"God Knows"
Text: Matthew 2:13-23
Grace, mercy, and peace be yours in the certain
knowledge that the same Jesus Christ who was born in the manger in Bethlehem
went on to accomplish what he came to earth to do, which was to make the full
and complete payment for our sins. To God be all glory and praise. Amen.
Dear Fellow Servants of the King of kings, it is a
rare Christian indeed who has not, at one time or another, asked the sort of
question that begins, "Why didn't
God
?" or "Why did
God
?" Have you ever wondered, for example, "Why didn't God just destroy the devil after he sinned?"
"Why didn't God just destroy Adam and Eve and start over with new, sinless
people?" "Why didn't God just make Adam and Eve so that they could
not sin, or why didn't he make sure the devil could never tempt mankind?"
While it has been well said that if we could understand God then we would be God, there is some value in asking
the difficult questions from time to time. Like the joy that is ours when we
stare up at the stars on a clear, moonless night (realizing that the very God
who made the unimaginably vast universe even now calls us his children and hears us when we pray) so also a contemplation
of the complexity of our God can and ought to give us a greater appreciation
for that God.
This morning then, as we cling to the never-fading
joy of that lowly birth in Bethlehem, we will contemplate some of the difficult
questions with which Christians of all ages have wrestled. May the Holy Spirit
bless our feeble efforts with a greater appreciation for our God and for the
salvation he has provided for us. Our text is found recorded in the Gospel of
Matthew, the Second Chapter:
Matthew 2:13-23 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, 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." 16 Ά 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 are no more." 19 Ά 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."
So far the inspired words of our
God. We rejoice, Heavenly Father, in your words,
for they are truth and they are light. So also we pray, "Sanctify
us through Your truth, O Lord. Your word is
truth!" Amen.
You know well the events described in our text for
this morning. You have probably heard from little on how the parents of the
Lord Jesus had to travel to Bethlehem during the late stages of Mary's
pregnancy. So also it does not sound strange to your ears to hear that not long
after the baby was born the young family had to flee for their lives to a
foreign country (Egypt) and that they lived there until the wicked king who
sought to kill young Jesus had died. Nor are we unfamiliar with the irony that
upon returning to Judea (which is in southern Israel) they heard that Archelaus was reigning there in place of his father Herod
and Joseph had to again change their plans. The young family finally ended up
right back where they had begun, for they moved back to Joseph and Mary's
hometown of Nazareth, well to the north in Galilee. None of this is probably
new to you, yet this morning we look at these facts from a little different
perspective. Stop for a moment and think through the story again, and this time
ask the question we posed earlier: "Why
didn't God
?"
It is probably safe to say that there is no doubt in
anyone's mind here today that God has the power and authority to do whatever he
pleases. He cannot lie or otherwise sin, of course, for he is a holy and just
God, but beyond that his limitations are pretty much non-existent. It is with
humble awe over against this fact that we ask our "Why didn't God" questions. It is in understanding that
God could have done whatever he wanted to do that we inquire as to why he
didn't do things differently. What things? Take a look again at our text. We
can sort of understand the lowly birth in the manger, for although the King of
kings and Lord of lords deserved far better, his humble birth signified that he
was entering the world of his own creation as a servant to mankind, not as our
judge. It was symbolic of the fact that at his birth he had set aside the full
use and glory of his divine power, and had emptied himself. His humble birth
was in full keeping with the fact that he came to a sinful earth to wash us
clean from our damning sins. His humble birth, we can see in hindsight, was
therefore an appropriate display of our Savior's profound love and humility.
But what about the days and years after Jesus' birth? What about the fear
and drama experienced by his parents as they fled the country to escape the
barbarian Herod? This was, after all, God's
Son. In God's own words this was "My beloved Son, in whom I am well
pleased." Therefore our first "Why
didn't God
" is to ask, "Why
didn't God just end Herod's time of grace and spare this special family the
hardships they faced?"
We know, of course, that by fleeing to Egypt as they
did (and by later moving to Nazareth) prophecies were being fulfilled. Yet we
are wrong to assume that these things were done because of the prophecies. The prophecies concerning Jesus did not dictate his actions. They were
descriptions of Jesus' actions given to man by the God who knows all things in
advance. Mary, Joseph, and Jesus did not scour through the Old Testament in an
attempt to learn what they must do to fulfill every prophecy. The prophecies
were simply glimpses from the life and times of Jesus, given to man before they
ever took place. God the Father knew well in advance that his Son would live a
perfect life and then offer that life as the full payment for all sins. We know
that he knew all of this beforehand because he promised the New Covenant
already in the Old Testament, before Jesus was even born. Through Jeremiah he
told us, "Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a
new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah
For I will
forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more."
(Jeremiah 31:31 & 34b NKJV) This forgiveness of sins depended on Jesus'
perfect sacrifice, thus God would not have promised such forgiveness had he not
known beforehand of Jesus' certain success.
If, then, the flight to Egypt and the move to
Nazareth were not required to fulfill a prophecy, then why didn't God just arrange
the death of Herod and thus spare his dear Son those trials and hardships?
The answer is, as our sermon theme indicates, that only God knows all things.
You are disappointed with that answer, aren't you?
Maybe you were expecting some new and intriguing revelation that would help you
to sort out some troubling issues in your life right now. On a certain level,
I'm disappointed too, but that's the reality of the thing. We are human beings,
not gods. There will always therefore be more things that we cannot explain
than there are things that we can. In practical terms, that means that I will
not be able to explain why my 102 year old grandfather still lingers in a
nursing home while still vital men and women have been taken home.
We could speculate all day long as to why God did
what he did, or why he allowed what he allowed during his Son's life on earth.
The simple fact is only God is capable of understanding the whole picture, the
entire master plan. Only God knows how or why Herod's time of grace could not
be ended until after the Royal Family fled to Egypt. The complexities of why
this was necessary are quite simply beyond our human understanding. A billion
"if-thens" no doubt came into play. We
don't need to guess at them. We don't need to know them. All that we need to
take from these early trials on the part of Jesus and his family is an
increased appreciation for God's love for sinners.
It is simply amazing to consider that God loved the
world of rebellious sinners so much that he was willing to allow his own Son to
suffer hardship so that his plan of mercy and love would be carried out
individually and collectively. It would have been a very small thing for God to
end Herod's life before Herod carried out his butchery of the babies in
Bethlehem. In his infinite wisdom he chose not to do that.
What parent in Bethlehem in those days did not wonder
why God allowed such a thing to befall those precious little children? Put
yourself into their shoes and consider how you would have felt. What sense
would you have been able to make of such a senseless act of cruelty? Think of
the ridiculous nature of Herod's evil. His actions are based on an ancient
prophecy concerning the birth of the Savior, and yet he imagines that thwart
God's will by this barbarous act. Who can make sense of such things, and yet we
love to try, don't we? We love to try to reduce God to our own understanding,
our own level, and we long to be able to understand and explain any given
event. So also here we would love to be able to pigeonhole the slaughter of the
children of Bethlehem in a manner that suits our intellect and calms our fears.
Thus we would feel comfortable, for example, with the explanation that such a
thing was allowed as a punishment upon the city of Bethlehem for their cold
refusal to give better shelter to the Mother of their Savior-God. This could,
in a way, make sense to us and would thereby quiet our fears that such a thing
would ever be allowed by our God in our time and to our children. It is, after all, all about us, isn't it? We seek
logical explanations that give us comfort and allay our fears that bad and
seemingly random things might happen also to us. The Word of God, however,
offers no such explanation and no such false "comfort." We are
warned, on the contrary, to expect hard times, but to know that our God still
loves usand is still in control.
The fact is all of these things are beyond our
understanding. We are simply not capable of comprehending the complexity of
God's plans for his Elect. We cannot even understand why God waited until he
did to send his Son, and yet our Epistle Lesson for this morning told us that "when
the time had fully come God sent forth his Son
" (Galatians 4:4
NIV) Why was it full at that time? Why was that just the right time? Why not
before or after? These things we are not told, and yet, dear Christians, who
are we to question or challenge the infinite wisdom of God? God has placed our feet on the path to salvation.
Through his master plan, weaving its way through history just as it did, God
has worked and sustained saving faith in our
hearts. Who are we then to question God when he has blessed us with Eternal
Life through faith in his Son?
Now then we come to the present. We see terrible
things on every hand. We see pain and suffering of every imaginable sort, and
it all seems so senseless, so avoidable. And yet through it all we still experience
the loving providence of our God every day of our lives. His protecting hand
covers us; his Precious Son intercedes for us; his Holy Spirit preserves and
strengthens us. We cannot now see the big picture as does our God, but thanks
and praise be to that God for making us a part of that
picture for he has declared us to be his own dear children through faith in
his Son. What a blessing to know that this same God actually knows you and me
and has promised to make all things on earth work for our eternal good. With
this great comfort we can and should let God be God, trusting that he knows
what he is doing. Rather than question our all-knowing God, we seek now to
serve him unquestioningly in good times and in bad while we await the
return of his Son. God grant us strength for the trials that lie ahead, comfort
in the forgiveness of our sins, and confidence in our final deliverance and
victory. Amen.
Scripture Readings and
Sunday Bulletin for December 30, 2007
Isaiah 63:7-9 I will mention the lovingkindnesses of
the LORD and the praises of the LORD, according to all that the LORD has
bestowed on us, and the great goodness toward the house of Israel, which He has
bestowed on them according to His mercies, according to the multitude of His
lovingkindnesses. 8 For He said, "Surely they are My people, children who will not lie." So He
became their Savior. 9 In all their
affliction He was afflicted, and the Angel of His Presence saved them; in His
love and in His pity He redeemed them; and He bore them and carried them all
the days of old.
Galatians 4:4-7 But when the fullness of the time had come,
God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under
the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. 6 And because you are sons, God
has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, "Abba,
Father!" 7 Therefore you
are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through
Christ.
Matthew 2:13-23 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, 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." 16 Ά 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 are no more." 19 Ά 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."
ST. PAUL
Bismarck,
ND 58501 (701) 223-4885 Cell: (701) 425-5483
Mr. Mark
Johnson, President (222-1855)
Mrs. Eileen McEnroe, Organist
Michael Roehl,
Pastor mjroehl@bis.midco.net
The Sunday after Christmas December 30, 2007
|
The Opening
Prayer by the Pastor
The Opening
Hymn -#102-
(Red Hymnal)
"Oh Come All Ye
Faithful"
The Order of Morning Service Red Hymnal page 5.
The Scripture Lessons: (Printed on the back page of this
bulletin)
The Old Testament Lesson: (Isaiah 63:7-9) Our first lesson today reminds us that
the time following the reception of gifts is the time for giving thanks. The
greatest of all possible gifts has been given to us in the person of Jesus
Christ, who has rescued us from our sins. As we continue to bask in the glow of
the birth of our Savior, let us give thanks unto the Lord our God, for He is
good!
The Epistle Lesson: (Galatians 4:4-7) Paul here outlines the great gift we have been given
through Jesus Christ freedom from the slavery of sin, hell, and Satan. God
sent his own Son to free us from all evil that had held us captive, and he did
so by sending Jesus, this reading reminds us, "at just the right
time."
The
Confession of Faith ‑
The Apostolic
Creed (Red Hymnal page 12)
The Pre‑Sermon
Hymn ‑#103- (Red Hymnal)
"To Shepherds as They Watched
by Night"
The Sermon Text: Matthew 2:13-23 (Printed on the back of this bulletin)
"God Knows"
"Create
In Me" (The Offertory) Red Hymnal page 12
The Post
Sermon Hymn ‑#712- (Brown Hymnal)
"What Child Is This?"
The Offering, followed by the Prayers (Hymn #89, Verses 1 & 5)
The Benediction
The Closing
Hymn -#91-
(Verses 1 & 9) (Red Hymnal)
"Let the Earth
Now Praise the Lord"
Silent
Prayer
Attendance ‑ Last Sunday
(68) 2007 Average (56) Christmas Eve (89) Day (32)
This Week
at
Today -10:00 a.m. Worship Service
-11:00
a.m. Fellowship
Hour
Wednesday -6:00
p.m. Confirmation & Bible History
Next Sunday -8:45 a.m. Sunday School and Bible Class
-10:00
a.m. Worship
Service w/ Holy Communion
-11:15 a.m. Fellowship Hour
Communion Schedule Please note that Holy Communion
will be offered here at St. Paul during the month of January on the 6th
(which is next Sunday) and again on the 20th.
The intention is to return to our regular 2nd and 4th Sunday
schedule in February.
Confirmation & Bible History Both Confirmation and Bible
History resume this week at the normal time. Adult Midweek Bible Study will
resume next Wednesday, January 9th at the regular 7 p.m. start time.
Service Etiquette Reminders Please remember 1) To encourage little ones to use the restroom before the
service, rather than during. 2) To turn off cell phones (or put them on vibrate
if necessary) during services. 3) To work at minimizing all other disturbance
like talking out loud during the worship service. All of these can detract
from the hearing and learning of the Word of God during our services. Obviously
every individual and every case is unique. As parents work through the
difficult process of training little ones to sit quietly through the service, we
all gladly share the burden of that struggle with loving patience and
understanding remembering that we too were once little.
Thank You The Pastor and his family again
express their gratitude not only for the various gifts received during this
time of year, but for all that you do for us throughout the year. Thank you!