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A Recap from Sunday’s Sermon

Preaching Text: Matthew 2:13 - 23

Jesus warned us that his coming would cause conflict. He came to bring a sword rather than peace (see Mt. 10:34). Even as an infant, Jesus’ presence caused conflict. Matthew contrasts two types of kings and two types of responses to Jesus. The Magi submitted with joy and worship. Herod tried to have Jesus executed. The human heart is a throne and thrones can only hold one king.

Jesus is the rightful king of your heart.

Matthew gives us several reasons why we should make Jesus our king.

Jesus RESCUES us from sin. In verse 15, he is seen to be the new kind of Moses, leading a new kind of Exodus. Instead of freedom from foreign enslavement, Jesus leads us to freedom from sin through forgiveness and reconciliation with God. 

Jesus REDEEMS the brokenness of this life to bring forth goodness. In verse 18, we learn that Herod murdered the youngest male children in Bethlehem hoping to catch the newborn King in the process. Matthew quotes Jeremiah 31:17 as a personification of the matriarch Rachel weeping for the loss of her people to exile. Reading further in Jeremiah, we find a promise of hope for the future. Violence, death, injustice and oppression do not get the last word. God does.

Jesus RULES for all eternity. In verse 23, Matthew indicates a prophetic name for Jesus as the Nazarene, however, no prophet actually says this. Instead, this is a play on the Hebrew word nazir, which is similar to Nazarene but means “branch.” It’s a subtle reference to Isaiah 11:1, in which the Messiah is prophesied to come forth as a branch from the root of Jessie, King David’s father. Jesus is the true King who will rule forever.  

Taking It Home: Take an assessment of your heart, paying particular attention to anything that might have stolen back lordship from Jesus. Renounce this and give Jesus your heart and life again.