As you can imagine, this song is my current ear worm (thanks, kids) and the background music to my reading today. It's interesting how, more than two thousand years later, we sing about joy at the Lord's arrival on this earth, but that certainly wasn't the response of the day. I had remembered that Herod wasn't happy to hear of the Messiah's birth, but I noticed another detail today:
When word of their inquiry got to Herod, he was terrified - and not Herod alone, but most of Jerusalem as well. Herod lost no time. He gathered all the high priests and religion scholars in the city together and asked, "Where is the Messiah supposed to be born?" (2:3-4)It wasn't just the pagan king who was worried about the Messiah's threat to his position and authority. The Jewish authorities weren't thrilled with the news either, likely for the same reason. Yet, these were the keepers of the sacred Scriptures; they had the first thirty-nine love letters from God. It would be easy to presume that they knew and understood the story that God was writing, but they obviously missed the message by a long shot:
"I've come to a rather inelegant conclusion: the Old Testament is a set-up for the New. Let me put it less inelegantly: if we miss the message of His first thirty-nine letters, we'll miss the message of His last twenty-seven. Or worse, we'll pervert it and think we've got it. We'll make it fit into our hellishly twisted definition of love and never be captured by the real story of love that could take our breath away, that could humble us enough to change us from self-obsessed lovers of short term well-being to God-obsessed lovers of others at any temporary cost to ourselves." 66 LLFather, let me not miss the message You're telling in these twenty-seven letters or pervert it to satisfy my own selfish desires, as the Jewish leaders. As we begin this journey, I pray You'll open my heart to hear Your voice, to embrace Your truth, and to lose my life for Your sake. I want to learn to love You and others as Your Son so generously loves me.
6 comments:
I completely missed that Cici, but wow: Herod wasn't the only one afraid of Jesus.
That makes me think about my response to Jesus, and how sometimes i fear him... well, I don't always experience Jesus's love for me. Like this morning, when I mouthed off and picked a fight with my husband. I felt stressed, under the pile as obligations and duty pressed down on my freshly styled hair. Rather than engaging Hubs, I picked at him, inciting his ire.
And that's how I sometimes imagine Jesus responds to me. With ire, and anger. His LOVE feels far sometimes. This morning His forgiveness and freedom felt far.
After reading the passage I was reminded again of the tragedy that happened after Jesus was born: the massacre. What God gave as a gift, man twisted, rejected and the result was murderous. People were divided about Jesus since before his birth.
Even today I twisted and rejected the gifts God had for me and the result was disastrous: time to swallow pride and ask Hubs for forgiveness. Jesus has already showered it down on my penitent head.
Cici & Sarah, Jesus has led you to beautiful truths in the horrific scene of Herod's massacre, that was prophesied so long before. Jesus didn't come to make life safe, He came with a disrupting love.
I'm still fascinated by Joseph. He's regularly hearing God's direction through dreams, no longer trying to figure a way out by himself (2:13, 22). He's obeying God quickly and fully. He knows God's voice and knows that it is good, even if it is unsettling.
I feel that way today - unsettled after a road trip visiting in-laws, aging grandparents, and college friends. Hearing good news and bad news that I'm trying to process while feeling physically and emotionally tired. Straining to hear God's voice in the midst of it all, sorting out what His Holy Spirit is prompting and what is just my own way of figuring things out.
Powerful insight, Sarah. I do the same thing to my sweetie. He seems to always be on the receiving end of my irritability when Jesus feels far away and I'm secretly wondering if He's very disappointed in me. In my flesh, I pervert the gospel and make it a performance standard that I always fail. It's one patient man I'm married to! :-)
First off, thanks for the opportunity to be a part of this amazing group (Thanks Sarah!). I'm excited to see how God will use it this year.
Secondly, I totally identify with Cici "It would be easy to presume that they knew and understood the story that God was writing, but they obviously missed the message by a long shot." The Lord has made me shockingly aware of this blindness in my own life during these last couple of busy weeks. It's like the Gospel is one of those hologram pictures at the mall...at first its just a weird, squiggly pattern (pretty, but not really wall-hanging worthy). Then you stare and stare and all of a sudden out pops the Statue of Liberty or the Titanic! And now you can't NOT see it. The Gospel, unfortunately, is so often just a pretty squiggly pattern to me. I know it's suppose to be significant, so I hang on to it (maybe even hang it up) but I often times don't stop to stare and see what's REALLY there.
Hey ladies! It's good to be back - for round 2 together! I'm so excited to dig in again...and I have to admit, I am loving the pace of one chapter a day much better already! So many times I have to read chunks in speed version to stay caught up. Hopefully I'll have less issues this time! ha!
Some thoughts from Matthew 2:
As my little boy is about to turn 2 years old in a couple of weeks, I felt new grief for those mothers who lost their children due to the horrible massacre initiated by Herod. Imagine the weeping and grief in that city. What a painful reminder of our broken world.
Second, the sovereignty of God stood out to me. The "scholars" (as the Message calls them) identified the star, followed, came and worshipped Jesus. God revealed His son's birth to Him to confirm to them and the rest of the world that this was the Christ. Can you imagine being Mary and Joseph, watching these men worship your newborn child? One thing after another points to the fact that this is the Christ!
Finally, the fact that God is all powerful stood out to me. Jesus could have been massacred by Herod, but God sent angels, both to the wise men and to Mary and Joseph, instructing them exactly where to go and when to leave. He is sovereign, He is all powerful. Evil will not thwart His plans.
Praise God that He is the same God of our lives!
Thank you ladies for allowing me to be a part of this study with you!
I was struck by the Sovereignty of God as well.
What Herod meant for evil in helping the wise men to find Jesus, God used for good. Herod actually gave them directions so that Jesus could be worshiped and God glorified. Evil clearly being used for good.
I was then struck by how God allowed Herod's rage and the massacre of all those children. This fulfilled a prophecy and by this we can see God being glorified. But I too had a hard time seeing past the emotional toll of that Evil as I looked at my 16 month old.
God is still good in both scenarios and evil did not prevail over Him, but I must continue to refine what I think should be God's will.
Shouldn't the good guy always win? Shouldn't evil be thwarted immediately? Shouldn't pain and suffering be avoided? These are clearly not Jesus' highest objectives though there are promises that those things will be true one day in glory.
It was a humbling reminder of a God who must be trusted no matter what.
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