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." 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."
Matthew 2:13-18
It must have been a fearful night for Joseph and Mary to be told to flee to Egypt because the King wanted to kill Jesus. After two years of peaceful living in Bethlehem, Joseph and Mary suddenly had a surprise visit from some strangers. The strangers were said to have been guided by a bright and massive star. As the story unfolded, these strangers did meet with King Herod in their quest to find the Great King of Israel as the star signified. Yet they could not find this Great King of Israel in Herod’s Palace in Jerusalem. Even King Herod was puzzled by the strangers’ report of the presence of this massive star. So Herod had to consult the religious leaders of Israel to find out what’s going on. Finally after some research, the scribes and teachers of the Law found Micah 5:2 that prophesied of the coming of the Great King of Israel. They never thought that this was the time of the fulfillment of the prophecy that was written more than 500 years ago. So they reported back to the King concerning this prophecy. King Herod quickly told the strangers to go to Bethlehem to investigate the whereabouts of the child who was prophesied to be the Great King of Israel. But Herod had an ill intent deep in his heart towards the child, for he could not tolerate competition.
That day, Joseph and Mary were visited by the Magi, the strangers from the East. The Magi found out where Joseph and Mary lived. Joseph and Mary must be surprised when the Magi told them that they have come to worship the child. So now, the Magi were in front of Jesus, in Joseph and Mary’s humble house in Bethlehem, seeing with their own eyes the fulfillment of the prophecy of the Great King of Israel; they fell down and worshipped Jesus. They brought gifts befitting only a King: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Before the Magi departed, God had to intervene, because Herod was a very powerful man in the land of Judea and he had an evil desire to kill Jesus. So God warned the Magi in a dream to use a different route and not return to Herod. Then in the same night God also sent His angel to Joseph to appear in his dream to bring Mary and Jesus to escape to Egypt. The angel told Joseph that Herod wanted to destroy the child. Two surprises in one day. One was a good surprise, the other was a bad surprise. So in that dark and fearful night, Joseph, Mary, and Jesus hastened to flee to Egypt.
Herod was furious when he realized that the Magi did not return to him. His only chance to eliminate his potential competitor was narrowing down by the minute. He made an evil decision. An evil decision reminiscent of the evil of Pharaoh of Egypt when he ordered to kill all Israel’s baby boys for fear of being overtaken by Israel. An evil decision reminiscent of the evil of Haman the Agagite when he wanted to wipe out all Jews because he was offended that Mordechai did not bow down to him. Herod, a powerful King of Judea, wanted to kill a little boy because he felt threatened by the boy who was prophesied to be the Great King of Israel, and so he gave a cruel order to kill all boys two years old and under in Bethlehem and the surrounding area. It was a dreadful day. Matthew had to quote the prophet Jeremiah to express the terrible sadness and to signify its fulfillment:
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 evil decision of one powerful person caused so many to suffer. Indeed, who would want to be comforted in the face of such evil? Rachel refused to be comforted, for her children are no more.
When Christmas message is preached all over the world, we seldom touch this tragedy. Often preachers shield their congregations from this painful event. Christmas plays also mostly would not include this horror. As humans we tend to put tragic events in a hidden room, never to be touched nor spoken. Especially when it is related to a season the entire world considered to be the most joyous, jolly, and the merriest event in the year. Why do we need to speak about tragedy during Christmas? Yet, Matthew included this terrible tragedy in his gospel message. His readers must be puzzled by it. But perhaps those mothers and fathers, who lost their sons during the ordeal would wish for some kind of divine explanation. They did not know why King Herod would order such atrocity. There was no official explanation from the government, be it from the local government in Bethlehem or from the central government in Jerusalem. They had to witness the cruel massacre of their innocent sons. Then they had to call on their names to no avail for they would not come back to life. Then they had to bury them in deep agony and sadness. So yes, they must have wanted an explanation.
Brothers and sisters, I do not know what sadness you are experiencing now in this Christmas season. Covid-19 has ravaged the entire world. Many people have died because of it. Some are those we love. This pandemic has also caused other griefs, such as the lost of jobs, the closing of many businesses, the loneliness of many grandparents, and many more. Normally, we all want to enjoy Christmas peacefully, we all wish for all the joy to envelop our Christmas season. We imagine ourselves gathering at the table, feasting with those we love, sharing laughter, hugs and kisses, but not everyone got to experience such joyful Christmas. Tragedy can strike anytime, even during Christmas. When tragedy strikes us, we would ask: “Why me?” And with that question we demand an explanation. Our soul becomes restless until we can understand why the tragedy targets us. And when there is no explanation, or no explanation can satisfy us, we turn to God and ask: “Why, God, why?”
For about about 50 years, those mothers and fathers who lost their sons in Bethlehem did not get any explanation. They moved on with their life, yet they bore in their hearts the heavy sorrow for so many years. Most of them, I believe, wanted justice. They wanted Herod to be punished for ordering the murder. Herod died eventually, perhaps only a few years after. But he might have died from a natural cause or an illness, a common cause of death. Those mothers and fathers would not be satisfied. They wanted more. They got nothing.
Until Matthew’s gospel started to be circulated in about more than 50 years after the tragedy, about 20-30 years after the death of Christ. Matthew explained the motif behind the King’s order. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, Matthew uncovered the hidden trail of events that led to the demise of so many boys in Bethlehem. It was Herod’s jealousy. It was Herod’s feeling threatened by another competitor. It was Herod’s selfishness. For Herod even killed his own families for fear of losing his throne, this was written by Josephus a Jewish historian of the first century. But Matthew did not write just to uncover Herod’s evil intent. Matthew wrote about Jesus Christ, the savior of the world. The power of Herod could not lay harm on the child Jesus, who was to grow up until He was ready to save His people from sin and death. The plan of God was to prevail, not the plan of man.
Indeed, the parents of those sons would not get the complete satisfaction of justice, yet they now could see the unfolding of God’s great plan. They too have waited for the Messiah. For they were weary of the Roman occupation, of the cruelty of the Royals, of the oppression by the Religious leaders, and of the prospect of being punished by God because of their sins. So they too desired the Savior that God had promised since thousands of years ago. They probably have heard of what happened around 20 years earlier when Jesus started His ministry, preaching of the good news of the Kingdom of heaven, feeding thousands of people with just a few bread and fish, healing many sick people, casting out demons, and even raising the dead. Perhaps they have experienced His healing hands themselves, or the benefit of Him casting out demons from one of their children or grandchildren, or receiving the very food He distributed miraculously, or even witnessing the resurrection of Lazarus, and hearing with their own ears the authoritative teaching of this Jesus of Nazareth. They must have also heard about what happened in Jerusalem, when this good Rabbi was crucified under the order of Governor Pontius Pilate who was pressured by the Jewish religious leaders. They must have also heard about the great news of the good Rabbi’s resurrection. No this was not an ordinary Rabbi, He must be the Messiah, the Savior, the Son of God, the Lord, the King of Israel, whose very existence was prophesied by so many prophets in the Scripture. And they must have also heard about the birth of the church 50 days after He was raised from the dead, when some 3000 people believed and be converted.
Finally, what they have been hearing was confirmed as true. Now they saw how all those events were connected, even the event when their innocent sons were murdered some 50 years ago. Their Savior survived, their King survived, He survived Herod’s atrocity because God, in His grace, spared Him by speaking to both the Magi and Joseph in a dream warning them of what to come. They could now see God’s hands of grace amid the chaos of the fallen and sinful world. With the work of the Holy Spirit in their heart, they have come to believe in the person who 50 years ago escaped the massacre in Bethlehem. Even though Rachel could not be comforted for the loss of her children, she now has seen the salvation of the Lord that the entire world has been searching for. The joy of salvation is greater than anything. Rachel has become a part of God’s salvation for the entire world. Her cry was not a meaningless cry. The death of her children has found meaning in Christ. The parents of those murdered sons have found the meaning of their sons’ death in God’s salvation in Jesus Christ, the boy who escaped 50 years ago. Their question: “Why, God, why?” has meet a graceful answer in God’s redemptive act in Christ.
Viktor Frankl searched for meaning as he went through the horror of holocaust. Viktor survived holocaust, but the pain was unbearable for so long. He lost many loved ones. He endured merciless torture upon torture in the Nazi concentration camp. His heart yearned for an explanation. “Why, God, why?” There was no direct explanation. Not even until now. 70 years have passed, yet there is still no satisfying explanation of why Holocaust happened. He knew that Hitler caused it. But, still, what is the meaning of all that? Nobody has an answer to that question. Viktor then wrote a book after surviving holocaust. His book is called: “Man’s Search for Meaning.” Victor survived in the Nazi concentration camp by experiencing firsthand the power of the word of God sustaining him. He also found God’s word sustaining those who went through hopelessness in the camp. In the word of God, Victor found the meaning of his suffering and agony.
We too try to find meaning of the apparently unnecessary passing of our loved ones amid the pandemic. We too have tried to make sense of the tragedy we experienced in this strange year of 2020. What is the meaning of our loss of employment when we desperately need income? What is the meaning of our business closing down amid the pandemic? What is the meaning of this loneliness as we need the company of our children and grandchildren particularly in this difficult times? And there are a million other questions out there which we need a meaningful answer to satisfy them. Just like those mothers and fathers who lost their sons to the insanity of Herod’s murderous command, we too might not receive a direct explanation of the tragic event we experienced. But just like they also found meaning in the gospel of Christ when the time was full, we too can find meaning of our tragedy through the gospel of Christ when the time is full.
Nicholas Wolterstorff was in Grand Rapids Michigan when he received a phone call one morning in 1983. He never expected that call. But he received it nonetheless. And that was one phone call that shocked him tremendously. He never got a phone call like that before. It was a phone call from England. His 25 year old son, Eric, died on a mountain climbing accident. That was the content of his phone call. Nic had to fly to England to identify his son’s body. His world was shaken. His faith was challenged. Nic was a professor of Philosophy at Calvin College at the time. He asked the question: “Why, God, why?” There was no answer. The emptiness in his heart prompted him to reflect deeply on his son’s tragic death. His philosophic mind tried to find meaning. He said that it is wrong for parents to bury their children, for it is never meant to be. It should be the children who bury their parents. Nic lamented his son’s death. His reflection produced a simple book called “Lament for A Son.” It is an honest reflection, simply written, and so profound. Even until the end of the book Nic never got a direct explanation of why Eric died in that accident, seemingly a meaningless death. Yet he found something else as he reflected the word of God in relation to his sadness. He found the Father’s grief when He witnessed His beloved Son’s suffering and death on the cross. He found that our being created in the image and likeness of God to be the key to find meaning in the tragedy. He said that God too laments the suffering of man, the injustice we experience, the sorrow of the man’s hearts, and that God laments with us as we lament. Nic saw God’s tears when a human being who is created in His image shed tears. Nic found meaning and peace in God’s character and grace even as he lamented Eric’s death. God directed his mind to look at the cross of Christ, in which through it he realized that God too knows suffering. And more importantly, there on the cross, Christ’s suffering, and the Father’s lament, has become our salvation. And that joy of salvation is greater than anything.
Brothers and sisters, in this Christmas season, we are reminded once again of the birth of our Savior. Amid the shout of happiness for a Son is born, the One who is the King Eternal, a great tragedy happens. Those mothers and fathers, who lost their sons because of Herod, did not understand completely why misery befalls them. Victor struggled to find meaning for his misery at the camp. Nic did not receive a direct explanation of why Eric died in that way. Yet in the fullness of time their eyes are made open to see the salvation of God. Your agony that you experience now might not have a direct explanation either, but this is the message of God’s word today, that in due time you will find its meaning in Christ. Those parents of the murdered boys two years and under found meaning in the word of God through the gospel of Matthew. Victor found refuge and meaning in the sustaining power of God’s word. Nic could not come up with any satisfying explanation through philosophy, but only through reflecting on God’s word that he found meaning of his son’s tragic death. That is the grace of God through His sustaining word. The word of God is the key. We learn in the Scriptures that God is sovereign and He is in control. He loves us and is gracious toward us all. In this fallen world we will experience sadness. But in Christ Jesus we too will experience God’s immeasurable grace. Keep trusting Him. May we find the heavenly peace that is in Christ Jesus our Lord who was born 2000 years ago on this very earth. I pray that all of us may see the salvation of God amid the tragedy we experience. And my hope is for all of us to find meaning in difficult times through the sustaining word of God. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Soli Deo Gloria.
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