The Bible doesn’t whitewash the ugly truth of human power and wickedness.
That’s the world Jesus was born – the world he came to rescue – but his mission was in danger from the first.
Our savior needed to survive.
The evil king Herod was drunk with power and paranoia, ready to murder a village of infants to protect his throne.
Jesus, the Holy child sent by God was becoming a refugee, a migrant, an unwanted traveler.
In the past 2,000 years the world has changed, but evil remains. Even now we hear of mothers and babies who must escape in the night.
Maybe that’s not your story, but wickedness isn’t always overt, the devil peruses God’s children in every corner of the world.
Where will you flee when danger comes?
Be it temptation, addiciton, or injustice – where is your shelter in times of trouble?
You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with shouts of deliverance. Psalm 32:7
Devotional Prayer
JESUS my SAVIOR and Refuge.
In the dark of night trouble seeks me.
Call me out to safety, put me on the road to escape.
Let me trust not in my own strength,
Let me not lean on my own wisdom to escape,
I take flight and seek only your protection.
In your deliverance I will trust.
AMEN
Key Question for Reflection
Where do you run when the world is closing in on you?
Matthew 2:13-23 English Standard Version (ESV)
The Flight to Egypt
13 Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, 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 And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt 15 and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt I called my son.”
Herod Kills the Children
16 Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men. 17 Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah:
18 “A voice was heard in Ramah,
weeping and loud lamentation,
Rachel weeping for her children;
she refused to be comforted, because they are no more.”
The Return to Nazareth
19 But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, 20 saying, “Rise, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the child’s life are dead.” 21 And he rose and took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there, and being warned in a dream he withdrew to the district of Galilee. 23 And he went and lived in a city called Nazareth, so that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled, that he would be called a Nazarene.
Matthew 2:13-23 ESV on Bible Gateway
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Bible Study on Matthew 2
Learn the background information on Matthew 2 and the Flight to Egypt a key early event in the Life of Jesus
Liturgical Reference for December 29, 2019
Revised Common Lectionary for FIRST SUNDAY AFTER CHRISTMAS DAY. Year A. December 29, 2019
Sunday School & Sermon Examples
See Matthew 2:13-23 children’s message and Matthew 2:13-23 Sunday School Lesson.
Artwork Credit: Adam Elsheimer – Die Flucht nach Ägypten (Alte Pinakothek)
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