Sermon

December 26, 2004
1st Sunday after Christmas
Matthew 2:13-15, 19-23
Pastor Ben Berger

God Called His Son

Life after Christmas begins today - for Jesus and for us. For four weeks now we have anticipated the birth of our Savior. Last Wednesday and this entire weekend we have celebrated his birth. We might have a little celebration left - a few more gatherings, a few more presents - but for the most part we're going to return to regular life. Joseph and Mary too were in a frenzy and looking forward to getting back to regular life. It would be awhile though. Even after Jesus was born of woman, he remained the Son of God. Today we'll take a look at Jesus' life after Christmas and see what it means for us. After his birth God called his Son 1) out of Egypt 2) to be a Nazarene. Today God also calls us his children.

Jesus' life began with a series of unlikely events. Throughout the entire process God comforted his people with his word through an angel. An angel appeared to Mary to tell her that she would give birth to the Son of God. The angel appeared to Joseph to tell him that Mary's child was from the Holy Spirit and that he should still marry her. The shepherds and wise men appeared at the bedside of the newborn to worship him. This child was no ordinary child; he was indeed the Son of God, the promised Messiah, the Savior of the world.

After the wise men came, the angel appeared again with one more message: the child was in danger. The wise men had first gone looking for Jesus in Jerusalem, where they expected to find a king. Their visit tipped off King Herod. He feared the birth of another king who would take his place. He made plans to find and kill the child. The angel appeared to Joseph to warn him of the danger. When [the wise men] 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." (13)

Joseph found comfort and refuge in God's word given to him through the angel. So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt (14). The very night the angel appeared Joseph gathered his family and fled to Egypt. Another unlikely event could easily have caused Joseph to panic and lose trust in God. Rather, he found strength in God's word and trusted God's control. In the midst of frenzy Joseph remained calm and God called his Son to safety.

What series of unlikely events has happened to you this past year? Have you been in a frenzy? The world has. Three years after 9/11 our country is still suffering the effects. Fellow citizens, family and friends are still fighting the war. Peace continues to elude us. The economy has yet to recover. Our synod and congregation have spent the last year fighting to continue ministry with less money. It appears that struggle will continue to next year. And in your personal lives, I'm sure something unexpected has arisen.

Through the frenzy God has given you refuge in his word. He hasn't appeared to you in a dream or spoken through an angel, but he has given you his word. He has written it down so that you can read it, hear it and study it whenever you want…and whenever you need. Through the frenzy find refuge in God's word because we need it.

Just as Herod sought to destroy Jesus' life, so also Satan seeks to destroy our lives. With each new unlikely event he wants us to turn away from God's word. He hopes that every difficulty in this life will lead us away from our heavenly Father. He hopes that by making our lives on earth miserable, he will destroy the possibility of life in heaven. Already at Jesus' birth Satan was trying to destroy our lives. He knew that if he could kill Jesus, he would destroy us. If Jesus' died as an infant, he would not be able to fulfill God's will. If Jesus would die, so would we.

Thank our heavenly Father that he spared our lives. When God spared the life of his Son, he spared the lives of all of his children. Joseph, Mary and Jesus stayed in Egypt until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: "Out of Egypt I called my son." (15) The Lord sent his son to Egypt to spare his life from Herod. While Jesus was safe in Egypt, Herod killed every male child in Bethlehem under the age of two. As God had predicted through the prophet Hosea, he spared the life of his son. He also called his son out of Egypt. He called Jesus out of Egypt so that he could save the lives of all by destroying the devil. Because God called his son out of Egypt, we have hope for life.

After God called his son out of Egypt, he called him to be a Nazarene.

The series of unlikely events continued. We don't know how long Joseph and the family stayed in Egypt. We do know that they stayed until the angel appeared again with God's word. After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt 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." (19-20) The angel assured Joseph that the son was safe. Herod had died. With the same words the angel used to send Joseph to Egypt, he now calls Joseph to take Jesus to the land of Israel. It was time for Jesus to continue his life; it was time for life after Christmas.

When the Lord called Jesus back to Israel, he was calling his son to do his will. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work, (1 John 3:8). Just as God the Father spared the life of his Son from Herod, so also the Son would spare the lives of all of God's children from the devil. Throughout his childhood, teen years and young adulthood Jesus was destroying the work of the devil by living a perfect life of obedience. As an adult Jesus attacked the devil head on. He faced every temptation of the devil and resisted them all with God's word. He took on the punishment of death demanded by God so that no one would have to suffer with the devil in hell. Jesus forgave our sins by his death on the cross and at the same time took away the devil's power to accuse us of sin. By his word Jesus also gives us the strength to resist the devil's temptations. The devil has no power over us. We no longer need to hide. Rather after Christmas we are free to live our lives as God's children.

Living life as God's child will not always be easy, but it will always be rewarding. On the way to Israel Joseph heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod and he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee, 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." (22-23)

Although Jesus was born to make his way to Jerusalem, he took another detour. The wise men expected to find the newborn king in Jerusalem; instead they found him in Bethlehem as prophesied. Joseph may have wanted to return to Bethlehem to be close to Jerusalem, the place for a king; instead he ended up returning to Nazareth - as prophesied. God called his son to be a Nazarene.

To be a Nazarene did not seem appropriate for a king. However, Jesus has always been identified with Nazareth. He is known as Jesus of Nazareth. Nazareth was not a distinguished city. Most people from Israel looked down on Nazareth along with anyone or anything that came from it. When Philip told Nathanael that they had found the Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth, Nathanael responded with disgust. Nazareth! Can anything good come from Nazareth?" (John 1:46). And so as prophesied, Jesus would be despised and rejected. He would not look or live like a king.

Yet, Jesus did carry out the will of his Father. Jesus did not come to earth to live like a king. He came to destroy the devil's work. He came to fulfill God's promise of a Savior. And he did just that. Because Jesus was from Nazareth many rejected him as the Savior. However, because Jesus was from Nazareth he was able to be the Savior. From Nazareth Jesus would make his way to Jerusalem. He would face the mockery and degradation of his people and the government. He would endure the scorn and suffering. As a lowly man from Nazareth, but also as the Son of God, he would die in Jerusalem - the king of the Jews.

God calls us as his children to be Nazarenes. No, we don't have to live in Nazareth, but we will live the humble life of our Savior. God does not give us life on this earth to live as kings and queens, but only to do the work of our Father. Too often we want the best of both worlds. We want to be kings and queens and do the work of the Father. We want to be children of the earth and children of heaven. That doesn't work. We must remember our goal.

Our goal is to reach Jerusalem, the New Jerusalem in heaven. We do not want to build up riches on earth or to earn the favor of the people around us. We only want to build up treasures in heaven and glorify God's name to those around us. The work of our Father is simple: Go and make disciples of all nations baptizing them and teaching them.

That's what life after Christmas is all about. Through the birth of the Savior, God's son, we have become God's children. As God spared Jesus' life from Herod, so he has spared our lives from Satan. As he called Jesus to do his work, so he has called us to do his work. May Christmas give you peace through Jesus all year round and all year round may you proclaim peace through Jesus to others.

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