First Sunday after Christmas

God protects and implements His eternal plan for our salvation through the incarnation of his Son. He protects Jesus and his parents from the machinations of ruthless rulers, and He overseas history itself to ensure our redemption.

Today our Lord also invites us soberly to identify inside ourselves that nature—exhibited unchecked in Herod—which rejects Christ’s lordship and seeks to retain mastery over our own lives, an action places us into bondage, like the slaves of old in Egypt. The true King named Jesus came to bring us forgiveness for that determination to be our own gods, which is the essence of sin.

Today on this 8th day of Christmas we are reminded that Jesus came to take over our lives. This is why He went to Egypt. Today begs the question: Who is going to be king? Christ or Herod? Christ or Me? Every day we make dozens of decisions which either acknowledge Christ’s lordship or which assert our own.

We were born into a fallen world and were slaves to sin. God has also called us out of this world, this land of slavery, this Egypt, that we might be slaves to him and serve him in everlasting righteousness, blessedness, and peace. Thus as we hear this morning of the heavenly Father calling his little Son, Jesus, out of Egypt,

Jesus, out of Egypt,

God Calls You out of Egypt.

Jesus, Out of Egypt

Matt 2:13-15 “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.” When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt, 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.””

The Israelites went to Egypt.

As he often does, Matthew cites the Old Testament (Hos 11:1) to show that Jesus is its fulfillment. Jesus’ flight to Egypt is clearly a fulfillment of Israel’s prophetic journey almost 19 hundred years earlier.

When the Israelites first went into Egypt they weren’t slaves.

Joseph prepared Egypt for the famine, and the pharaoh invited the Israelites to come and live there.

God protected his chosen people from starvation by sending them into Egypt.

Years passed after the death of that pharaoh, and the Israelites were made slaves.

Egypt for Jesus can be seen in two ways.

FIRST—God the Father sent his Son into Egypt, a land of slavery for the Israelites, in order to protect him from death at the hands of another king who would kill the innocent babies in Bethlehem.

SECOND—Jesus’ true Egypt wasn’t a geographic country.

He was born into “Egypt”—“born under the law” Gal 4:4 “But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law,”

He was born into this fallen world.

Where’s our Egypt?

When Adam and Eve were first in the Garden of Eden they were completely free.

They lived in a land of complete freedom in the garden.

The devil made them think that they were slaves.

When they fell into sin, they became slaves.

Just as the Israelites went into Egypt free and became slaves, Adam and Eve were created free and became slaves.

You and I are born into this land of slavery to sin.

Our Egypt is this fallen earth.

We constantly live like slaves here—doing the bidding of sins.

Thinking more of ourselves than others.

Making decisions in life without consulting God or His Word.

Embracing what the world values—like abortion—despite what God says. We even elect public officials who vow to make abortion more accessible.

The question of “What is God calling us to be and do?” is really of no concern.

Does our life demonstrate that we truly love God above all things?

For impenitent sinners, their final Egypt is eternal slavery in hell.

God Is Calling You Out of Egypt

Matt 2:19-21 “Now when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, 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.” Then he arose, took the young Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel.”

Matt 2:15b “Out of Egypt I called My Son.””

God called the Israelites out of their land of slavery and into the Promised Land.

The enemy who was keeping them slaves God drowned in the waters of the Red Sea.

Though they were slaves in Egypt, God set them free and made them rulers in the new land he gave them.

Jesus didn’t stay in Egypt either.

The Father called this Son out of Egypt too.

But while Israel came out of Egypt as free people, Jesus returned to Israel’s Promised Land only to fulfill his work as a slave.

He actually faced even greater danger there Matthew 2:22-23 “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. 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.””

There was the immediate threat of Herod’s son, Archelaus, but, much worse, there would be the final consequences of the slavery under the Law, which he accepted.

Jesus willingly became a slave to sin.

That would mean paying the ultimate price for all sin.

The devil thought he had defeated Jesus when he suffered and died on the cross.

What that deadly enemy didn’t see was that Jesus’ death was really the Red Sea crashing in to drown him.

Your Father has called you out of Egypt as well.

With the suffering, death, and resurrection of his Son, you were set free.

When the waters of Holy Baptism washed over your head, it was like the Red Sea drowning Pharaoh and his army.

God lifted you out of the water and brought you into his freedom to love and serve Him.

“But, what about the sins I still commit every day?” you ask.

You’ll fight against sins and sometimes resist, but there are plenty of times you will give-in to the temptation.

This is why we come here to the Divine Service every week (Hebrews 10:19-25).

The same Jesus who freed us from sin by dying on the cross calls us together to tell us that He has set us free.

And our Father in heaven tells us, “I have called you to be my child. Have no fear. You are free.”

You see, the Divine Service is about God giving us the forgiveness of sins.

The devil, of course, is constantly tempting us to think that we don’t need to be here every Sunday. How does he do this? He twists the purpose of the Divine Service into something we do, instead of what God does for us.

If it is what we do, then we can do this anywhere. Perhaps this is why churches are not full every Sunday, because Satan has twisted the meaning of the Divine Service so well, that he has a strong foothold in our lives.

One late Pastor/theologian put it like this — “If the Divine Service is what I do, then I can do that anywhere and anytime. If God is doing work for us, then I better be there.” (Klemet Preus — Fire and the Staff).

We gather here, in this place, just like the people of old gathered at the temple to present their sacrifices for sin, in order for our sins to be forgiven.

We know we are guilty. We know the sins—crimes against God—we have committed. Like standing in a courtroom before the judge, we come here to stand before our Holy God to hear His verdict, then to eat and drink the body/blood of His Son sacrificed for our sin.

This life is a reminder that we live in Egypt.

We live in this fallen world.

As long as we have this old sinful flesh on us we’re going to have sin in our daily life—but there’s hope.

In Holy Baptism God called you his child and drowned your enemies.

One day this same God will call you out of Egypt too.

You’ll leave this fallen world, where sin tries to make you a slave again.

You’ll enter the promised land of heaven to live with your Savior for all eternity.

Joseph takes a little Child into Egypt to protect him from Herod. This Child is the same Jesus who would free the world from its sin. God calls his Son out of Egypt so he could lead the world out of the greater Egypt of slavery to sin. The Israelites saw Egypt as a place of slavery. God called them out of Egypt and into the Promised Land. Your Father in heaven has called you out of Egypt. Jesus Christ has paid the price of your sin. He set you free. Sin still tries to drag you off into slavery, but that’s why you come here—to hear once again that Jesus has set you free. Then one day your Father will call you out of this fallen world of Egypt, to live with him in the promised land of heaven. Amen.