The painting I'm going to show you now is a painting called The Scene of the Massacre of the Innocents. It was painted by the largely overlooked Parisian painter Léon Cogniet in 1824. And today it hangs in the Musee du Beau Art in France, in Rennes, France. This painting came to my attention through the writing of a blog by a man called Mike Frost, who's an Australian theologian, a Bible college lecturer as well. And he wrote about this a number of years ago, also reflecting on Christmas.
As you can see in the foreground is a woman protectively enfolding, wrapping her arms around her baby boy in a darkened corner of a ruined building. Her body wrapped almost entirely around her boy and her hand covering his mouth to stop him from crying. But the thing that strikes you about the painting and the thing that has the most detail in it is her face. The woman's terrified face that looks straight at you as you look on the scene.
Eyes wild with fear, wondering whether you are going to dob her in. Would you believe if I told you that this is actually a Christmas painting? If it's not one of the greatest Christmas paintings, it is one of the most haunting. This is an artist's impression of what happened in the aftermath of Jesus' arrival two thousand years ago in Bethlehem. The massacre ordered by King Herod of all Bethlehem's boys under the age of two.
Now wisely, the artist doesn't show us the true carnage of those events and you can imagine how horrendous they were. It is hinted at in the background there at the top left corner where you see a mom carrying her own two children down some flights of stairs, running for her life. But Cogniet shows a level of beautiful artistic restraint. He forces everything to the background in order to draw our attention to the woman's terrified predicament. It's as if we are one of Herod's soldiers and we have found her, and with wild eyes, she's begging for us to save her baby.
This is not something we associate with Christmas, is it? The horror that unfolded after the coming of Christ. We don't hear lots of Christmas carols about King Herod and the baby massacre, but it is one of the facts surrounding the event. This morning we read two passages as we began our Christmas celebration, the two Christmas accounts of both Matthew and Luke. Interestingly, it's only Matthew that writes about this event that happened in Bethlehem.
But this morning, I'd like to reflect on these two accounts, both Matthew's and Luke's, to look at how we see the arrival of Christ as king splitting opinions about that arrival, different responses to that arrival, but seeing that Christ will not be robbed of His glory. And as we see this, I hope we can also understand how ultimately we are drawn into humble worship, humble service, humble obedience to this king. And so the first thing we look at in these two accounts of Jesus' birth is the unmistakable declarations that a new king has arrived. The arrival of a king.
In Luke's account, we find that this stated most strikingly. Luke begins chapter 2 by stating at Jesus' birth that Caesar Augustus sent out a royal decree, verse 1, that says that all the world should be registered. Imagine that sort of bureaucratic attempt. All the world must be registered. What this meant is that the Roman Empire wanted their taxes.
A huge effort of manpower and bureaucracy followed. Every family needed to go back to their hometown to sign records of who they were, how many they were, so that they could be taxed accordingly. But Luke says that this came about by a royal decree, a legal term meaning that the king, in this case, the emperor, had made a decision and an announcement. Luke then wonderfully juxtaposes that and holds that up against another decree that is made in the same chapter in verse 10, where another messenger brings a decree, an announcement. But this is a receiving of something truly remarkable.
The angel says to a bunch of shepherds in a field near Bethlehem, unto you is born this day in the city of David, a saviour. In other words, this is good news. A boy has been given for you. It means that He's going to offer something to us. His arrival is of benefit for you.
And if you are hesitant to raise your expectations too much, I mean, how were these shepherds meant to accept this sort of statement all of a sudden? This is a saviour for you. What framework did they have? What to be saved from? How were they to understand this?
If you were tempted as a shepherd to think, oh, come on. A saviour? As soon as that announcement is made, the Bible says the sky is filled with angels, and they cry out. They shout out, glory to God in the highest. Peace on earth, on whom all God's favour rests.
Think back to the announcements by angels in the Bible. Think back about those accounts, those moments in history where angels came to visit people to share news and make declarations. When do angels appear in the Bible? They appear at important points throughout scripture. As the story of God's unfolding salvation, His redemption plan is coming about, those are marked by angels.
They came to Mary, remember, a few months before. Then one came to Joseph a few months later. One comes to Joshua, the son of Nun, remember the predecessor of Moses. Just as they're about to enter the promised land at Jericho to take possession of the promised land. Two go to Sodom and Gomorrah where God gives His verdict on sin.
One comes to speak with Daniel in Babylon to give him hope about the restoration that will happen. But they all come in ones and twos, perhaps three. Three met with Abraham. God is sparing, in other words, at the opportunities of men and women to see and experience His heralds. But what do we find with the shepherds?
Thousands upon thousands of angels. It's as though the black tint of the night sky is peeled back and the sky is filled with light and there is glory filling the night sky, filled with voices, filled with noise and celebration. And even though the most often God sent angels came one by one, there are also instances very rare in the Bible, great and important moments, where the full angelic witness is also on display. According to the book of Job, at creation, the angels and the morning star sing together at the birth of creation. When Jacob, remember Jacob, is at Bethel and he sees the angels coming down those stairs from heaven, remember, ascending and descending.
Thousands upon thousands of angels. And then John, with his revelation at the end, sees the angels again as they usher in the new kingdom. There are moments that are just too good for one angel. And here at the birth of Jesus, we find another moment.
And I like to imagine it's as though the angels, they just can't hold back their excitement. And they're saying to the father, father send us. Let us go. Let us go and declare this. Let us go and celebrate and what You are doing right now.
Father, send us, allow us, please, to go and sing these praises. Allow us to announce this significant moment how good, good, how important, thousands upon thousands of angels saying the one thing, declaring glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to those on whom His favour rests. Why so many angels? Because this is really, really big news. But again, listen to the contrast of these royal announcements brought about by heralds.
One from king Caesar, one from king Jesus or about king Jesus. Luke recounts Caesar announcing a decree to all the world, i.e., the Roman Empire, to go back to their homes to be registered for taxes. No one escapes taxes. Through the angel, God tells the whole world. Through these angels, God tells the whole world peace has come to you.
Can you spot the difference? One is asking everyone to do something, to give more, to obey in order to please the Caesar. Meanwhile, the angels say, God's favour has come to rest on you. What a moving thought. The angels don't say glory to God and peace on earth to those on whom God approves of.
Peace to those who God is quite happy with, who have warranted this peace. The angels say, the glory goes to God, the peace comes to earth, and the glory goes to God and the peace comes to man because God is favourable. God is good. This announcement is one that required absolutely nothing from the earth. It is good news that will simply rest on mankind.
What does it mean for God's favour to rest on us? It means that God's loving kindness has simply been placed on us. Notice what mankind's role in this equation is. This is our only role. We are just the objects of that love.
We are just the recipients of it. That is our role. At no point is the statement made that mankind has been deemed worthy to receive God's favour. None of us have earned that favour. No.
The favour rests upon the earth because God is glorious. Because God is good. Friends, this great declaration, this great proclamation through the singing voices of the great choir of angels stands in direct contrast to what many of our friends understand Christmas to be. How many times will we hear this today? Perhaps in the past few weeks being asked at Christmas time.
In those Christmas time movies perhaps or by our coworkers, have you been a good boy? Have you been a good girl? How many times perhaps this morning or this afternoon when we share the lunches and we share the gifts, will that be asked before that gift has passed? Have you been a good boy? Well, when you hear that question, ask yourself today, have I been good?
And the Bible says, you haven't been. None of us have. Not one of those family members at the Christmas lunch, not one of those friends have been deemed worthy. God receives the glory, all of it at Christmas, because His favour has purely come to rest. The angels witness this.
They see it unfolding. They know that God the Father's will has been made, and they cannot help but marvel at how gracious this God is. So we see a royal declaration, the arrival of a king. Good news. But then we also see responses to that announcement.
Responses even to this king. And that's where we turn to Matthew's account and we read that this morning as well. We specifically find the detail of a very jealous king who does not want to share his throne. King Herod, the king of the Jewish people. In his egotistical madness, his deep, deep insecurity, Herod tries to stop at nothing to eradicate this threat to the throne.
His response, in other words, to the news of this king of peace is to try and kill him. He tries to trick the wise men into finding this boy for him and leading him straight to Jesus. God frustrates those plans. The wise men are warned in a dream to go around Herod not to tell Herod at all where the baby was. When Herod realises that he's being tricked, he flies into a rage and he orders that every boy under the age of two be killed in Bethlehem.
This is how king Herod responds to the king of peace. Meanwhile, king Herod is contrasted with other characters in the story. The shepherds. The shepherds leave their sheep to find Jesus in a manger. The shepherds who were entrusted to look after these sheep for their livelihood, leave the sheep to find Jesus.
In Luke's account, after Jesus is taken to the temple to be circumcised, which is a common practice for good Jews, Simeon, the old priest at the temple of Jerusalem sees Jesus, takes him in his arms, and prays a blessing over this boy that he knew was special. This is what he says, old man Simeon, I have now seen Your salvation, O God, a light of revelation to the Gentiles and glory for Your people Israel. And then all the while, we're also told how Mary responds to this news. Mary, it says, treasured all these things in her heart. Friends, many people over the past weeks and even today have received the good news with grateful receptive hearts.
There are people here this morning that are treasuring this news in their hearts, but there are also those and there will be those who will stop at nothing to reject this news. Why the sharp difference in responses? Why those two differences, those two responses? Because of this, Jesus Christ is king. It means that we no longer serve ourselves.
It means that we are no longer the king of this life. If Christ is king, then He is king and we are His subjects. Every year at this time, at a place called the Met Museum in New York, I don't know if you've been there before. At the Met, which is a museum of art, there is displayed beneath the great Christmas tree they have a beautiful eighteenth century nativity scene. An eighteenth century, seventeen hundreds nativity scene.
In many ways, it's very familiar. The usual characters are all there, shepherds roused from sleep by the voices of the angels, the exotic men from the East seeking a newborn king. Joseph is there, Mary, and of course, the baby Jesus. All are there, each figure an artistic marvel of wood, clay, and paint. There is however something surprising about this scene, something unexpected.
What is strange here is that the stable, the shepherds, the cradle are set, not in the expected small town of Bethlehem, but among the ruins of the mighty columns of Rome. The fragile manger is surrounded by broken and decaying columns. Why this change of scenery from the usual depictions? Because the artist knew the meaning of Christ's arrival. The gospel, the good news of the birth of God's new age meant the death of the old world.
The king Herods know somewhere in their hearts that God's presence in the world means the final end to their power. The Herods seek not to preserve the birth of God's new age, but to crush it, to stamp it out. For Herod, the gospel is news too bad to be endured. Something to be stopped and removed at all cost. And yet for people like Mary and Simeon, the shepherds and the wise men, this news is so good, they treasure it in their hearts.
What's the difference between these two types of people? The Herods and the Marys and the Shepherds and the Simeon's. It's the belief. It's the acceptance that Jesus was the saviour for them. That Jesus needed to be their saviour.
And friends, again, this morning we have to ask which one of them is us? If you're still sitting here this morning, somewhat ambivalent, somewhat neutral about this news that is said to be the greatest news the world will ever receive, I want to tell you that you're not in the category of the Marys or the Simeons or the Shepherds. Even if you are neutral about this, you are in the category of the don't care Herods, of the ignore at all cost Herods, of the stomp out as much as possible Herods. And for you, the arrival of Christ does not bring peace. It brings resentment.
It brings anger, and it means all out war with God. But I need to tell you this as well. Even if you find yourself in that place, I need to tell you that all of us at one point had the heart of Herod as well. Because at one point in all of our lives, even the longest lasting Christians here hated to give control over to the one true king. But I want to wrap up this morning with this amazing news and you need to hear it.
The baby arriving in Bethlehem to that royal decree announced by the angels. That baby who shepherds were told would be found in swaddling cloths, well that baby ended His life wrapped up in linen cloths in a tomb. Having taken on Himself your sin, your punishment in His body, the sins of the world poured out on Him. Why? So that He could be the saviour that you needed.
The king Herods need to die as rebels if they stand against the kingdom of the one true king. They are rebels in His kingdom. But listen to this. Instead of those Herods dying for their rebellion, when the king finally arrived, that very king died for the rebels. If you find yourself knowing that you need a saviour this morning, if a part of you just knows this needs to be for me, that you need the peace and the favour of God to rest on you.
Hear this good news. Christ has come to save you by taking away your rightful punishment. And so as we dwell on the gloriously great news of this morning of angels belting out chorus after chorus at the arrival of Jesus the king. As we overhear the shepherds told that to you is born a saviour. As we marvel at wise men finding a true king in an animal's feeding trough, as we dwell on the glorious news, remember that even the heartbreak of Bethlehem's tragedy, the terrifying reality of mothers and children dying in Bethlehem, that that was given its first ever opportunity of receiving true justice.
Jesus' arrival says that God is not okay with sin. Only the arrival of the true divine Son could overcome the hopelessness of this wretchedness of sin. This is surely the greatest news we will ever hear. And so tragedy of Bethlehem, the heartbreaking tragedy that it was, is not on par with the glory of what happened at Jesus' birth. Without Christ's arrival, tyrants and injustice would still take place, even as it does now.
But now, because of God's entrance into our chaos for the first time ever, we have hope because the king of peace has come. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we are moved hearing and reflecting and seeing again what You have done for us in Jesus Christ. We thank You that He has come. And we can only thank You because there is nothing in us to say that was worthwhile to say You did the right thing.
There is nothing in us to have any claim to deserving this great gift. It is only because of Your favour that this peace rests on us. Lord, I wanna pray for those this morning who are needing to dedicate their lives to You again. Lord, even as we speak, even as I pray, will You work in their hearts confirming to them this truth, allowing them to receive it as truth for them. And Lord, let them live lives of repentance and turning away from their rebellion to worship and honour and know You as the one true king.
Father, as we celebrate the rest of this day with our family and friends, help us to enjoy it fully and thoroughly. Thank You, Lord, that we can do this because we are celebrating You. But help us also to remember with humble hearts, with just a moment of quiet, just how utterly thankful, grateful we are. We give You the glory, glory in the highest that on earth there is peace. Amen.