Not of the World

Matthew 2:11-15

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Our reading today is from Matthew chapter two, beginning with verse 11, and this is following the birth of Jesus

After they went into the house and saw the child with Mary, his mother, they bowed down and worshipped him. Then they opened their treasures and offered him gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12 Since they had been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they went back to their own country by another route. After the Wise Men were gone, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared to Joseph in a dream. He said, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, because Herod will search for the child in order to kill him.” Joseph got up, took the child and his mother during the night, and left for Egypt. He stayed there until the death of Herod. (Matthew 2:11-15)

Our nativity scenes always have such nice images of the shepherds and Mary and Joseph and the wise men. But we don’t ever see figurines around the Nativity that has to do with this story, which is called the Slaughter of the Innocents. When King Herod, in all of his evil, sent soldiers into the town of Bethlehem to kill all the babies that were under two years old, all of the boys. And we think about all of the crying that went on in the streets for the mothers with their children.

It’s quite a different scene from the beautiful, gentle scene that we see with the first Christmas and the birth of Jesus. The quietness and the peace and the tranquility of that manger scene is suddenly shattered with the violence and the oppression and the rage and hatred from this king against Jesus. Think of this, the Son of God from Heaven, the one through whom all things were made, one who says about himself: “all authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth.” That human being must now run for his life from the violence of this wicked world.

Jesus Christ, who is the very light of the world now has to steal away in darkness to have his life spared. And just think of that. How the Lord of Heaven is welcomed to this wicked world. 33 years later when Jesus was standing in front of his Roman governor, that was going to sentence him to death, Pontius Pilot. And when he was preparing to be whipped and beaten and crucified, he said to pilot, My kingdom is not of this world. Is that ever true? Jesus kingdom is not of this world. This world is opposed to having a Savior. There’s rejection and anger. We see that right away with King Herod. And that same rejection that was in Herod toward Christ is actually alive in each one of our hearts as well.

Down inside of our hearts, there is a disdain for Christ to be the ruler over us. And there’s a desire in us to unseat him from his position of authority over us. But God has also sent his Holy Spirit into the hearts of His believers to create that faith that now loves and cherishes Christ Jesus, and to give us what you might call a non worldly perspective of this little child. And so all of those who now love him and appreciate what he has come to do for us, those of us who embrace him by faith, we find in this little child not someone to be hated, but the place where we have peace with God, the place where we have the mercy of God, the place where we have the hope of going to heaven.

Jesus kingdom will never be of this world. And we must always expect that this wicked world will be repulsed by him. We shouldn’t be surprised that even those of us who belong to him by faith will be mocked and ridiculed and even trampled on by the world. Jesus has to begin his young life in exile. And that’s really a picture of all of those who follow him and believe in him as well. We live in exile in this world knowing that we actually belong to a greater kingdom where our heavenly homeland is above. St Paul said this.

I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

Jesus kingdom is not of this world. And thank God neither are his subjects who believe in him. Amen.