Well, the Kings did find Jesus and then received a heavenly message
to skip Jerusalem on the way home. Joseph had a visitation by the same
angel and packed up his family and headed for Egypt.
Herod was furious! He wanted to be the only king, so he sent out an edict
to kill all baby boys two years and under who lived in Bethlehem or in
the surrounding area.
“Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah:
‘A voice was heard in Ramah,
Weeping and loud lamentation,
Rachel weeping for her children;
She refused to be comforted, because
They were no more.’” (Matthew 2:18)
Jesus comes to bring peace, but the first major event after his birth
is the slaughter of the children; blood flows. It was incomprehensible then.
It is incomprehensible now. “How can a good God allow...?”
Well, God protected His son, but what about all of those innocent babies?
Jesus escaped scott free--or did He? He lived only to die a gruesome death
on a cross some 30 years later. He too, was innocent.
John the Baptist sums it up with this cry:
“...Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” (John 1:29)
I cannot fully partake of the Christmas story without looking at the cross.
From the very beginning of the story we encounter evil, sin, blood and tears.
Really, the story, the whole story, is incomprehensible.
Read a Christmas Story: The Redeeming Power of God
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