"The Plot is Foiled" - a sermon on Matthew 2:1-23

King Herod was a very bad man – the epitome of a bully. He was insecure, vicious and violent. When Herod heard that the “magi” or “wise men” were looking for someone they referred to as a “King”, naturally all his jealousy and dark side started to come out. To hear the “wise men” say that they wanted to “pay [this child] homage”, meaning worship him, or put themselves under submission to him, this would have sent Herod into an apoplexy!

There was no room for any second king in this paranoid and ruthless man’s world! As well, of course, the Romans, who Herod worked for, wouldn’t like any disruption, and Herod would never want to lose his favour with them. We also read in verse 3 that ‘the people of Jerusalem’ were frightened ... why so? Well no wonder they would be frightened of anything that would get Herod upset! We see later in this chapter what he is capable of!

And we should be shocked at what we read here, for evil leaders over the centuries have continued to commit genocide like this, often without the sort of opposition that should have occurred. People are still seeking to flee from evil leaders like Herod, desperately paying money to unscrupulous people to get into dodgy and ill-equipped boats, facing danger of many kinds, to travel to unknown places, just so that they might simply live; but where they tend to meet antipathy and rejection!

We should not let those ‘citizens of Jerusalem’ off so easy, as if it was not their responsibility to do better in the face of the tyranny of Herod – when they actually should have known their prophets better and been truly excited to hear what the “wise men” were saying. But of course this sort of unresolved ‘fear’ led ‘the people of Jerusalem’ to cry out some thirty-three years later ... “Crucify Him, Crucify Him”! Do we let ourselves off too easy for failing to take God’s mercy for all humanity seriously enough? It’s too costly (we might say)!?!

A plot began to be hatched in the mind of Herod to nip any thought of a rival right in the bud. No effort would be spared to destroy any possible contender for the hearts and minds of his people. The sort of ‘fear’ that Herod experienced was only going to result in violence.

This just raises the question for me again about how we respond to ‘fear’, as the biblical witness gives us such dramatic contrasts as Joseph and Herod! Joseph responded with faith and courage; Herod with self-centredness and brutality. Ironic that the ‘Prince of Peace’ Jesus was so often threatened with violence, and eventually met his (physical) death on a Roman cross. All Jesus was sent to do was fulfil his Heavenly Father’s desire to reconnect humanity with their Creator God; yet from day one Jesus met such concerted and evil opposition.

But there would be the need for three years of ministry, following thirty years of experiencing life as all humans do – so then any early plans to kill Jesus would have to be thwarted.

Herod had cleverly found out the information that the “wise men” needed, and then in conveying that information to the “wise men”, tried to convince them that he too was sincerely interested in knowing the results of their journey ... that he too wished to pay this child ‘king’ homage. What a dastardly liar!

We start to think about whether these sincere and searching “wise men” can see through Herod and discover his evil intentions. How would this occur? The religious leaders in Jerusalem had not been very discerning or loyal ... for they’d told Herod everything he wanted to know (and as such were seen as accomplices to his actions)! Such astronomers/astrologers, as these “wise men” may well have been (at least in part), would unlikely have had the theological skills to work these things out by themselves. There wasn’t any ‘Wiki-leak’ information about Herod, or any mass email to help them discover the truth!

But they had been “wise” enough to follow a ‘Divinely’ provided “star” to a very important destination; and so convinced were they that this was a remarkable moment in time, that they were “overwhelmed with joy”. Would we be good interpreters of this situation? Would we be receptive enough of the “Emmanuel – God with us” before us, to make sense of this picture?? Would we have the closed minds of Jerusalem’s religious leaders or the open and seeking minds of the foreign “wise men” from Persia???

Can we know God’s character well enough to look at each item on the newscast, and say this is where God stands, and this is where evil resides, and this is what I must do, and I will not fear the repercussions! I’m of course mainly visualising that overcrowded boat hitting the rocks at Christmas Island, leading to such tragedy, and thinking how this could have been avoided.

The “wise men” worshipped the Christ Child and gave gifts of extraordinary value. Being under God’s guidance and in a worshipful attitude, these “wise men” were in fact in a place where they could correctly interpret God’s leading and the danger of returning anywhere near Herod. We could say that the wise-men’s initial willingness to respond to the external stimulus of a bright star, led to the required level of openness through which to recognise the internal leading (of a dream). The magi first had the eyes to see – then followed the heart to understand.

So who are those that can foil evil plots? Maybe we see here, that it those who follow God as closely as following a star across the sky, and those who spend time worshipping with the best of everything they have.

The heroic Joseph was totally tuned into God by this time and made sure that this Herod could never get to his son. There are significant moments, like the ones in this passage, that so dramatically affect certain outcomes. Ultimately it was God who overthrew Herod’s plot, but again God chose to use people who were open enough to God’s own leading, and courageous enough to deal with the threatening situations, to participate in changing the course of events.

Let’s have a good look at verse 11:

On entering the house, [the magi] saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid homage [i.e. they worshipped him]. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him [valuable] gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.

It was following the guidance of the star and the whole-hearted acts of worship, that the wise men were responsive to the dream that came next.

It is those who look for God in daily events, and dedicate everything they have to him, that will be likely to make a positive difference in the world! It is these that will be in the position to foil any evil activity.

How do you react to this???

The wise men grew in their powers of discernment, starting from the commitment to follow an external star wherever it led, to the internal promptings of the Holy Spirit.

God is everywhere to be seen and to be worshipped. To be so involved with God ... will position us to actually co-operate positively in bringing forward God’s will.

Prayer:

Our loving Parent God in Heaven, Honoured be Your Great Name. May Your Kingdom come; may Your will be done, on Earth as it is already done in Heaven. Give us today enough bread for our current needs; and forgive us our sins, as we forgive all those who have sinned against us. Lead us away from temptation and unnecessary trials; deliver us from all evil. As Yours is the Kingdom, the power and the glory, may we co-operate in delivering others from the evil clutches of those who misuse their assumed power. Help us to follow the light to places where Jesus seeks to serve, and be fully dedicated to serve the cause of Christ our Saviour. Amen.