“Many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh; any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist! Be on your guard, so that you do not lose what we have worked for, but may receive a full reward. Everyone who does not abide in the teaching of Christ, but goes beyond it, does not have God; whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. Do not receive into the house or welcome anyone who comes to you and does not bring this teaching; for to welcome is to participate in the evil deeds of such a person.” 2 John 1:7 – 11

“Many deceivers have gone out into the world”

As Lutherans we believe that Christ is both human and divine. Period. Jesus was both — a man and G-d. Jesus was not “like” G-d, but he was is and will continue to be the incarnate G-d, Emmanuel, G-d with us. There are deceivers who will try to convince people otherwise, which is why we must share the Gospel with those we know and love.

Christmas Day has come and gone – we have gazed on the splendor of the baby born in a manger. Now the lessons in the weeks to come will focus on the fact that Christ was born to human parents, came in the manner of every human, and they will partake in the rituals expected of new parents. This is how G-d chose to reveal G-d’s self to the world. G-d could have come in a divine manner, to royal parents, or the elites of Rome or Israel. But this was not the case.

Origen of Alexandria writes, “So did the Son of G-d divest Himself of His equality with the Father and show us the way to the knowledge of Him who is made the express image of His person…”

If Jesus was only divine, only appearing to be human, then the events of his life and his death through crucifixion lose their power. If he only appears to be one of us, then he does not truly understand my suffering, my loss, my despair, and my hurt. But if he is fully human as well as fully divine, then he understands, fully, my hurts and my fears. Jesus is my Savior who was not “Like” G-d — he is not “Like” you and me – Jesus is both, fully human and fully divine. This fact brings me hope and comfort to live each and every day in the very presence of the G-d-head.

Pastor Dave

“Now after they had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up, 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.” Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went to Egypt, and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet, “Out of Egypt I have called my son.” When Herod saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, he was infuriated, and he sent and killed all the children in and around Bethlehem who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had learned from the wise men. Then was fulfilled what had been spoken through the prophet Jeremiah: “A voice was heard in Ramah, wailing and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be consoled, because they are no more.” Matthew 2:13 – 18

“The mothers of Bethlehem that evening fed porridge to their children, rocked the cradles, and went to sleep themselves without a care. The next morning there was not a household in Bethlehem in which there was not one child dead, or two or three. The children were taken straight to heaven as blessed martyrs, but what about the parents who would not be comforted? They did not understand….” (A Christian sermon translated by Roland H. Bainton, Martin Luther (1483 – 1546), “For All The Saints” volume III, p. 152 – 153)

It is hard for us to understand what is passed down to us as the story of the “slaughter of the innocents”. Herod’s paranoia led him to make the decision to kill those children in and around Bethlehem. But Herod the coward did not carry the act out himself. Matthew notes that Herod “sent and killed” those children. Those who were sent by Herod to carry out these acts are not even identified. These nameless, voiceless individuals are absent from the story. Who were these people sent by Herod to kill the innocent children of Bethlehem? Most likely they were soldiers. Herod did have Roman soldiers under his command earlier in his career. By the time of Jesus’ birth, he may have only had soldiers who were from Judea, with perhaps a small number of foreign soldiers at his disposal. These soldiers, locals now mind you, made their way to Bethlehem with clear orders: kill every male child two years of age and younger. Can we imagine walking that journey — walking alongside those soldiers, knowing what we had to do, and what might happen to us, and perhaps our family, if we failed to carry out the order?

The story of the history of our planet tells us over and over again that people often will do inhumane things to others simply because someone who they perceive to be an authority figure tells them to do it. Germans who carried out the atrocities of the Holocaust, soldiers who participated in the My Lai massacre during the Viet Nam war are just two contemporary acts of such atrocities. These stories remind us that we may be able to judge others and say “How could they have done such and such?” – but until we are faced with the same circumstances, we may not know how we will act or react.

We are called to be “workers for the kingdom.” We pray that our faith and our trust in G-d’s love will enable us to keep our perspective and be people of mercy and grace.

Pastor Dave