All According to Plan :: Matthew 2:13-23

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It all happened so quickly. The trip to Bethlehem, the birth of Jesus, the angels, the shepherds, the start. Then after a short time, the Magi, who like the shepherds before them, fell down on their faces to worship the baby Jesus ... the Lord of all creation, the promised Messiah, Israel’s King of Kings, our Immanuel. 

But as they say, all good things must come to an end. 

The angel of the Lord appeared again in a dream and warned the Magi to return to their homes without going back to Herod.

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.” And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet ... 

OUT OF EGYPT, AT JUST THE RIGHT TIME, GOD CALLED HIS SON

Any Jew who heard Matthew’s account of Jesus’ flight into Egypt would have instantly thought of the Book of Exodus and an earlier flight out of Egypt. 

You see, it wasn’t that long ago that the Lord came to a different Joseph in his dreams. It wasn’t that long ago that another powerful ruler, Pharaoh -- go figure, another king -- sought to kill all the baby boys of a nation because he feared a challenge to his authority. It wasn’t that long ago that the angel of the Lord appeared to Moses and sent him to lead a nation out of slavery into the Promised Land. 

Now ... the Joseph who was receiving dreams was the righteous man who was wed to Mary, the mother of Jesus. The powerful ruler that ordered the execution of all the baby boys who might later threaten his reign was the violent and insecure Herod, a KINO ... a king in name only. He had no real power. And now, the Angel of the Lord ... Jesus Christ himself ... had come to lead his people out of their slavery to sin, death, and the devil.


Because of this ... it’s no wonder that Jesus is often called the new Moses. Just as Moses’ life was threatened at a tender age and he had to be hidden in a reed basket to be protected ... so, too, was Jesus’ life in danger, and he ALSO had to be hidden away in another land, so that his life would be spared until his time had come. 

Moses led God’s people out of slavery in Egypt. Now Jesus has come to lead all people ... you, me, your brother and sister, and even those you are supposed to call over the mountain, out of the spiritual slavery to the Law. 

Yes, There was about to be another exodus. 

This time there wouldn’t be plagues, but a cross. There wouldn’t be locusts, but thorns and nails. There wouldn’t be one nation freed from slavery, but every tribe, tongue and people. Because ..

OUT OF EGYPT, AT JUST THE RIGHT TIME, GOD CALLED HIS SON.\

The exodus from Egypt prefigured for us the coming of our savior and our freedom from sin, death, and the devil. With outstretched arms and a mighty hand, God delivered his people out of slavery ... across the sea of Reeds and the Jordan River ... into the Land of Milk and Honey. 

With outstretched arms, God is still bringing salvation to his people. 

Our Lord Jesus Christ stretched out his arms on the cross, died and rose from the dead, and then with outstretched arms, delivered you the promise of life in the true Promised Land through your own flood ... a baptism of water and Word. 

No one can alter God’s plan of salvation, try as they might. 


But many nevertheless fight against it and end up rejecting his plan for themselves. 

The Israelites of old did just that. They didn’t want freedom from Egypt, especially with Moses. They preferred to remain in bondage, thinking they at least had a roof over their head and, sometimes, food in their belly, even if it was in bondage. 

They would rather be beaten than to trust their Lord would continue providing for their every need of food and drink, clothing and shoes, house, home, land, animals. Even after God had worked miracles upon miracles every day for 40 years ... providing daily bread from heaven ... daily water from the rocks ... daily meat ... just to name three ... they still wanted to go back to slavery. They apparently relished the thought of living immoral lives. 


The Jews of Jesus’ day also rejected God’s plan of salvation. 

They didn’t want to leave their traditions and man-made laws. They loved the tradition of their church. They didn’t want to hear the good news. They preferred to remain in bondage to the Law, where they were comfortable. The Law let them feel like they were earning salvation. 

They preferred the status quo ... whatever the status quo meant. They would rather trust that they could do the good things of this life to find favor with God than to trust Christ who was leading them to the complete forgiveness of sins. They didn’t trust that what Jesus was offering as the Lamb of God was far greater than anything they could earn or provide for themselves.


Today, people are still rejecting God’s plan of salvation and the means by which he accomplishes salvation in us. They are fleeing from the Gospel. It can’t be that easy, they say.

Many Christian denominations NO LONGER believe that God can call and ordain men to be a pastor who can forgive your sins by the command of our Lord Jesus Christ. You need to be assured that our Lutherans confessions speak highly of this blessed gift for its abiding comfort.  

Many Christian denominations NO LONGER believe that Baptism is a means by which God creates faith and gives eternal life. They see it as a way to dedicate and rededicate themselves to God. But God says The one who believes and is baptized will be saved.  This is the simplest way to put it. The power, effect, benefit, fruit and purpose of baptism is that it saves. 

Many Christian denominations NO LONGER believe that Christ’s body and blood are really present in the Lord’s Supper. They don’t believe that our Lord’s Supper actually confers the forgiveness of sins, and that it actually increases faith. But that is exactly what scripture declares. 

Brothers and sisters in Christ, you can never receive the forgiveness of sins too often. 


Having been set free by these blessed means of grace, people today, instead, want to go back to a system that requires something more of us. More piety. More tradition. But these are the means by which God creates faith in Jesus Christ, forgives sins, strengthens faith, and accomplishes salvation in us. Rejection of these means given by God is no different from the Israelites rejection of Moses or the Jews’ rejection of Jesus himself. Nevertheless ...

OUT OF EGYPT, AT JUST THE RIGHT TIME, GOD CALLED HIS SON.

It is easy for us to doubt God’s plan of salvation. It is easy to question why God allows evil to happen in our world. We never have to look very hard or very far to find an example of something unpleasant or evil. 

And the world is always quick to ask, Where is God in all this? 

The text before us is difficult for us to hear. We celebrated Christmas just four days ago. We celebrated the birth of Christ. Now we hear about all those children murdered. 

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. Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah: “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.”

In the midst of the commercialization of Christmas, it’s easy for us to forget that Jesus came as a child NOT ONLY to establish peace between God and man, but that his Word and Sacrament would also create divisions among people and that many would stumble. 


In the very region where Rachel had died giving birth to Benjamin, other children of the promise lost their lives to Herod’s sword, and their mothers wept and could not be consoled. 

But we can’t blame God for the death of these innocents. 

It was the wicked king who caused the anguish and death. God was still there. He saw what happened, and even in the midst of Herod’s wickedness he was working to bring about his plan of salvation. God is not the author of evil. Man is. But God is ALWAYS working for good.


Once King Herod heard the words “King of the Jews” from the Magi’s lips and realized that his reign might be threatened, he knew that this baby Jesus had to die. 

The irony is that Herod was right ... Jesus did have to die. 

Jesus had to be executed by ruthless men. Not because Herod willed it. 

Jesus had to die, but not on Herod’s timetable. 


Jesus was born in the fullness of time, to die at just the right time. Jesus was born to die for Herod’s sins. Jesus was born to die for your sins. Jesus was born to die because of our doubt and fear and unbelief. Jesus had to die because we couldn’t go to God ... God had to come to us. Jesus had to die so that we could see the light, the light of life in this man Jesus, who was born to become sin so that he could impart his righteousness upon us. As Saint Paul says, we were dead in our traspasses and sins. We were enemies of God by our very nature. 


Since it was not yet his time, the baby Jesus didn’t die at the hands of Herod. 

Jesus was delivered instead by divine intervention. Following the angel’s word, Joseph led his family to safety in Egypt. And God accomplished his plan of salvation in Christ despite the wickedness of this world. In so doing Jesus has paid the price for Herod’s sins, for our sins, and for the sins of the whole world.


Of course, this isn’t where God exits the picture. He is still active in human history. He is still in control. He is still Immanuel, God with Us, the Word made flesh, who comes to us. He continues to call us, lead us, and protect us ... children and parents alike into the safety of his Church through the waters of Holy Baptism. And he continues to feed and nourish his church with his Holy Word and with the precious body and blood of his Son

God’s plan of salvation began when he created the heavens and earth, and at the perfect time, he entered into his creation to redeem and save his people from their sins with his own precious blood. When the fullness of time had come God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. Then ...

OUT OF EGYPT, AT JUST THE RIGHT TIME, GOD CALLED HIS SON.

... for the salvation of the world. That salvation has been accomplished. 

It is, as Jesus said, finished. 

And one day soon he will come again and call all believers to himself to be with him in paradise forever. God has promised it. And he will do it. 

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