The Voice of Scripture - Part 1

About this sermon

Introduction: Matthew is making the case that Jesus of Nazareth is the promised king of the Jews. He is the promised king of the Jews, the promised king of kings — the promised king of the world. What is both interesting and powerful is that the testimony to Jesus as that king, precedes Him saying or doing anything. Before He preached a single sermon. Before He performed a single miracle. Before the voice of one crying in the wilderness (John the Baptist), pointed Him out as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. There is multiplied testimony to the true and royal identity of the carpenter’s son. The testimony to Jesus as Messiah does not simply rest on His amazing adult life. His credentials are evident at every stage of his life, even in what preceded His conception — in the form of a genealogy. The genealogy speaks its witness to Jesus. The virgin conception speaks its witness to Jesus. The angelic communication speaks its witness. The sign in the heavens speaks its witness. The wise men from the east speak their witness. The uproar in Jerusalem speaks its witness The adoration and presenting of treasures in Bethlehem speak their witness The divine protection through warning speaks its witness. ALL OF THESE WITNESSES HAVE ADDED THEIR VOICES TO SAY THAT THIS JESUS IS THE MESSIAH, AND YET, WE HAVE NOT SEEN ONE EVENT, SO FAR, FROM THE ADULT LIFE AND MINISTRY OF JESUS OF NAZARETH. Interpreting and affirming all those witnesses is THE VOICE OF SCRIPTURE. The genealogy matters because of what Scripture says concerning Abraham and David. The star, and the angelic witnesses, matter because of what Scripture says. His birth in Bethlehem confirms Scripture. Treasures from the wise men and the bowing down of foreign dignitaries confirms Scripture. And now we see, in the rest of this second chapter, how a series of events in the childhood of Jesus, serve as witnesses because of the voice of Scripture. The remainder of chapter two gives us three of those events, and in each case, Scripture’s voice identifies for us how these events testify to Jesus as Messiah. The first one explains how Jesus spent some time in Egypt after His birth, and that it was significant that He emerged out of Egypt. We will look at this today under three headings. (1) Divine protection (vs.13) (2) Urgent obedience (vs.14) (3) Biblical significance (vs.15). • DIVINE PROTECTION (vs.13) Something that we want to notice throughout this account is that Jesus is the central figure. The magi are searching for the child. Herod is searching for the child. The magi are rejoicing over the child and honoring the child. And now the warnings are for the protection of the child. Of course, that does not mean that God had no concern for Mary or Jospeh, but it is the Messiah who is in danger. His presence is what is generating the danger — which is also a testimony. THE CHILD IS MENTIONED FIRST AS GOD INSTRUCTS THROUGH THE ANGEL FOR THE PROTECTION OF THIS FAMILY. “Rise, take the child and his mother and flee…” (vs.13) “for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” (vs.13) “And he rose and took the child and his mother…” (vs.14) Jesus is the Messiah, and it is the Messiah who is in danger and must be protected. • FROM JOY TO ALARM This was a movement from joy to alarm. “Now when they had departed,” that is, the magi. The wise men have come. They have paid homage. They have given gifts. And, having been warned not to go back to Herod, they departed. Their presence would have represented joy, but as soon as they leave, there is this angelic report of danger. To say that Joseph and Mary are having to process stress would be an understatement. There was stress that was related to His conception. Now there is a series of stressful situations related to His birth. It is a constant back and forth of TROUBLE, followed by JOY, followed by TROUBLE. You have the initial shock of the virgin conception, and then difficulties that lead them to Bethlehem, and the difficulties that resulted in the Spartan conditions into which the Savior was born. Then those difficulties were followed by JOYFUL THINGS. There would have been a tremendous comfort and joy in the arrival of the wise men. And though Matthew does not tell us about it, that arrival followed some other joyful confirmations that preceded the wise men. Immediately after the birth of Jesus, there were shepherds who received angelic communication regarding the Savior’s birth, and when they arrived in Bethlehem, it was a treasure to Mary’s heart.

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• Bible Study