Second Sunday after Christmas (2025)

Matthew 2:13-23

My Brothers and Sisters in Christ, in our Gospel Lesson this morning we hear of Jesus’ flight to Egypt, a land that symbolized a time of great tribulation for the Israelites. This was to fulfill a prophecy from Hosea, that God would call His son up out of Egypt. Shows that even though the King of Kings had been born and was in the land, that not all would receive Him graciously.

The King Rejected

Jesus humbled himself for us.

To humble oneself means to lower one’s self from a great or high station, and to not just treat others as your equals, but to treat them as people who are of greater worth. True Humility is a rare thing in our age, but we witness it in Christ. Who although He is God, lowers himself to the point that

Christ is fleeing.

Jesus is escaping without making use of some extraordinary power or ability, but his parents are being uprooted from their homes and fleeing in the night. In the history of the Church, there have been those that are scandalized by this that the Son of God would flee from a mere man, for that Child is God in the flesh, don’t legions of angels stand ready to strike any dead? Yes, but if Christ had not humbled and fled, it would mean the death of all mankind, but this flight into egypt is important for like Joseph’s brothers so long ago, who sold him into slavery,

Herod, too, meant it for evil.

against the Son of God himself, But God meant it for the good, that many people should be kept alive and saved by the life of this child born in Bethlehem. Like the days of Moses, Herod puts to death children for he fears the loss of his power.

The True Lamb

Christ’s flight to egypt is important.

Their history in Egypt is well known to the Jewish people, and well known to us as well, you have Moses in the Basket, there is their slavery and harsh treatment, but you also have the plagues, and how God raised up Moses to rescue his people and lead them out.

The whole Bible points to Jesus.

Jesus tells the Pharisees this, not in a bragging way, but that they might understand what He was there to do for them. Jesus is the new Moses, and God had sent Him to free them from Satan. The events in the Exodus point us to Jesus, you have the parting of the waters at the Red Sea and the Jordan as they enter into the promised land, you have the snake that is lifted up in the wilderness and whoever looks at it is saved, you have the scapegoats on Yom Kippur when the sins of the people are taken away and they are forgiven. All of this would be done so

Jesus would establish a holy nation.

But it wouldn’t be a nation like Herod feared, Jesus is the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords. His Kingdom is not of this world, and it involves more than just the land of Israel. For God had brought Israel into this land 1400 years earlier, but Christ’s Kingdom is in the world to come. This is only possible because of

The Humiliation of Jesus

We take pride in power.

We seek it, be it physical strength or abilities, be it money, respect, fame, influence, we don’t want to be the one that is on the bottom rung, and we find it bothersome, in our pride we think that we deserve more, and that we should have more.

Pride is a troublesome sin.

It teaches one to rely upon yourself, and exalts oneself above all others. It is the refusal to recognize anyone else has having worth. You make yourself judge of what is right and wrong instead of listening to what God has spoken. That’s what happened in the Wilderness time and again as the nation of Israel was brought to that conclusion again and again, God had spoken, and yet they said, we know better and will walk our own path. This is the same thing that you and I do, everytime God speaks, but we say, God said it, but I’m sure he won’t mind if I don’t listen. That’s sinful pride. We say it’s not as bad as someone like Herod, it is, because the heart of it, is that you reject what God has said to do. Herod was supposed to listen to the Word of God, and he refused. Don’t make the same mistake.

Jesus set aside His glory.

Herod and Pharaoh were in charge of small parts of the world, but Christ is the one through whom all things were made, and the one that angels sing about at his birth. Why on earth should the Son of God flee from this earthly king? Why didn’t he strike him dead for his impudence? If Jesus were to strike Herod dead for his impudence, then what would happen to us?

Jesus corrected Adam’s wrong.

He submitted to the will of God and abided by His Word, that pride which had been worked in Adam’s heart, that was willing to blame God and His wife for his failings, and not accept any blame. Pride doesn’t want to accept the fact the message of the scriptures, that you are responsible for your sins. Pride says no, I’m good and right.

The World Rejects This Message

Herod murdered how many?

Every child in Bethlehem rather than accept the message that the true King had been born, his rule over a city, and a region was more important than the life of children. This is why Christians have met with hostility throughout the ages, because the world doesn’t want to hear the truth. Now

We shouldn’t seek martyrdom.

In the early church they glorified martyrdom, but if that were the case, then why did God warn Joseph and have them flee, why did God free Peter, Paul, and many others from death when they confessed God’s name. We shouldn’t be afraid to die if we are thrown to the lions, but that doesn’t mean you should just jump in the pit head first. This reminds us that

The world is still our enemy.

Christ is King of Kings and Lord of Lords, but the ruler of this world, Satan, has agents in powerful places who will seek to stamp out the message of salvation. The Scriptures tell us that we cannot be friends with the world, for then we would to join them and reject Christ. So if the world comes for you

Stay with Jesus.

It might mean fleeing from death, or it mean that we end up in chains as we make the good confession, but trust the one who set aside His heavenly glory that He might be your savior.

God Will Preserve His People

The World itself is broken.

That should be no surprise to us, and that is why tragedies happen. These past weeks we have been reminded of that by teh violence we have witnessed in our nation. Jesus humbled himself to join us to suffer at the hands of wicked men. So we know there

There will be hardships.

But we will be ok for Christ himself endured great hardship, but God did not abandon him to the grave, and raised him to eternal life. We don’t expect this world to be perfect and to have everything exactly right, for then we would have heaven here on earth. There would have been no need for Jesus, rather remember in the tragedies

God is in control.

He is watching over you, and has ordered your days. If those days be good or bad, if it is a day that we can flee, or are trapped, Jesus has endured both situation, and He has promised to never leave you nor forsake you, but to stay by your side.

So My brothers and Sisters in Christ, let us look upon the challenges that Jesus our Lord would face, as He lowered Himself from heaven to earth to be our Savior. That He understands not only our joys and the good things, but even our hardships. Make no mistake that Jesus has come to save you, and to take you through this life to dwell with Him in paradise. Let not sinful pride pull you into sins that would seek to reject this child, and the Word of God, and become an instrument of Satan like Herod, rather let us rejoice in this child. In Jesus’ name. Amen.