In the below sermon we will discuss how even as a baby, Jesus was a refugee fleeing a tyrant. God knows what it’s like to be on the run and under pressure; here’s how He protects His own.
This is part 4 of our series ‘The New Start.’ In this series we will talk about how we all have a past, but our heritage doesn’t have to define our future. Discover how Jesus entered a messy world to bring a clean slate.
Refuge Church Byhalia exists to share the hope of Jesus, love our neighbors in Byhalia, Barton, & beyond, & grow together as a family. We meet every Sunday at 11 AM. You can find us at 3964 MS-309 N., Byhalia, MS 38611
Intro
- Good Morning
- Or Good Evening, Good Afternoon, Good whatever time it is for you as you are watching this video.
- My name is Michael and I serve as the planting pastor of Refuge Church Byhalia.
- In light of the weather, we decided it was wise for us to cancel our sunday services for January 25th of 2026 so that everyone can stay home, and Lord willing stay warm.
- So hello to all the Refuge Church Family & hello to anyone else who may have stumbled across this video.
- Even though we are apart, we wanted to send out a quick video so that you can still be fed the Word & hear the prayers of some saints.
- Today we are in Part 4 of our series ‘The new Start.’ where we have been discovering how Jesus entered a messy world to bring a clean slate for all of us. Regardless of the complications and mess of our past and present situations.
- Today we are going to see how as a baby, Jesus was a refugee fleeing a tyrant. God knows what it’s like to be on the run and under pressure; here’s how He protects His own. – He survived the storm. Just as we are Surviving the Ice Storm.
- So if you have a Bible, and I hope you do, please turn or click to Matthew Chapter 2.
- Today we will read verses 13-18.
- Let’s do that now.
Passage
- “13 Now when they had departed, behold, xan 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. yThis was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, z“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 aThen was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah: 18 b“A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be comforted, because they care no more.” 19 But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, 20 saying, “Rise, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for dthose who sought the child’s life are dead.” 21 And he rose and took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there, and ebeing warned in a dream he withdrew to the district of Galilee. 23 And he went and lived in a city called fNazareth, gso that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled, that he would be called a Nazarene.”
Let’s Pray.
Recap
- So Jesus was visited by the 3 wise men as we discussed last week.
- And they left, and even though Herod wanted them to tell him where Jesus was, they, after being warned in a dream, went home on a different route to avoid seeing Herod
- And Herod – obsessed with his power and pleasure – decided he was going to eliminate any threat to his throne, power, & pleasure
- No matter how small that threat was at the time.
- And he worked to eliminate the threat while being fully aware of the reality that the baby the wise men were aiming to meet, was the long promised messiah of the Jewish people.
- And so Herod orders for all the little boys in and around Bethlehem to be killed
- Horrific
- Even though bethlehem was a small area
- Still horrific and awful
- But God was at work & protected His Son Jesus
- And warned Jesus’ adoptive earthly father Joseph that they needed to get out of town
- And so with the riches they were just blessed with
- Joseph & Mary take Jesus and flee in the night for the sake of Jesus’ life.
- And I find it amazing again, that Joseph was so quick to obey
- He really is a wonderful example for us
- God said jump to Egypt and he jumped
- And before Jesus was born, God through an angel said to Joseph sit, stay, marry Mary
- And he did
- That’s awesome!
- So they go to Egypt until Herod’s death.
- And went back to Israel, again at the visit of an angel of the Lord
- But they didn’t settle back where they were
- Now they arein the district of Galilee in a city called Nazareth.
- Quite a wild few years for Jesus
- Lots of moving
- Lots of running
- There were good moments
- There were scary moments
- And likely plenty of in between moments
- And yet Joseph & Mary, followed the instructions of the Lord
- As they worked to raise Jesus the long promised Messiah
- Today I’ve got 2 points for us to try and take home.
Point 1
- First
- God has our kids lives & our lives under control.
- And what I think we need to take away because of that is
- Stop worrying
- Stop fretting
- Trust the Lord
- Does that means it is easy?
- NO
- Does it means it is impossible
- Absolutely not
- But our elbow grease and sleepless nights aren’t going to make or break our kids.
- That was true for Joseph & Mary, and it is true for us as well.
- Here’s what AW Pink has to say. “The safety of the child Jesus was not in the strength of Joseph, but in the decree of the Father.” — A.W. Pink
- God’s got this
- God’s got you
- God’s got me
- And parents- God’s got your kids.
- And look – parenting is hard
- My kids end up sick, I lose my mind
- Because when they are sick, i so clearly see, I’m not in control.
- And so I have to exercise faith or I’m doomed to panic and be anxious and be full of fear and worry
- In the storms of life
- Especially as a parent.
- So we see God care for Jesus & get Him out of town at just the right time.
- It’s hard to believe God will do the same for us sometimes, but He will.
- Matthew Henry has this reminder: “If we and our infants are at any time in trouble, let us remember the straits in which Christ was when an infant.” -Matthew Henry
- Friends God has our kids lives, & our lives under control.
Point 2
- Point # 2 – The evil and chaos of this world will not ruin God’s perfect & glorious plans.
- We see it time and time again in scripture
- One of my favorite Bible characters, Joseph, Old Testament Joseph, sold into slavery by His brothers, wrongfully accused by Potifer’s wife resulting in jail time, forgotten in jail by the royal cup bearer, and yet God’s plan overruled the darkness of all those situations.
- The evil and chaos of this world will not ruin God’s perfect & glorious plans.
- Charles Spurgeon has this helpful comment – “All the Herods of the world cannot kill the purpose of God.” — Charles Spurgeon
- God had a purpose for JEsus – and Herod wasn’t going to stop it
- God has a purpose for us
- And the Herods of today won’t stop that.
- In fact Joseph, who had storm, after storm, after storm happen to him due to the evil of others
- Found himself overseeing Egypt through one of the worst storms of their history – a great famine
- And being able to take care of all the residents of egypt & beyond
- Including – his brothers who sold him into slavery
- And when they realized the brother they had wronged years ago – was standing before them and determining their fate
- They feared his revenge was coming.
- But Joseph’s response – What you meant for evil, God turned for good.
- You see friends the evil and chaos around us
- The storms
- They aren’t too big for God
- And God can turn any situation around.
- Matthew Henry says “God, when he pleases, can make the worst of places serve the best of purposes.” -Matthew Henry
- He did it for Jesus in Egypt
- He did it for Joseph after his enslavement
- And he can do it for you.
Conclusion
- So I don’t know what storm you are in right now.
- I don’t know what kind of evil has messed up things for you right now
- But I do know a God who is in control
- And hasn’t forgotten you
- And can turn anything around
- And today friends
- Even in this awkward and unusual way of us interacting
- I want to invite you
- To trust Jesus
- To trust him with this ice storm
- To trust him with your personal storm
- To trust him with the life of each kid around you
- God’s got this – and you can make it through this storm.
- The proof – how he cared for Jesus
- Now, we gotta be like Joseph
- & Jump when God says Jump
- And sit when God says sit
- As live by and are guided by the Word.
- RCB.life – plan your visit button prayer requests)
- Let’s pray. (
Notes
- “God’s providence often leads His children through the desert to get them to the Promised Land.” — Matthew Henry
- “The safety of the child Jesus was not in the strength of Joseph, but in the decree of the Father.” — A.W. Pink
- “All the Herods of the world cannot kill the purpose of God.” — Charles Spurgeon
Matthew Henry
- ***God, when he pleases, can make the worst of places serve the best of purposes.
- ***If we and our infants are at any time in trouble, let us remember the straits in which Christ was when an infant.
- Unbridled wrath, armed with an unlawful power, often carries men to absurd cruelties.
- Wherever Providence allots the bounds of our habitation, we must expect to share the reproach of Christ; yet we may glory in being called by his name, sure that if we suffer with him, we shall also be glorified with him.
- God is acquainted with all the cruel projects and purposes of the enemies of his church.
- It is no new thing for God’s sons to be in Egypt, in a strange land, in a house of bondage; but they shall be fetched out. They may be hid in Egypt, but they shall not be left there.
- God will not thrust his children into the mouth of danger, but when it is for his own glory and their trial; for precious in the sight of the Lord are the life and the death of his saints; precious is their blood to him.
- The providence of God commonly so orders it, that his people shall not want a quiet retreat from the storm and from the tempest; when one climate becomes hot and scorching, another shall be kept more cool and temperate.
Warren Wiersbe
- A person is identified not only by his friends, but also by his enemies.
- Herod pretended that he wanted to worship the newborn King, when in reality he wanted to destroy Him.
- Hosea 11:1 ‘I called my Son out of Egypt.
- We must not envision hundreds of little boys being killed, for there were not that many male children of that age in a small village like Bethlehem.
- But even this horrendous crime of murder was the fulfillment of prophecy found in Jeremiah 31:15. In order to understand this fulfillment, we must review Jewish history.
- Both of these names relate to Jesus Christ, for He was a “man of sorrows, andAQUAINTED WIHT GRIEF.’
- hE IS NOW THE soN OF gOD’S RIGHT HAND.
- jEREMIAH’S PROPHECY WAS GIVEN ABOUT SIX HUNDRED years before Christ was born.
- I gave my life to bear a son, and now his descendants are no more.
- Because of His coming, there would be spiritual deliverance for Israel and, in the future, the establishment of David’s throne and Kingdom.
- As God’s Son, Jesus was in Egypt and was called out to go to Israel.
- Moses was outside Egypt, hiding for his life, and he was calle dto return to Egypt.
- But in both cases, God’s program of redemption was involved. It took courage for Joseph and his family to leave Egypt, and it took courage for Moses to return to Egypt.
- In due time God spoke to Joseph in a dream, and he took his wife and her Son to Nazareth, which had been their home earlier. ’
John MacArthur
- Herod’’s act is all the more heinous in light of his full knowledge that the Lord’s Annointed One was the target of his murderous plot.
- Matthew is using Nazarene as a synonym for someone who is despised or detestable – for that was how people from the region were often characterized.