day. Everyone seems happy. It’s great when everyone gets along. But then, it doesn’t last. An argument starts. Somebody is upset about something or at someone. Soon, the joy fades away.

That’s kind of what happens in today’s Gospel reading. We had such happy readings on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. The angels were singing. The shepherds were telling others about the Savior. Mary was pondering everything in her heart. Some time after that, the Wise Men or Magi came to worship Christ. That was great! Shortly after the Wise men left, big trouble began. Herod was the king, and had no intention of giving up power to some baby born in Bethlehem. Meanwhile, Scripture did say that the Messiah would be a king. The Wise men went to worship Jesus as king. So, a news reporter at that time might have wondered:

1. The Christ-child was well protected. (13-15)

The President of the United States has the Secret Service to protect him. They do a very thorough job, but Jesus had better protection. His task was more important than the President’s. He had angel protection, and they just don’t make mistakes. There was danger for the child now, but they would protect the Christ-child.

{13} When they [the Magi] 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." The angels were protecting Jesus like the Secret Service. The angel warned Joseph in a dream to escape. He was to go south to Egypt and await further instructions. The baby was in danger. King Herod wanted to kill the Christ-child. The angel told Joseph to take Jesus and Mary to Egypt and stay there until it was safe for Jesus to return. Once again, Joseph obeyed.

{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." Joseph took Jesus and Mary under cover of darkness. They left for Egypt during the night. This could not have been easy without flashlights, headlights, or automobiles. But Joseph did what he was called upon to do. They would stay in Egypt until Herod died. This fulfilled an Old Testament prophecy of God found in Hosea chapter 11. Just as God had called the people of Israel out of Egypt in the great exodus, so God would call out of Egypt his only-begotten Son.

2. Herod wanted to remain king (16-18)

King Herod was pretty serious about hanging on to his power. He was willing to do just about anything to remain the king. What we are about to read is probably rated PG-13, and if your imagination is particularly vivid, it would be rated “R.” But this a part of God’s Word.

{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. This is just awful. Herod had asked the Magi to return to him and tell him where the new king was, because he claimed that he wanted to worship him too. But he was lying. He just wanted to get his hands on that baby and kill him. God saw to it that the Magi were warned in a dream to not return to Herod. So they went home another way. Herod was angry. He wanted that child dead. He gave orders that had to be hard for the soldiers to carry out. I don’t care how long a man has been a soldier, how could anyone do this? Herod ordered those soldiers to kill all the baby boys in Bethlehem, two years old and younger. We don’t even like to think about this. This was pure evil. Of course, mothers wouldn’t just give them up willingly. This scene was ugly, gruesome and cruel.

{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." Can you even imagine how awful those mothers must have felt? I don’t even want to think about it. Even this had been foretold in the Old Testament. This was David’s town. This was the little town of Bethlehem we sang about on Christmas Eve! Those mothers refused to be comforted. Their baby boys were dead; killed by a butcher. How could a mother be happy after that? How awful. This was how badly Herod wanted to kill the Christ-child. He, no doubt, had been tempted to do this by the devil. The devil wanted the Savior to be dead too! But, despite all of this needless killing, our Savior was kept safe.

Herod killed all of the wrong baby boys. It was brutal. But, I wonder, is abortion any less brutal? Millions of babies have been murdered in abortions. Some have estimated that in little town there were probably 15-20 boys killed, but we don’t know for sure. I find some comfort in thinking that those baby boys would have received the blessing of circumcision, and would have been included in God’s covenant. So, the baby boys were murdered, but I believe that they went to heaven. So, I actually feel worse for the mothers who had to watch this happen, and they are mentioned here in Scripture. Meanwhile, down in Egypt, the Savior was still alive... Herod tried to rub out the Messiah, but God would get his way!

3. Jesus would be the real king. (19-23)

The angel protection was even better than the Secret Service. Jesus was alive and well. When the coast was clear, Jesus would return. He was probably in Egypt only a matter of months when Herod died.

{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.” The angel informed Joseph that it was time to return. Herod was dead. He had lost. Again, Joseph obeyed.

{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, ... Since Joseph was warned to stay out of Judea, he led the Savior and his mother all the way north to Galilee. So, the Savior would grow up a Galilean. This had been foretold in prophecy too.

{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." So, our Savior would be known as Jesus of Nazareth. There Jesus would grow up, living a perfect life in our place. There Jesus would set out for his earthly ministry. Again and again, Jesus would face the opposition of wicked people. Eventually, he would return to Judea and suffer and die in Jerusalem. He would do this to save us from sin. [+] But he would come back to life again, and reign as King over all forever. This is our Savior. Jesus saved you. Believe in him, and you will live in his kingdom, in heaven, forever.

Herod tried to kill the Christ-child. The devil will try to steal your Christmas joy. But, the devil’s cause is pathetic. He is an eternal loser. Herod lost. The devil lost. Jesus won. We know who will be King for all eternity. It won’t be the devil. It won’t be Herod. It will be Jesus. Who is the real king in your heart? Is it you? Or is it Jesus? May it always be Jesus, Jesus, only Jesus! And, may we praise him for all eternity as our King and our Savior from sin. Amen.