Nativity Scenes.2

Divine Defense: How God Preserves His Promises

Bible Passages: Mt 2:1–12, Mt 2:13–15, Mt 2:16–18, Mt 2:19–23, Matthew 2:23

Summary: Matthew 2 describes the early life of Jesus. Magi from the east (Babylon, possibly through instruction passed down from Daniel 600 years prior) traveled to Bethlehem. Herod, inspired by Satan, was out to stop Jesus. The Father intervened in many ways to see His plan through. We can trust God’s plan no matter what the Devil throws at us.

Matthew 1:17 “17 So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations, from David until the captivity in Babylon are fourteen generations, and from the captivity in Babylon until the Christ are fourteen generations.” Daniel’s prophesy of the fifth kingdom Da 2:44.

I. Magi's Mission & God's Shield

Matthew 2:1–12 “Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, 2 saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.” 3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. 5 So they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet: 6 ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, Are not the least among the rulers of Judah; For out of you shall come a Ruler Who will shepherd My people Israel.’ ” 7 Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also.” 9 When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. 11 And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12 Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way.”

Micah 5:2 ““But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting.”” describes in prophetic terms the birthplace of our Lord.

It was also the birthplace of King David 1 Samuel 17:12 “12 Now David was the son of that Ephrathite of Bethlehem Judah, whose name was Jesse, and who had eight sons. And the man was old, advanced in years, in the days of Saul.” It is located about 5 miles south of Jerusalem.

The wise men rejoiced with exceedingly great joy when they saw the star, but fell down and worshiped when they saw Jesus. Being happy in the journey, but being ecstatic in the presence of God.

Da 2:2, 10 describes the counselors of Nebuchadnezzar, Astrologers, Magicians, Chaldeans. Only other place in Bible (LXX)

It was time for God to make the First Century’s Iron Dome - “Operation Protect Jesus”

Step one: send a message to the wise men to leave by a different route.

Dreams & Divine Directions

Matthew 2:13–15 “13 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.””

Step two in “Operation Protect Jesus” was to alert Joseph of Satan’s plan to use Herod to kill Jesus. He instructed Joseph to take Mary and Jesus to Egypt until the coast was clear. It was like a witness protection plan. Keep Jesus safe at all costs. An illustration today might be in the case of a natural disaster, flee and keep your family safe. You might lose your home and stuff which can be replaced, but somethings are beyond value. It’s a difficult road, but the result is an intact family.

Jesus was hidden out of sight until it was safe.

That in might be fulfilled - defined a lot of Jesus’ life accomplishments.

Too many to be a coincidence and some were impossible without being supernatural.

Herod's Havoc: Divine Plans Persist

Matthew 2:16–18 “16 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.””

The madness of Satan was on full display to Israel with the killing of the innocents. A whole section of Jesus’ generation was killed in the vain attempt to include Him in the slaughter.

The madness of the Satan and the world against the Son of God was enacted before a stunned Israel.

Reflecting on Herod’s decree, we remember the innocent lives taken simply because of one ruler's paranoia (Hitler’s Holocaust). It’s a sobering thought that ambition can twist human hearts so profoundly that they become capable of unspeakable acts. Just as Herod’s madness caused unimaginable sorrow, we must guard against letting our desires for control and recognition overshadow our love for others. In a world often marked by injustice, our call is to be light and hope rather than instruments of fear. fear can manifest into terror. Don’t allow children to become victims of cruelty.

Jeremiah foretold this in Jer 31:15. How could Israel forget this genocidal event around the birth of Christ?

As always there was security is trusting the plan. Just like we do now. How often do we avoid the warnings and blame God for the tragic consequences?

Journey Back To Israel

Matthew 2:19–22 “19 Now 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.

Is your home a safe place? Joseph was coming home to Israel with his wife and child. Herod was dead and it seemed the direct threat was over.

Herod's actions remind us how fear can manifest into terror. In that historical moment, deep fear over losing his throne resulted in the murder of thousands of children. Can we consider how societal fears today lead to similar madness? Whether in personal discord or systemic issues, a heart that turns from God can easily justify cruelty. Our task is to combat such fears with the love of Christ, safeguarding innocence and upholding justice in a troubled world.

The angel of the Lord had come again to Joseph and instructed him to return to Israel and Joseph obeyed. Joseph, as we saw last week, was the man chosen to lead the family of the Christ child. He needed a lot of help. Magi bringing his family riches from the East and creating diversions. Special dreams and instructions about avoiding dangers. Now as he neared Judea his gut was telling him to be afraid of Herod’s Son, Archelaus. God confirmed his suspicions and Joseph went back to his home in Nazareth.

Judea was not a safe place. It could not be a secure home to raise the Messiah. Sometimes your gut is right, but it’s good to wait for confirmation.

Nazareth’s Prophetic Placement it was Nazareth's Nest

Matthew 2:23 “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.””

God’s word is sure. The interesting ending to Chapter 2 is a prophesy,”He shall be called a Nazarene.” There is no directly recorded prophesy that this alludes to. Most say it is connected to Isaiah 11:1 “There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, And a Branch shall grow out of his roots.” Where the root words for Nazareth and Branch are very similar in Hebrew -נֵצֶר (nēṣer). ‘The Branch’ depicting the descendant of David that would be the Messiah.

A second allusion may be considered that to come from Nazareth was a sign of something despised see John 1:45–46 “Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” 46 And Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.””. That taken with Isaiah 53:3 “He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.” and Psalm 22:6–8 “6 But I am a worm, and no man; A reproach of men, and despised by the people. 7 All those who see Me ridicule Me; They shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, 8 “He trusted in the Lord, let Him rescue Him; Let Him deliver Him, since He delights in Him!””

We get a picture that Jesus would fulfill the prophesy of being despised by the world.

Whichever it is we can know that Matthew tells us that Nazareth was the prophetic hometown for Jesus. Later some would wrongly state that Jesus couldn’t be the Messiah because He didn’t come from Bethlehem (John 7:41-42 with Micah 5:2), but He did. He however, also passed through the small town of Nazareth fulfilling two prophesies and being kept safe in a hidden place.