Jeremiah 31:15-17/Revelation 14:1-5/St Matthew 2:13-18
In the Name + of JESUS. Amen.
Christmas pageants are cute because they don’t tell you the whole story. The star guides the Magi, these pagan magicians to Bethlehem via Jerusalem, because they, by God’s grace are among the faithful. And faith desires Christ; it travels thousands of miles to Him, runs to were He presents Himself, whether then in Bethlehem or now in His Church. This tells us that from His birth our Lord Jesus is converting Gentiles.
But what the Christmas pageant doesn’t tell you is that after the Magi left, soldiers came. Soldiers sent by Herod the Great, Ruler of Judea. That is to say, the so-called “King of the Jews.”
His greatness comes from his massive architectural projects, not from his character. Under his nearly forty year reign the Second Temple was constructed; of which remains the Wailing Wall. According to Levitical code, he employed priests as masons and carpenters. It is of this Temple which Christ says, Truly, I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down (Mt 24:2).
Despite his religious facade, Herod was not a moral man. The hymn is correct, he was a “ruthless tyrant.” Though he rebuilt the Temple, the high priests and elders stubbornly opposed him because he was appointed by the Romans as king; so he had them killed. When Cleopatra requested Antony to intervene in Herod’s choice for high priest, Herod drowned him in his swimming pool. He executed his rivals; eliminating priests, nobles, and councilors of the Sanhedrin, some by beheading.
He was a deeply disturbed, paranoid man. Fearing his wife would remarry upon his death, he had her executed in 29 BC. Beset by grief over his actions, Herod grew mad. He would call out to her, and order his servants to summon his executed wife. Herod’s sons could not forgive him for the murder of their mother. He eventually had two of them killed as well.
He was deranged and irrational, unable to deal responsibly with threats against his person or office. And so, when Herod learned of another threat to his rule from a Baby boy in the region of Bethlehem, the response that seems so outrageous to us was perfectly in keeping with Herod’s character.
The joyful triumph of the faithful, celebrated this Christmas is tempered by the reality of evil in a cruel world ruled by wicked men. The lives of those who adore the Christ-child are in danger, even as He, the King of the Jews, is Himself the object a tyrant’s diabolical rage.
Thus St Matthew begins to portray for you the radical difference between these two kings, Jesus and Herod. Jesus has come to serve, to give His life in service, even as a ransom for many. Herod will do anything to maintain his own power, even slaughtering helpless children.
The same holds true today. Ruthless madmen, ravenous for power, are putting to death innocents. That which is done for political expediency carries with it a religious tone. This tragic scene in Bethlehem is repeated in Pakistan, Egypt, Syria, and China. It is no different in our land. Many of the rulers in our nation, including our own president, obtained power by insisting they would absolutely uphold the free and open slaughter of unborn children. We are rightly horrified by the gruesome murders of Herod so long ago; but we ought to be outraged that gruesome murders continue today, endorsed by the leaders that we as people have elected.
The kings of this earth will stop at nothing to get and maintain power. But this is not Herod’s day; this is not Herod’s story. We observe this day - indeed, we celebrate this Feast - not out of any morbid fascination with the gruesome details of Herod’s wickedness. Rather, in the humility of repentant faith, under the Cross of Christ, that on this day also, we confess His Cross and Passion, His holy and precious blood, His innocent suffering and death.
This is what Christmas is about and this is Whom we adore: the highest, most holy, Light of light eternal, born of a Virgin, a mortal He comes in order to die for us all.
For the kingdom of Christ which has come into the world is a threat to everything that the kingdoms of this earth stand for. The true ruler of this world - the devil - is threatened even more than Herod at the birth of this new-born King. So when Satan saw the Magi worshipping Jesus as God, he saw that Jesus could be his undoing. Thus he seeks to take His life before it truly begins.
But no one takes His life from Him. He will lay it down of His own accord. For it is not the Father’s will that the Son should die as a Child. Rather, He must learn obedience through suffering; patient endurance beginning from the cradle. He must do good to others by healing them and forgiving sins. He must preach the Gospel of the Father’s love and free grace to all. Only after He has done all these things, after He gathers His Church, ordained her ministers, and instituted His Baptism and Holy Supper, then He must suffer death for you.
So being warned in a dream, another Joseph takes his Family down to Egypt in order to keep them safe. There the Christ begins to grow-up; as an outsider in a foreign land, receiving mercy and provision at the hands of strangers. He is safe - for now.
But the children remaining in Bethlehem are not. And this is what makes this Gospel so difficult. This is horror beyond imagination. What are we to make of it? Why does God allow this madness?
It was already anticipated in the words from the prophet Jeremiah: A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping. Rachel weeping for her children; she refuses to be comforted for her children, because they are no more.
You know this type of sorrow, this deep grief. Perhaps through a miscarriage or a stillbirth. A regretted abortion? Maybe a childhood accident or illness? Or they unnaturally precede their parents in death? Maybe they don’t die, but your children simply grow up and grow away from you. They have thoughts, ideas, hopes and dreams, interests of their own - different from yours - and so you begin to see and feel the distance between yourself and your children.
And so you are tempted to ask, “Where is God?” “How could He allow this to happen?” Do not become calloused. He has not cast you off. Do not grow cold or refuse to be comforted, for the Lord speaks His Word of comfort and promise through Jeremiah as well: They shall come back. There is hope for your future. Which is to say, our Lord’s Cross and Passion, His death and resurrection, avails for them, even as it availed for those poor innocents in Bethlehem. They are His little lambs who follow after the Lamb wherever He goes. They have been redeemed from mankind.
For He, the true Holy Innocent, shall be called out of Egypt. He shall willingly lay down His life at the hands of another Herod, according to His Father’s will. He Blood shall avenge their shed blood. His death gives their death, and your death, meaning. And louder than the than the voice of the wailing mothers, is the voice like the sound of harpists, the symbolic 144,000 singing a new song before the throne.
He does not consider it a light or trivial thing that His children suffer so greatly, whether in Bethlehem or now. Thus He has given you incredible promises: in the Old Testament sign of circumcision, in the New Testament sacrament of Holy Baptism. You are baptized into His martyrdom, washed in His shed blood, and given the song of the elect upon your lips and in your hearts, for you have the Name of the Father and of the Lamb written upon you.
This is what we ought to learn from this Gospel, then. That where Christ is revealed, there come cross and suffering. What is seen with the martyred innocent of Bethlehem is seen in perfect hindsight, with the eyes of faith. It is not so easy for you or your loved ones, while you are yet living. You confess the Cross and Passion, death and resurrection of Christ, but fail to see it in your own bodies or in the burdens and sorrows of those you love.
Nearly 150 years ago, C.F.W. Walther preached mightily on this text. His words are so rich, I quote them verbatim:
“There is a very rich comfort to be derived from the murder of the children of Bethlehem. We can, indeed, be comforted when God allows our dear children to suffer much, for this shows us that God wants to glorify Himself by their sufferings. They, too, become martyrs of Christ, bearing the cross for their Savior. By their suffering, they, too, will enter into glory. When you look upon the sickbed of your dear little one and your weak heart wants to break because of his suffering, do not murmur against your God! He, the all-loving heavenly Father, loves your children as much as you do, and precisely for that reason, He often lets them suffer greatly and bitterly here on earth. They now sow with many tears, but they will one day harvest with much joy. They may now experience great misery, but one day they will be very glorious. You cry over them now, but you will rejoice with them in eternity. Therefore you should say: “Lord, as You will. Your will be done!”
When we suffer much and are troubled by the thought that God is angry with us, we should remember this comfort from the suffering of the Bethlehem children. God often lays great suffering upon the unbelieving world in wrath for the punishment of its sins, but He also allows His dear children to suffer out of love that He may be glorified in them. The bloody end of the Bethlehem children was not a punishment but a glorious deliverance and the greatest grace God could show them. Therefore, we who believe in Christ cannot doubt God’s fatherly love, even when He lays upon us much suffering in this life. God punishes and disciplines those whom He loves, knowing that one day He will make them glorious. He may let them struggle here, but He will one day bring them to a celebration of eternal victory. Those who mourn now will find eternal comfort” (God Grant It; p97-98).
In the Name of the Father and + of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
In the Name + of JESUS. Amen.
Christmas pageants are cute because they don’t tell you the whole story. The star guides the Magi, these pagan magicians to Bethlehem via Jerusalem, because they, by God’s grace are among the faithful. And faith desires Christ; it travels thousands of miles to Him, runs to were He presents Himself, whether then in Bethlehem or now in His Church. This tells us that from His birth our Lord Jesus is converting Gentiles.
But what the Christmas pageant doesn’t tell you is that after the Magi left, soldiers came. Soldiers sent by Herod the Great, Ruler of Judea. That is to say, the so-called “King of the Jews.”
His greatness comes from his massive architectural projects, not from his character. Under his nearly forty year reign the Second Temple was constructed; of which remains the Wailing Wall. According to Levitical code, he employed priests as masons and carpenters. It is of this Temple which Christ says, Truly, I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down (Mt 24:2).
Despite his religious facade, Herod was not a moral man. The hymn is correct, he was a “ruthless tyrant.” Though he rebuilt the Temple, the high priests and elders stubbornly opposed him because he was appointed by the Romans as king; so he had them killed. When Cleopatra requested Antony to intervene in Herod’s choice for high priest, Herod drowned him in his swimming pool. He executed his rivals; eliminating priests, nobles, and councilors of the Sanhedrin, some by beheading.
He was a deeply disturbed, paranoid man. Fearing his wife would remarry upon his death, he had her executed in 29 BC. Beset by grief over his actions, Herod grew mad. He would call out to her, and order his servants to summon his executed wife. Herod’s sons could not forgive him for the murder of their mother. He eventually had two of them killed as well.
He was deranged and irrational, unable to deal responsibly with threats against his person or office. And so, when Herod learned of another threat to his rule from a Baby boy in the region of Bethlehem, the response that seems so outrageous to us was perfectly in keeping with Herod’s character.
The joyful triumph of the faithful, celebrated this Christmas is tempered by the reality of evil in a cruel world ruled by wicked men. The lives of those who adore the Christ-child are in danger, even as He, the King of the Jews, is Himself the object a tyrant’s diabolical rage.
Thus St Matthew begins to portray for you the radical difference between these two kings, Jesus and Herod. Jesus has come to serve, to give His life in service, even as a ransom for many. Herod will do anything to maintain his own power, even slaughtering helpless children.
The same holds true today. Ruthless madmen, ravenous for power, are putting to death innocents. That which is done for political expediency carries with it a religious tone. This tragic scene in Bethlehem is repeated in Pakistan, Egypt, Syria, and China. It is no different in our land. Many of the rulers in our nation, including our own president, obtained power by insisting they would absolutely uphold the free and open slaughter of unborn children. We are rightly horrified by the gruesome murders of Herod so long ago; but we ought to be outraged that gruesome murders continue today, endorsed by the leaders that we as people have elected.
The kings of this earth will stop at nothing to get and maintain power. But this is not Herod’s day; this is not Herod’s story. We observe this day - indeed, we celebrate this Feast - not out of any morbid fascination with the gruesome details of Herod’s wickedness. Rather, in the humility of repentant faith, under the Cross of Christ, that on this day also, we confess His Cross and Passion, His holy and precious blood, His innocent suffering and death.
This is what Christmas is about and this is Whom we adore: the highest, most holy, Light of light eternal, born of a Virgin, a mortal He comes in order to die for us all.
For the kingdom of Christ which has come into the world is a threat to everything that the kingdoms of this earth stand for. The true ruler of this world - the devil - is threatened even more than Herod at the birth of this new-born King. So when Satan saw the Magi worshipping Jesus as God, he saw that Jesus could be his undoing. Thus he seeks to take His life before it truly begins.
But no one takes His life from Him. He will lay it down of His own accord. For it is not the Father’s will that the Son should die as a Child. Rather, He must learn obedience through suffering; patient endurance beginning from the cradle. He must do good to others by healing them and forgiving sins. He must preach the Gospel of the Father’s love and free grace to all. Only after He has done all these things, after He gathers His Church, ordained her ministers, and instituted His Baptism and Holy Supper, then He must suffer death for you.
So being warned in a dream, another Joseph takes his Family down to Egypt in order to keep them safe. There the Christ begins to grow-up; as an outsider in a foreign land, receiving mercy and provision at the hands of strangers. He is safe - for now.
But the children remaining in Bethlehem are not. And this is what makes this Gospel so difficult. This is horror beyond imagination. What are we to make of it? Why does God allow this madness?
It was already anticipated in the words from the prophet Jeremiah: A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping. Rachel weeping for her children; she refuses to be comforted for her children, because they are no more.
You know this type of sorrow, this deep grief. Perhaps through a miscarriage or a stillbirth. A regretted abortion? Maybe a childhood accident or illness? Or they unnaturally precede their parents in death? Maybe they don’t die, but your children simply grow up and grow away from you. They have thoughts, ideas, hopes and dreams, interests of their own - different from yours - and so you begin to see and feel the distance between yourself and your children.
And so you are tempted to ask, “Where is God?” “How could He allow this to happen?” Do not become calloused. He has not cast you off. Do not grow cold or refuse to be comforted, for the Lord speaks His Word of comfort and promise through Jeremiah as well: They shall come back. There is hope for your future. Which is to say, our Lord’s Cross and Passion, His death and resurrection, avails for them, even as it availed for those poor innocents in Bethlehem. They are His little lambs who follow after the Lamb wherever He goes. They have been redeemed from mankind.
For He, the true Holy Innocent, shall be called out of Egypt. He shall willingly lay down His life at the hands of another Herod, according to His Father’s will. He Blood shall avenge their shed blood. His death gives their death, and your death, meaning. And louder than the than the voice of the wailing mothers, is the voice like the sound of harpists, the symbolic 144,000 singing a new song before the throne.
He does not consider it a light or trivial thing that His children suffer so greatly, whether in Bethlehem or now. Thus He has given you incredible promises: in the Old Testament sign of circumcision, in the New Testament sacrament of Holy Baptism. You are baptized into His martyrdom, washed in His shed blood, and given the song of the elect upon your lips and in your hearts, for you have the Name of the Father and of the Lamb written upon you.
This is what we ought to learn from this Gospel, then. That where Christ is revealed, there come cross and suffering. What is seen with the martyred innocent of Bethlehem is seen in perfect hindsight, with the eyes of faith. It is not so easy for you or your loved ones, while you are yet living. You confess the Cross and Passion, death and resurrection of Christ, but fail to see it in your own bodies or in the burdens and sorrows of those you love.
Nearly 150 years ago, C.F.W. Walther preached mightily on this text. His words are so rich, I quote them verbatim:
“There is a very rich comfort to be derived from the murder of the children of Bethlehem. We can, indeed, be comforted when God allows our dear children to suffer much, for this shows us that God wants to glorify Himself by their sufferings. They, too, become martyrs of Christ, bearing the cross for their Savior. By their suffering, they, too, will enter into glory. When you look upon the sickbed of your dear little one and your weak heart wants to break because of his suffering, do not murmur against your God! He, the all-loving heavenly Father, loves your children as much as you do, and precisely for that reason, He often lets them suffer greatly and bitterly here on earth. They now sow with many tears, but they will one day harvest with much joy. They may now experience great misery, but one day they will be very glorious. You cry over them now, but you will rejoice with them in eternity. Therefore you should say: “Lord, as You will. Your will be done!”
When we suffer much and are troubled by the thought that God is angry with us, we should remember this comfort from the suffering of the Bethlehem children. God often lays great suffering upon the unbelieving world in wrath for the punishment of its sins, but He also allows His dear children to suffer out of love that He may be glorified in them. The bloody end of the Bethlehem children was not a punishment but a glorious deliverance and the greatest grace God could show them. Therefore, we who believe in Christ cannot doubt God’s fatherly love, even when He lays upon us much suffering in this life. God punishes and disciplines those whom He loves, knowing that one day He will make them glorious. He may let them struggle here, but He will one day bring them to a celebration of eternal victory. Those who mourn now will find eternal comfort” (God Grant It; p97-98).
In the Name of the Father and + of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
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