The Day After Christmas
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13 Now after they had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” 14 Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went to Egypt, 15 and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet, “Out of Egypt I have called my son.”
16 When Herod saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, he was infuriated, and he sent and killed all the children in and around Bethlehem who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had learned from the wise men. 17 Then was fulfilled what had been spoken through the prophet Jeremiah:
18 “A voice was heard in Ramah,
wailing and loud lamentation,
Rachel weeping for her children;
she refused to be consoled, because they are no more.”
19 When Herod died, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, 20 “Get up, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who were seeking the child’s life are dead.” 21 Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus was ruling over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And after being warned in a dream, he went away to the district of Galilee. 23 There he made his home in a town called Nazareth, so that what had been spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, “He will be called a Nazorean.”
THE DAY AFTER CHRISTMAS
AND THERE WE HAVE IT…..JUST LIKE THAT …….CHRISTMAS 2021 IS OVER! IT’S THE DAY AFTER CHRISTMAS…..BUT……THE TREE IS STILL
UP…..ALTHOUGH IT LOOKS EMPTY UNDERNEATH. THE PRESENTS THAT WERE THERE, HAVE NOW BEEN GIVEN OUT.
THE CHRISTMAS MEAL HAS BEEN EATEN….AND ALL THAT’S LEFT OF THE TURKEY IS A FEW PIECES OF MEAT HERE AND THERE. VISITING FAMILY MEMBERS
HAVE LEFT TO GO BACK HOME.
THE EXCITEMENT OF CHRISTMAS THAT TOOK WEEKS TO BUILD UP … AND JUST LIKE THAT NOW IT’S OVER.
IT’S THE DAY AFTER CHRISTMAS…..AND LIFE HAS GONE BACK TO NORMAL FOR MOST OF …..UNTIL WE BEGIN PREPARING TO CELEBRATE THE COMING OF
THE NEW YEAR….ON NEW YEARS EVE.
WE SEE IN OUR TEXT THIS MORNING WHAT IT WAS LIKE THE DAY AFTER THE BIRTH OF JESUS……IT WAS THE DAY AFTER CHRISTMAS……
SOME PEOPLE DON’T CONSIDER JOSEPH TO BE A VERY IMPORTANT CHARACTER IN THE CHRISTMAS STORY.
THE BIBLE DOESN’T RECORD ANYTHING THAT JOSEPH EVER SAID.
HE IS USUALLY IGNORED.
TRUTH BE TOLD…..
THE EMPHASIS IS ON JESUS, MARY, THE SHEPHERDS, THE WISE MEN AND EVEN HEROD.
THIS MORNING WE WILL LOOK AT WHAT IT WAS LIKE FOR JOSEPH AND HIS FAMILY THE DAY AFTER CHRISTMAS.
I BELIEVE JOSPEH PLAYED AN MAJOR ROLE THE DAY AFTER CHRISTMAS
TRUTH BE TOLD.......THEIR LIVES WOULD CHANGE THE DAY AFTER CHRISTMAS……. JUST IMAGINE HAVING TO WAKE UP THE
DAY AFTER CHRISTMAS…..AND HAVING TO MOVE YOUR FAMILY TO A NEW COUNTRY……. WELL THAT’S WHAT HAPPENS IN
OUR TEXT TODAY.
IF WE LOOK AT THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE……WE SEE THAT THAT NEXT 12 YEARS OF THEIR LIVES IS SUMMED UP IN 2 VERSES………LUKE 2:39-40
SAYS THIS……
39 When they had finished everything required by the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. 40 The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him.
BUT … MATTHEW GIVES US MORE OF A DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF WHAT HAPPENED.....
LET’S LOOK CLOSELY AT THE STORY....
MANY OF US KNOW THE CIRCUMSTANCES AROUND THE BIRTH JESUS....
YOU HAVE JESUS THE CHRIST ENTERING HUMAN EXPERIENCE AS A BABY BORN IN BETHLEHEM TO MARY AND JOSEPH.
JOSEPH AND MARY ARE NOT MARRIED BUT HE KNOWS THAT SHE IS WITH CHILD...... BUT HE DOESN’T LEAVE HER......HE STAYS WITH HER....
AN ANGEL INFORMS MARY THAT THE CHILD SHE IS CARRYING HAS A SPECIAL AND SIGNIFICANT PURPOSE IN GOD’S PLAN. HE IS GOD’S BELOVED SON.
THE WISE MEN VISITED MARY & JOSEPH AND PRESENTED THEM WITH THEIR 3 GIFTS.
WHEN THEY LEAVE, THEY GO TO BED, AND JOSEPH HAS A DREAM.
NOW WE MUST REALIZE THAT … THIS ISN’T THE FIRST DREAM THAT JOSEPH HAS WHEN AN ANGEL OF GOD SPEAKS TO HIM.
AN ANGEL APPEARED TO JOSEPH TO TELL HIM ABOUT MARY BEING PREGNANT.....SO WE SEE THAT GOD OFTEN SPOKE TO JOSEPH IN A DREAM.
SO.....THE ANGEL TELLS JOSEPH IN THE DREAM TO FLEE TO EGYPT, BECAUSE HEROD IS GOING TO TRY TO KILL JESUS.
THERE ARE SEVERAL THINGS I WANT US TO SEE HERE.
1.- JOSEPH’S OBEDIENCE – LOOK AT THE TEXT IN VERSES 13-15....
13 Now after they had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” 14 Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went to Egypt, 15 and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet, “Out of Egypt I have called my son.”
JOSEPH DIDN’T WASTE ANY TIME. HE DIDN’T WAIT UNTIL MORNING … HE GOT THEM PACKED THAT NIGHT AND
HEADED OUT TO EGYPT.
THINK ABOUT WHAT THIS MEANT FOR JOSEPH.
HE AND MARY HAD TRAVELED FROM NAZARETH TO BETHLEHEM … EXPECTING TO STAY ONLY FOR A FEW DAYS AND THEN RETURN.
THEY HADN’T PLANNED ON MOVING … THEIR FAMILY WAS BACK IN NAZARETH … THEY HADN’T EVEN SAID “GOOD-BY”.
THEY DIDN’T BRING THE UHAUL LOADED WITH THEIR FURNITURE, VALUABLES, AND FURNISHINGS.
JOSEPH PROBABLY HAD A CARPENTER SHOP BACK IN NAZARETH … WHAT WOULD HAPPEN TO THAT?
SO THEY LEAVE THEIR FAMILY...... HIS CARPENTER SHOP......THEIR BELONGINGS AND HEAD TO EGYPT......
IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT, GOD SAID “MOVE!”. JOSEPH DIDN’T ARGUE WITH GOD.
HE DIDN’T ASK GOD FOR “PLAN B”.
HE DIDN’T WAIT TO TRY TO FIGURE IT ALL OUT.
HE JUST OBEYED.
I THINK THAT’S WHY GOD CHOSE JOSEPH TO BE THE STEP-FATHER OF JESUS.
GOD KNEW HIS HEART … AND THAT JOSEPH WAS SENSITIVE TO GOD’S WILL.
SO WE SEE A FAMILY ON THE MOVE....GOING FROM PLACE TO PLACE....... LEAVING FAMILY BEHIND.......LEAVING BELONGINGS BEHIND
(PROBABLY ENDED UP BEING EVICTED FROM THE LAST HOME BECAUSE THEY DIDN’T PAY RENT).......AND A STEP-FATHER
CARING FOR A CHILD THAT’S NOT HIS.......
ALL OF THIS HAPPENING ON THE DAY AFTER CHRISTMAS.......
I DON’T KNOW ABOUT YOU.....BUT SOME OF US MAY HAVE EXPERIENCED SOME OF THESE THINGS IN OUR LIVES......
THERE IS SOMETHING WE CAN GLEAN FROM THIS MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS........JESUS’ BIRTH AND THE CIRCUMSTANCES AROUND IT.....DID NOT
DICTATE WHO HE WOULD BECOME.......
I WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT IT DOES NOT MATTER WHAT THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF YOUR BIRTH MAY HAVE BEEN, THE COMPLICATION OF YOUR PAST, OR
ANY SETBACK YOUR FAMILY MAY HAVE EXPERIENCED.
THIS STORY CLEARLY TELLS US THAT ....
THE VERY FACT THAT YOU WHERE BORN MAKES YOU A CHILD OF GOD, A PERSON WITH A SPECIAL AND SIGNIFICANT PURPOSE IN GOD’S PLAN.
YES JOSEPH WAS OBEDIENT AND HE MADE SURE HE DID WHAT GOD CALLED HIM TO DO....
SO HE UPROOTS HIS FAMILY AND GOES TO A FOREIGN LAND....WITH NO IDEA WHERE HE WOULD LIVE......OR INCOME TO PROVIDE FOR HIS FAMILY...
BUT I BELIEVE WE SEE SOMETHING ELSE HERE IN OUR TEXT......
I BELIEVE THE TEXT SHOW US THAT EVEN WHEN JOSPEH DIDN’T KNOW HOW HE WOULD CARE FOR HIS FAMILY........ GOD ALREADY HAD THAT COVERED....
I BELIEVE WE SEE GOD’S PROVISIONS......LOOK AT VERSE 11
11 On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
WHEN GOD CALLS US TO DO SOMETHING....HE DOESN’T LEAVE US UNEQUIPPED.... HE PROVIDES … AMEN? GOD WOULDN’T HAVE TOLD MARY & JOSEPH
TO GO TO EGYPT, AND THEN SAY, “YOU’RE ON YOUR OWN …
GOOD LUCK!”
THEY WOULD NEED ENOUGH MONEY TO LIVE OFF OF WHILE DOWN IN EGYPT … AND GOD PROVIDED IT FOR THEM THROUGH THE WISE MEN.
LOOK AT WHAT THE TEXT SAYS.......THEY OFFERED GIFTS OF GOLD.....FRANKINCENSE.....AND MYRRH.....
GOD PROVIDED FINANCIALLY FOR JOSEPH, MARY AND JESUS WITH THE GIFT OF GOLD THE WISE MEN BOUGHT TO THEM.
THE LAND THAT HAD ONCE ENSLAVED THE JEWS, GOD USED TO NOW PROTECT HIS PEOPLE.....
THINK ABOUT THAT FOR A MINUTE........REMEMBER WHEN GOD HAD USED MOSES TO TELL PHARAOH TO LET HIS PEOPLE GO......
AND PHARAOH THE KING OF EGYPT.....THAT HAD OPPRESSED THE JEWS.......LET THEM GO.....
NOW WE SEE THAT JOSEPH IS TAKING HIS FAMILY BACK TO A LAND THAT ONCE OPPRESSED HIS PEOPLE.....BUT THIS TIME GOD PROTECTS THEM......AND
PROVIDES FOR THEM.......FOR 12 YEARS .....
I DON’T KNOW ABOUT YOU SAINTS BUT IT’S WONDERFUL TO KNOW THAT WE SERVE A GOD THAT CAN TAKE A SITUATION AND FLIP IT...
….IN WAYS WE DON’T UNDERSTAND.......BUT I DO KNOW THIS.....WHEN YOU’RE OBEDIENT TO GOD.........GOD WILL WORK IT OUT FOR YOU.
YES....GOD PROVIDED FOR JOSEPH AND HIS FAMILY.....FOR 12 YEARS........
AND WE SEE WHY GOD DID THIS IN OUR TEXT THIS MORNING..........
LOOK AT VERSES 13B AND 16
Matthew 2:13 (NRSV)
13 for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.”
16 When Herod saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, he was infuriated, and he sent and killed all the children in and around Bethlehem who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had learned from the wise men.
I BELIEVE WE SEE THAT THE TEXT TELLS US THAT HEROD WAS ENRAGED....... IN OTHER WORDS....... PEOPLE TODAY WOULD SAY THAT HEROD
WAS HEATED.......AND READY TO WIPE PEOPLE OUT...... AND TRUTH BE TOLD THAT’S WHAT HE DID.......
HEROD WAS FURIOUS WHEN HE REALIZED THAT THE WISE MEN HAD OUTWITTED HIM. HE SENT SOLDIERS TO KILL ALL THE
BOYS IN AND AROUND BETHLEHEM WHO WERE TWO YEARS OLD AND UNDER.
IT WAS LIKE GOD PUT JOSEPH, MARY AND BABY JESUS IN HIS DIVINE WITNESS PROTECTION PROGRAM …SO THAT THEY
WOULD BE SAFE……SAFE FROM HEROD AND WHILE HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT……..
THERE IS SOMETHING WE MUST UNDERSTAND…..
HEROD WAS A MEAN.....VICIOUS PERSON WHO HAD A HISTORY OF KILLING PEOPLE……EVEN HIS OWN FAMILY......
CAESAR AUGUSTUS WAS QUOTED AS SAYING THAT IT WOULD BE BETTER TO BE KING HEROD’S PIG THAN HIS SON.
PIGS WERE PROTECTED BY LAW … HEROD’S FAMILY WEREN’T.
KING HEROD HAD ALREADY KILLED 2 OF HIS OWN SONS … HE HAD THEM STRANGLED.
HE ALSO KILLED ONE OF HIS 10 WIVES … WHO WAS HIS FAVORITE WIFE …
BECAUSE HE THOUGHT THAT SHE HAD BEEN UNFAITHFUL TO HIM (SHE WASN’T!).
HE KILLED HIS 18 YEAR OLD BROTHER-IN-LAW, BECAUSE THE JEWS LIKED HIM BETTER THAN THEY LIKED HEROD.
HE ALSO KILLED HER GRAND-FATHER, AND HER 80 YEAR OLD UNCLE, WHO HAD ONCE SAVED HEROD’S LIFE.
HE ALSO KILLED HIS OWN UNCLE AND HIS MOTHER-IN-LAW.
THE SLAUGHTER OF INNOCENT CHILDREN IN BETHLEHEM WAS A FULFILLMENT OF PROPHECY
15 Thus says the Lord:
A voice is heard in Ramah,
lamentation and bitter weeping.
Rachel is weeping for her children;
she refuses to be comforted for her children,
because they are no more.
WE SEE IN MATTHEW......2 VERSES 17-18
17 Then was fulfilled what had been spoken through the prophet Jeremiah:
18 “A voice was heard in Ramah,
wailing and loud lamentation,
Rachel weeping for her children;
she refused to be consoled, because they are no more.”
THE DAY AFTER CHRISTMAS......
I BELIVE THIS TEXT GIVES US ANOTHER POINT WE CAN GLEAN FROM....I BELIEVE WE SEE GOD’S PLAN IS ALWAYS PERFECT....LOOK AT VERSE 15
15 and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet, “Out of Egypt I have called my son.”
GOD PLAN IS ALWAYS PERFECT.
A SITUATION CAN NEVER OCCUR THAT SURPRISES GOD.
GOD DOES NOT NEED TO HAVE A PLAN B.
THE PROPHET HOSEA WROTE THAT GOD’S SON WOULD BE CALLED OUT OF EGYPT IN HOSEA 11:1
1 When Israel was a child, I loved him,
and out of Egypt I called my son.
JUST LIKE HIS CHILDREN DID 1500 YEARS BEFORE UNDER MOSES. MARY & JOSEPH WOULDN’T BE ALONE IN EGYPT.
BY THIS TIME, EGYPT WAS ALSO UNDER ROMAN RULE … BUT HEROD DIDN’T HAVE ANY POWER THERE.
THERE WAS ALREADY MULTIPLIED THOUSANDS OF JEWS WHO HAD FLED THERE TO FIND SAFETY FROM WICKED KING HEROD.
THERE WERE JEWISH SETTLEMENTS THERE … WITH SYNAGOGUES AND A TEMPLE.
THE LAND THAT HAD ONCE ENSLAVED THE JEWS, GOD USED TO NOW PROTECT THE JEWS.
19 When Herod died, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said,
JOSEPH HAS ANOTHER “DREAM”, AND THE ANGEL SPEAKS TO HIM ONCE AGAIN – 2:20.
20 “Get up, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who were seeking the child’s life are dead.”
AND AFTER THE ANGEL SPEAKS TO HIM ....WE SEE HIS OBEDIENCE...... AGAIN NO QUESTIONS ... NO ARGUING ... NO PROBLEM.
JOSEPH, MARY AND JESUS HEAD TO NAZARETH.
IT’S TIME TO GO BACK HOME.
GOD HAD PROTECTED THEM, AND NOW THEY COULD RETURN TO ISRAEL.
YES GOD PLAN’S IS A PERFECT PLAN.........
LOOK AT VERSES 21-23
21 Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus was ruling over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And after being warned in a dream, he went away to the district of Galilee. 23 There he made his home in a town called Nazareth, so that what had been spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, “He will be called a Nazorean.”
JOSEPH HAD HEARD THAT HEROD’S SON WAS ON THE THRONE, AND ARCHELAUS WAS WORSE THAN HIS FATHER!
THERE WAS A RIOT IN JERUSALEM, AND ARCHELAUS STOPPED IT BY KILLING EVERYBODY IN THE CROWD.
HE WAS SO RUTHLESS......THAT HE WENT INTO THE TEMPLE ONE PASSOVER, AND EXECUTED 3,000 JEWS.
VERSE 23 ALSO FULFILLED THE OLD TESTAMENT PROPHESY OF ISAIAH....
NAZARETH WAS A SMALL TOWN. IT WAS FAMOUS FOR NOT BEING FAMOUS.
NO ONE HAD EVER HEARD OF NAZARETH.
IT ISN’T EVEN MENTIONED IN THE OLD TESTAMENT AT ALL.
IT WAS SO INSIGNIFICANT, THAT IN JOHN 1:46, NATHANAEL SAID “CAN ANYTHING GOOD COME OUT OF NAZARETH?”
THERE IS SOMETHING SPECIAL ABOUT SMALL TOWNS.....SMALL TOWNS MAKE GOOD PLACES TO LIVE.....
GOD WANTED HIS SON TO BE RAISED IN A SIMPLE VILLAGE, WITHOUT FAME OR PRESTIGE.
THERE WERE A LOT OF GENTILES IN THAT AREA, AND GOD WANTED JESUS TO BE RAISED IN THAT ENVIRONMENT......
THE SMALL TOWN OF NAZARETH...........
YES MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS........ JOSEPH WAS OBEDIENT.........GOD PROVIDED ALL THAT THEY NEEDED..........BECAUSE GOD’S PLAN IS PERFECT.....
AND WE SEE THAT THIS STARTED THE DAY AFTER CHRISTMAS......THE DAY AFTER CHRIST WAS BORN......
THE COMPLICATIONS OF JESUS PAST WAS INTENDED TO FULFILL GOD’S PLAN THAT THE MESSIAH WOULD COME OUT OF AFRICA AND NAZARETH.
WHILE JESUS WAS BORN IN BETHLEHEM TO FULFILL PROPHESY HE HAD TO COME THROUGH AFRICA TO NAZARETH.
BABY JESUS MOVING FROM PLACE TO PLACE WAS TO FULFILL GOD’S PLAN.
THE DAY AFTER CHRISTMAS.........THE DAY AFTER CHRISTMAS......THE DAY AFTER CHRISTMAS.....
YES MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS.....OUR SAVIOR......CAME OUT OF NAZARETH......
AND I’M SO THANKFUL BECAUSE......OF THE LOVE THAT GOD SHOWS US.......THAT JESUS WAS BORN IN BETHLEHEM ......RAISED IN AFRICA........CAME TO
NAZARETH AND AFTER 3 AND A HALF YEARS OF TEACHING HIS DISCIPLES.....IN HIS MINISTRY…