TEXT: Matthew 2:1-18

SUBJECT: Good News For All Who Want It

The birth of our Lord Jesus Christ was widely celebrated. The first one to hear of it was Zacharias, who (when his doubts were cleared up) burst into praise—

Zacharias had a wife, and she joined her husband in hailing the King who was about to be born. Addressing Mary, with a loud voice, she said—

Speaking of Mary, when the angel informed her of His miraculous conception, she replied with the Magnificat—

Then there were the shepherds, watching their sheep at night. An angel came to them with glad tidings of great joy to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. They would find Him, a newborn baby, wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger. Hurriedly they made their way to the nearest barns and stables, and when they found Him, they were glad, and returned to their work—

The shepherds had friends and family, and it wasn’t long till they got the news, and they responded in the expected way—

Forty days later, the King was brought to the Temple, to be dedicated to God, as all firstborn sons of Israel were. There was an old man living nearby, whose name was Simeon. He was a just and devout man, a man who had long waited for the Promised Salvation, but now—he feared—he would not live to see it. But the Holy Spirit spoke to him, assuring him he would not die till before He had seen the Lord’s Christ. Coming into the Temple, the old man met a countrified young couple, and in their arms a poorly dressed baby. He saw no halo around the child’s head, but he knew who He was. Taking Him into his arms, Simeon blessed God and said:

Hearing his song, Anna, a prophetess, eighty-four years of age, who had devoted most of her life to fasting and prayer (for the King to come) found her prayers answered in the newborn babe—

We mustn’t forget the wise men or the Magi. They were diplomat-scientists, men of great learning and high office in Chaldea or maybe Persia. They saw His star in the East and were sent by their kings to pay tribute to Him—

In this age of Political Correctness, I must beware of Speciesism (as though only humans came to the celebration). Others were there too, and they partied with more gusto than anyone else—And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly hose praising God and saying:

Thus, our Lord’s birth was widely celebrated, both Jews and Gentiles were there, ambassadors and shepherds, laymen and clergy, men and women, the young and old. Everyone was welcome at the party.

But not everyone came.

The opening lines of Matthew Chapter 2 tell us who didn’t come—

‘Herod the king’. This is what he was called; it was not what he was. Herod was not chosen by God or consented to by His people. He was a crony, political appointee, whose father was a friend of Julius Caesar, and the family fortunes rose with the Roman Dictator. Herod was not from the Royal Tribe of Judah, in fact, he was not even a Jew. Our New Testaments call him an Idumean, which means nothing to us. Until we remember what the Old Testament word is for that people—Edomite!

The Edomites were the descendants of Esau, a profane and immoral man, whose people were long-standing enemies to God and Israel. They were a hated and hateful nation, and none more so that Herod.

As for Herod himself, he lived up (or down!) to the family’s reputation. The man was capable of anything, up to and including murdering a whole city full of babies in the hopes of killing God!

Herod the king was troubled at the birth of the King.

So was all Jerusalem with him. This doesn’t mean every person in Jerusalem, or even most people. It means the leaders of Jerusalem, ‘the Sanhedrin’ they were called, chosen from the best (by which I mean ‘richest’) families, and made up of two parties: Sadducees and Pharisees.

The Sadducees were the descendants of Aaron and stewards of the temple, the sacrifices, and the ceremonies that went with it.

The Pharisees were the teachers of Israel, ranging from high-end theologians thinking great thoughts in the Temple to ordinary rabbis preparing weekly sermons for the Synagogue.

If the people of Israel were praising God for the birth of their King, the leaders of Israel were a bit less thankful.

They were troubled Matthew tells us. The word means ‘worried’ at least, or more likely, ‘scared to death’. It’s what the disciples felt when they saw Jesus walking on the water and cried out, supposing it was a ghost they saw.

They and others felt the same way when our Lord was crucified. Their hearts were troubled, all their hopes were disappointed, and they didn’t know what would become of them. Maybe they would have to go back to the empty lives He had called them from, or maybe they, too, would be arrested, tortured, and nailed to the cross.

The King’s birth, therefore, was more than a mildly upsetting experience for Herod and all Jerusalem with him.

Why were worried sick about the King’s birth? There was no immediate reason to fear Him because He had no political connections and the full force of the Roman Empire was backing Herod and the Ruling Council. Yet they were mad with fear!

Why?

In a word, it’s because He is the King, and His Rule meant the end of theirs. Herod had rule for more than thirty years, and hoped to extend his dynasty to many generations. But if another King rose to power, he and his family would fall from it. For the king, therefore, it was a simple matter of power: he would rather have it and give it up.

But what about the Jewish Rulers of Israel? At first they were stewards of God’s House and Law, but over time, they forgot who they were and began to think the Temple and Word of God belonged to them.

Since the Messiah would be a Prophet and Priest—as well as the king—He would take charge of God’s House and Law, leaving them as servants (at best) or after judging their service, out of work altogether, or maybe dead for their crimes against the Temple and Law and People of God!

It was all about Power. They had it and they wanted to keep it. In the words of the parable—

If He kept to His place, they might put up with Him. If He stayed on Christmas cards and Nativity scenes, fine! But if He really meant to be the King, and to impose His will on theirs—He cannot be tolerated. If they have to kill every baby boy in Bethlehem to be rid of Him, they will do it.

This is what Herod ordered—it seems without protest from the religious leaders. They might have regretted the loss of life and the bad publicity that came with it. But, after doing a cost-analysis, they found it was worth it. They killed babies—and tried to kill the King—to hold on to their power.

The babies did not escape the terror and the mothers could only stand by and watch—

Everyone agrees it was an evil thing they did. But, from their point-of-view, it was a necessary evil. Their worries were not fantasies. They King they feared would take their power away from them intended to do just that!

He claimed—and was acclaimed—to be Prophet, Priest, and King. If He is, Herod, the Sadducees, and the Pharisees are not!

Their fears were fully justified. The coming of the King meant—from now on—He’s the boss. Long before the Apostles’ or Nicene Creed was drawn up, disciples of Christ had a shorter and more practical confession of faith—

If Jesus were only the King of Israel and only way back when, the Gospel story might be interesting to us, but that’s all it would be interesting, like reading an episode in the life of George Washington.

But what if the Baby grew up to become King—and still is? And what if His Rule is wider than Israel? What if it includes all things in heaven and earth…including you?

And, what if His Rule became personal, getting into the private matters of your life, such as whom you sleep with or how you spend your money or what you do on Sunday morning? Or, even more invasively, what if He dared to tell you what to think and what not to think? Or what to feel? What if He ordered you to respect your parents—even if they didn’t deserve it? What if He told you to honor civil governments--even if you didn’t vote for them? What if He said to forgive someone who has hurt you deeply and often?

What would you then do? Whose side would you be on? Would you be with the angels and saints who celebrated the King’s birth, or would you be troubled like Herod the king and all Jerusalem with him?

It is easy to love the King when He’s a cuddly baby, lying in a manger with a little drummer boy playing in His honor.

What’s not so easy is to love the King when His wishes cross our own. When He tells me to do what I don’t want to do; when He tells you to not do what you want. The Lordship of Christ colors His birth—and not to everyone’s taste.

Knowing He is your King (and all that includes) can you celebrate His birth from the heart?

If the King were a selfish and corrupt fool taking over the lives of saintly philosophers, we could see why His coming to power would be a bad thing—something to oppose, if we could—or resent if we couldn’t.

But what if it were the other way around? What if the King was wise, holy and loving, and we were the damn fools? What if—instead of misleading us—He led us? And, what if He led us to much happiness now and infinite happiness in the future?

Would you celebrate the birth of this King?

If you would, let the party begin! The King has come and He rules justly and in the fear of God. His rule—though sometimes unpleasant—is always good. It brings

When we submit to the King we have peace—peace with God, in the first place (because our sins are forgiven); we have peace with ourselves (because our guilty and fear of the Judgment are taken away); peace with the brethren (to some degree), and one day, we will have peace with everyone and everything. The Day is coming when God shall wipe away ever tear—the tears of guilt, of fear, of hate, of loss, of sickness, of betrayal—all of them will be dried and we will be sunk in a river of eternal peace.

And all because the King has come. Come to forgive your sins and come to change your life from what it is to what it ought to be.

Let us, therefore, join Zacharias and Elisabeth, Mary and Simeon, Anna and the shepherds, the wise men and the angels in celebrating the birth of our King!