Journey Through Matthew: Hiding in the Desert

Journey Through Matthew  •  Sermon  •  Submitted
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God's protection of Jesus in his early years demonstrates God's protection toward us, if we will only listen to God's direction.

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Introduction

Good evening and welcome back.
Tonight if you do not mind, start turning in your Bibles to .
Again, tonight we are going to continue on our Journey Through Matthew, looking at the subject of Hiding in the Desert.
In just a few moments I will be reading , but I do want us to get the broad bigger picture here of .
We learned this morning about the prophecy of Jesus’ birth and learned about all the events that transpired right before his birth, leading up to the birth of Jesus.
Now in chapter two, we are going to be picking up sometime soon after Jesus’ birth, with the visit of the Magi.
Now, in contrast to all of the popular Christmas decorations and Christmas stories, the Magi, or Wise Men were not there when Jesus was born.
In fact, if you look at you will find this . . .
Matthew 2:1-
Matthew 2:1–2 NIV - Anglicised
1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.”
One of the key phrases here is after Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, meaning that it was not until after Jesus was born that they even began to ask questions about Jesus.
Also, we learn that they did not initially go to Bethlehem, but rather they came to Jerusalem and asked, where is the one who has been born the king of the Jews? We say his star in the east and have come to worship him.
And by the time they had saw the star and inquired in Jerusalem and actually find Jesus as revealed in verse 9, Jesus could have been already a year old.
In fact, they were never in the manger at all. The Bible tells us that . . .
Matthew 2:9–11 NIV - Anglicised
9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshipped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh.
Matthew 2:9-
Notice that they came to the house, to see Jesus and to present him with gifts.
But what we’ve done in our culture and society is try to mash all the different events about Jesus’ birth and early life together into one nice, pretty Christmas story.
And I am sure it is done innocently enough, but when we are not true to what the Scripture actually says we run into issues and problems that do more harm than good.
Many of our popular Christmas stories actually diminish and destroy the significance of Jesus’ early childhood and the amazing way in which God cared for Jesus and how God’s perfect plan that was prophesied about Jesus was carried out perfectly.
And I am not knocking Christmas stories, but I personally am not a fan of many Christmas stories and most Christmas music for that matter.
I cringe when I hear a lot of it because it is not true to what Christmas is all about.
It contains no connection to the true Gospel message of Jesus Christ whatsoever.
Christmas is about Jesus Christ and the miracles that God performed though Jesus.
It is also about the revelation of Jesus as the Christ, the Messiah, the the fulfillment of the prophecies concerning Jesus.
And tonight we are going to look at just a few more of them from Jesus’ early life.
So, if you have found in your Bible, stand with me if you are able as we read about some of Jesus’ early life.
Matthew writes . . .

Scripture Focus

Matthew 2:
Matthew 2:19–23 NIV - Anglicised
19 After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt 20 and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child’s life are dead.” 21 So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee, 23 and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets: “He will be called a Nazarene.”

Out of Africa

Now, you will notice that I picked up at the end of the chapter here concerning Jesus’ early years and the first thing I read was that after Herod died and angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt , telling him to Get up and take the child and mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child’s life are dead.
So, here we find Jesus’ still a toddler and people had already started trying to kill him.
How in the world did it get to this point?
Well, for that answer we have to back up to the Magi again.
All the way back in the beginning of the chapter we learned about the Magi coming to Jerusalem trying to find out where Jesus was so they could go and worship him.
However, remember they referred to him as the King of the Jews.
Going back to this we also see that . . .
Matthew 2:3 NIV - Anglicised
3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him.
Matthew 2:3
Herod was the king and he did not want anybody to replace him.
And even though Herod was a pagan, he had been around long enough to know the Jewish tradition.
And what he knew about the Jewish tradition was that they were looking for their Messiah, who they thought would be a military king, who would liberate them from their oppressors.
And Herod did not want a war, so he had made up his mind that he was going to take a proactive approach and take care of things ahead of times.
So, he calls together all of the Jewish chief priests and teachers of the law and asks them about this.
And they tell him in verse six about the prophet Micah who said . .
Micah 5:2 NIV - Anglicised
2 “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.”
Which informed them that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem.
Which, by the way is the next prophesy to be revealed in Jesus Christ.
So, Herod had narrowed it down to Bethlehem, but when and where in Bethlehem?
To this, he turned back to the Magi . . .
Matthew 2:7–8 NIV - Anglicised
7 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”
Matthew 2:
So, we see that Herod’s plan was the get the Magi to find Jesus for him.
He lies to them and tells them that he wants to go and worship, but the reality is he wants to kill Jesus before he could grow up and become a problem.
Notice though that they keep referring to a star. What is that all about?
It is the revelation of yet another prophesy.
This one even older than Micah or Isaiah.
Numbers 24:17 NIV - Anglicised
17 “I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near. A star will come out of Jacob; a sceptre will rise out of Israel. He will crush the foreheads of Moab, the skulls of all the sons of Sheth.
And not only will the star lead them to Jesus but also . . .
Revelation 22:16 NIV - Anglicised
16 “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.”
I guess we could say that the stars were aligning.
So, the Magi go and they find Jesus.
They present him gifts and worship Jesus.
But look what happens next . . .
Matthew 2:12 NIV - Anglicised
12 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.
Maybe this same Angel of the Lord that visited Joseph earlier had now come to visit them, but whoever it was they warned them about Herod’s plan, which God thwarted.
But Satan was not done using Herod just yet.
Matthew 2:16 NIV - Anglicised
16 When Herod realised that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi.
Matthew 2:16-
But God was already a step ahead of Herod . . .
Matthew 2:13-
Matthew 2:13–15 NIV - Anglicised
13 When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.” 14 So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, 15 where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.”
So, we see here the flight to Egypt being the fulfillment of yet another prophesy, this one from Hosea . .
Hosea 11:1 NIV - Anglicised
1 “When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.
Hosea 11:9–11 NIV - Anglicised
9 I will not carry out my fierce anger, nor will I turn and devastate Ephraim. For I am God, and not man— the Holy One among you. I will not come in wrath. 10 They will follow the Lord; he will roar like a lion. When he roars, his children will come trembling from the west. 11 They will come trembling like birds from Egypt, like doves from Assyria. I will settle them in their homes,” declares the Lord.
Also, just FYI, Hosea also tells us something about the future to come as well.
Hosea 3:4–5 NIV - Anglicised
4 For the Israelites will live for many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred stones, without ephod or idol. 5 Afterwards the Israelites will return and seek the Lord their God and David their king. They will come trembling to the Lord and to his blessings in the last days.
Hosea
Also though, Jesus’ escape to Egypt was not the only prophesy fulfilled here.
Also was the horrible prophesy of Herod’s attempt to kill Jesus . . .
Matthew 2:17–18 NIV - Anglicised
17 Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled: 18 “A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.”
Matthew 2:17-
Jeremiah 31:15 NIV - Anglicised
15 This is what the Lord says: “A voice is heard in Ramah, mourning and great weeping, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because her children are no more.”
So, Jesus, Mary, and Joseph lived in Egypt as exiles until Jesus was around 3-4 years old but . . .
Matthew 2:1
Matthew 2:19–20 NIV - Anglicised
19 After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt 20 and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child’s life are dead.”
Here we find the Angel of the Lord again appearing to Joseph in a dream, this time telling him it is safe to go home.
And remember Joseph was from Bethlehem and this is where Jesus was born.
But he did not return to Bethlehem . . .
Matthew 2:21-
Matthew 10:21–22 NIV - Anglicised
21 “Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. 22 All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.
Matthew 2:21–22 NIV - Anglicised
21 So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee,
Matthew 10:21
And because he did not feel safe going home . . .
Matthew 2:23 NIV - Anglicised
23 and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets: “He will be called a Nazarene.”
In all of Galilee and all of Israel, Joseph just happened to choose Nazareth. Coincidence?
I think not.
It was just one more prophesy of Jesus being fulfilled.
And the prophesy here are all the ones about Jesus being despised and rejected.
John 1:45–46 NIV - Anglicised
45 Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” 46 “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked. “Come and see,” said Philip.
Acts 24:5 NIV - Anglicised
5 “We have found this man to be a troublemaker, stirring up riots among the Jews all over the world. He is a ringleader of the Nazarene sect
Psalm 22:1 NIV - Anglicised
1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning?
Psalm 22:6–8 NIV - Anglicised
6 But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by men and despised by the people. 7 All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads: 8 “He trusts in the Lord; let the Lord rescue him. Let him deliver him, since he delights in him.”
Psalm 69:8 NIV - Anglicised
8 I am a stranger to my brothers, an alien to my own mother’s sons;
Psalm
Psalm 69:20–21 NIV - Anglicised
20 Scorn has broken my heart and has left me helpless; I looked for sympathy, but there was none, for comforters, but I found none. 21 They put gall in my food and gave me vinegar for my thirst.
Psalm
Isaiah 49:7 NIV - Anglicised
7 This is what the Lord says— the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel— to him who was despised and abhorred by the nation, to the servant of rulers: “Kings will see you and rise up, princes will see and bow down, because of the Lord, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.”
Isaiah
Isaiah 53:2–3 NIV - Anglicised
2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. 3 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Isaiah
And on, and on, and on.

Altar Call

Here is the point of this message though.
God spoke and people listened.
God spoke through the Old Testament prophets and the Magi listened.
God spoke to the Magi and they listened.
God spoke to Joseph and Joseph listened.
And because they listened, God’s Word was fulfilled just as designed.
And I said it this morning and I will say it again tonight, God is speaking but are we listening?
What would have happened if the Magi would have ignored and dismissed God?
What would have happened if Joseph had ignored and dismissed God?
The thing is we do not know God’s complete plan.
But we do know that God does have a plan and we are part of that plan.
The question is are we listening?
And if we are, then are we willing to respond?
Tonight you are going to have that opportunity.
All heads bowed and all eyes closed, I am going to give you a chance to pray.
Either at the altar or at your seat, but pray and allow the Holy Spirit to speak to you.
Will you do that tonight?
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