Read Matthew 2:1-18
Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, . fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
- Hebrews 12:1-2 (NIV)
If I could omit one part of the New Testament, it would be the story in Matthew 2:16-18. I wonder why Matthew included it when Mark, Luke, and John were able to tell the good news without including this horrific account. Perhaps Matthew did not want us to confuse sentimentality with hope.
Perhaps God inspired Matthew to include this story, knowing that later readers would live in a world where the Holocaust, the killing fields of Cambodia, Rwandan genocide, and unrelenting war in Syria are realities. A birth that did not give hope even in the face of such horrendous events would not be powerful enough to redeem this world.
Matthew gives us the unsentimental version of Christmas. It is not a Christmas that pretends that evil does not exist or that promises a small vacation from the evil in this world. The birth of Christ demonstrates to us that while evil is entrenched in this world, it is not in charge.
So in the end, however much it disrupts my sentimental view of Christmas, I really am glad this story is in the Bible. It shows me that even at the darkest moment, God gave birth to hope through Jesus Christ.
Thought for the Day:
Rather than ignoring the sorrows of the world, I can look to Christ for hope.
Prayer: Come, Lord Jesus, into our hearts and into the world with the hope that only you can offer. Amen.
Prayer Focus: THE PEOPLE OF SYRIA
The scripture quotation, unless otherwise indicated, is from the NEW REVISED STANDARD VERSION of the Bible, copyright © 1989, by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, . fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
If I could omit one part of the New Testament, it would be the story in Matthew 2:16-18. I wonder why Matthew included it when Mark, Luke, and John were able to tell the good news without including this horrific account. Perhaps Matthew did not want us to confuse sentimentality with hope.
Perhaps God inspired Matthew to include this story, knowing that later readers would live in a world where the Holocaust, the killing fields of Cambodia, Rwandan genocide, and unrelenting war in Syria are realities. A birth that did not give hope even in the face of such horrendous events would not be powerful enough to redeem this world.
Matthew gives us the unsentimental version of Christmas. It is not a Christmas that pretends that evil does not exist or that promises a small vacation from the evil in this world. The birth of Christ demonstrates to us that while evil is entrenched in this world, it is not in charge.
So in the end, however much it disrupts my sentimental view of Christmas, I really am glad this story is in the Bible. It shows me that even at the darkest moment, God gave birth to hope through Jesus Christ.
Thought for the Day:
Rather than ignoring the sorrows of the world, I can look to Christ for hope.
Prayer: Come, Lord Jesus, into our hearts and into the world with the hope that only you can offer. Amen.
Prayer Focus: THE PEOPLE OF SYRIA
The scripture quotation, unless otherwise indicated, is from the NEW REVISED STANDARD VERSION of the Bible, copyright © 1989, by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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