Sermon Tone Analysis

Christmas:  Comfort For The Comfortless 1

Matthew 2:1-18

 

 

        Christmas should be a time of great comfort, because we are celebrating the birth of the Comforter, Himself, Jesus Christ.

Now some of you are confused, because the name “Comforter” is normally used to refer to the Holy Spirit.

But, in the Gospel of John, Jesus intimates that while He was on earth He was the Comforter, and when He was gone the Holy Spirit would take His place.

Jesus said in

 

John 14:16 (NASB), “And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever.”

The word “Helper” is the Greek word /parakletos/ and is translated “Comforter” in the KJV.

When Jesus said that He would ask the Father to give the disciples another “Comforter,” He reveals that He was their “Comforter,” while He was on earth.

*And* *Christmas is about the comfort of God that is revealed in the birth of Comfort Incarnate, i.e.

Jesus Christ.*

Yet, there are many people, particularly in this country, and particularly at Christmas time, who don’t feel that there is any comfort available to them.

They are without comfort.

They are without any hope of comfort.

*They are comfortless*.

They don’t believe that Jesus, or any one else; can comfort their saddened hearts.

This is especially and still true, in the light of what happened on September 11th, 2001.

We see a similar situation in the Bible.

Please turn with me to Matthew 2:1-18.

I will read this aloud for us.

The passage that we want to center on is

 

Matthew 2:16-18, “Then when Herod saw that he had been tricked by the magi, he became very enraged, and sent and slew all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its environs, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had ascertained from the magi.

Then that which was spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled, saying, ‘A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children; and she refused to be comforted, because they were no more.’”

\\         *The setting of this Christmas story is in the days of Herod.*

“In the days of Herod;” in the days of the empire of Rome and her imperial forces; in the days of petty dictatorships and rulers under the strangle hold of Caesar; in the days of Caesar worship, where Caesar was worshipped as God and those who refused were punished.

In those days, Herod was a particularly cruel and savage dictator, and  “Herod’s infamous crimes were many.

He put to death several of his own children and some of his wives whom he thought were plotting against him.

Emperor Augustus reportedly said it was better to be Herod’s sow than his son, for his sow had a better chance of surviving in a Jewish community.

In the Greek language, as in English, there is only one letter difference between the words ‘sow’ (/huos/) and ‘son’ (/huios/).”[1]

Herod is a type or picture of Satan, and His dastardly act is a replay of the past.

Thousands of years earlier, Satan used Pharaoh, in the same way that used Herod, in an attempt to destroy Moses.

And now, for the third time, Satan is intent on destroying small children, in an attempt to destroy the Christ-Child.

*Just as* *Satan wanted to destroy the chosen child in Moses and the Christ-child, Jesus Christ, he now wants to destroy the Christ-child in us, so that there will be no Christmas for us.*

Even though he cannot destroy Christ in our hearts, he seeks to destroy the joy of His birth by trying to kill the seed of Christ’s potential, in our hearts.

*I believe Satan hates Christmas, because he hates Christ and he hates Christ’s children.*

Whether we can conceive it or not, Christmas is about seed, birth, potential, deliverance, etc., and we carry in our hearts and we literally are, in our being, Christ’s seed, Christ’s offspring, Christ’s potential, and Christ’s delivered ones.

*But, Satan doesn’t hate Christmas just because of it’s potential, but also because of his murderous spirit!!!*  At the same time, or shortly after Jesus was born, there was also a satanic attack launched.

Herod had every male child in the environs of Bethlehem, from two years old and younger, murdered.

*While the shepherds were on their way to Bethlehem, the spirit of murder was already being released in the earth.*

The Spirit of Herod, which was the spirit of the devil, was incited to kill the seed of life.

The Spirit of Herod was the Spirit of Pharaoh, which was also the murderous spirit of Satan.

*This is the same spirit that was released in the Oklahoma bombing and the Twin Towers Disaster.*

This is the murderous, treacherous, spirit of the evil one that is highlighted, in contrast to the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of joy, the Spirit of potential; the Spirit of life!!!

        Therefore, we see here two competing spirits:  *the spirit of Herod* versus *the spirit of heaven*.

·        The spirit of heaven is one of rejoicing, because of the birth of the Savior of the world.

·        The spirit of Herod is one of grief and sadness over the children that Herod murdered.

\\ *I want you to realize that there is a spirit of Satan, at Christmas time, which approximates the spirit of Herod.*

Satan wants to kill all of our children two years old and under.

I am *not* talking about our physical children, although he will certainly do that, if he can.

I am talking about the hopes, dreams, destiny, joy, etc. that our small children represent.

Satan wants to kill our dreams and our destiny, so that his kingdom will seem to reign preeminent over Christ’s kingdom.

(We also covered this same truth in the series of messages on “How The Grinch Stole Christmas!”)

The book, /How The Grinch Stole Christmas!/, is about a fictitious character, the Grinch, and an imaginary town called /Who/-ville.

Every /Who/ in /Who/-ville loved Christmas, but the Grinch, who lived just north of /Who/-ville did not!

“The Grinch hated Christmas!

The whole Christmas season!

Now, please don’t ask why.

No one quite knows the reason.

It could be his head wasn’t screwed on just right.

It could be, perhaps, that his shoes were too tight.

But I think that the most likely reason of all

May have been that *his heart* was two sizes too small.”[2]

Consequently, The Grinch couldn’t stand any of the festivities of Christmas:

 

·        He couldn’t stand the toys for children.

·        He couldn’t stand the noise that the children would make with those toys.

·        He couldn’t stand the feasting that the /Who’s/ would do.

·        He couldn’t stand the singing that they would do.

Then the Grinch got a wonderful, awful idea.

He decided that he would steal Christmas.

So, he dressed up like Saint Nick, went down to Who-ville, on Christmas Eve, slid down the chimneys and stole every present, all the food, and every decoration of Christmas.

“He took the presents.

The ribbons!

The wrappings!

The tags!

And the tinsel!

The trimmings!

The trappings!”

The Grinch thought for sure he had stolen Christmas, but the next morning he heard a sound.

He was sure it would be crying, so he cupped his ear to hear the delightful sound of people in pain.

But, instead, he heard people singing.

He couldn’t believe it.

He hadn’t stopped Christmas at all!!!  It came just the same.

*“Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before!

‘Maybe Christmas,’ he thought, ‘doesn’t come from a store.

Maybe Christmas…perhaps…means a little bit more!’”*[3]**

That day the Grinch’s heart grew three sizes.

So, he brought all the presents and food back, and even carved the roast beef himself!!!

        Now I greatly doubt whether Dr. Seuss had this in mind, when he wrote and illustrated this story, but the Grinch is a peculiar looking little character that reminds me of a demon.

Then I thought, “Who is it that really doesn’t like Jesus?”

The *spiritual Grinch*, Satan himself!

And I’m sure he can’t stand Christmas either.

As a matter of fact, because of what Christmas represents, he must really despise Christmas.

And, as I thought about it, I began to think about how Satan tried to steal the first Christmas.

Unlike the Grinch, Satan doesn’t learn any lessons and he is *not* going to let up in his quest to destroy Christmas.

The impact of Satan’s attempt to steal Christmas is seen in the passage before us:

 

“A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children; and she refused to be comforted, because they were no more.”

The operative phrase is, “and she refused to be comforted…”  Please hear me:  “This is not normal grief or the normal grief process, but excessive grief!!!

This grief is the demonic spirit of heaviness or sorrow, which we will be studying on Wednesday nights.

*Here are people who refused to be comforted.*

Is this right?