Suffering and Deliverance (Part 37) - Jesus (Part A)

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30. Jesus as a baby A. Some time after Jesus' birth, but prior to Him being two years old, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem to worship Him (Mat 2:1-2). B. When King Herod found out about the King of the Jews being born he was troubled (Mat 2:3). C. After consulting with the chief priests and scribes and learning that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem, he sent the wise men there and told them that when they found him to bring him word so that he also could worship Him (Mat 2:4-8). D. They went to the house where Jesus was staying and worshipped Him and gave Him gifts (Mat 2:9-11). E. God warned them in a dream to not return to Herod and to instead go home another way (Mat 2:12). F. God then warned Joseph in a dream to take Jesus and Mary down into Egypt until the death of Herod because he would seek to destroy Jesus (Mat 2:13). G. Joseph did as God told him and kept Jesus in Egypt until after the death of Herod (Mat 2:14-15). H. When Herod found out what the wise men did, he ordered all the boys two years old and under in Bethlehem and the surrounding areas to be killed (Mat 2:16-18). I. After Herod died, God told Joseph in a dream to bring Jesus and Mary back into the land of Israel (Mat 2:19-21). J. Joseph was afraid when he learned that Herod's son was reigning in his place, so, being warned of God again in a dream, he went into Galilee and dwelt in Nazareth (Mat 2:22-23). K. Jesus was delivered from death through the providence of God when He was a little, defenseless child. L. There are some lessons we can learn from this. i. Even good and godly people will face great trials and danger. ii. Sometimes our trials will begin at a very young age when we are helpless to defend ourselves. iii. Great troubles often come on the heels of great blessings. iv. Sometimes envious and wicked rulers will conspire to destroy the people of God, but God is well able to protect them. v. God can providentially deliver us from harm or death which we didn't know was coming and could have done nothing to prevent. vi. God can provide means for poor, powerless people to escape a perilous situation. vii. God can use unlikely people or places to deliver His children. viii. God can protect us in the midst of a very dangerous political climate. 31. Jesus from His enemies' 19 attempts to kill Him A. In Jesus' first public sermon He reproved the Jews for not receiving Him as the Messiah who was prophesied in their scriptures (Luk 4:16-24). i. He gave them two examples of faithful Gentiles whom God had shown mercy to instead of Israelites (Luk 4:25-27). ii. This kindled their wrath and they tried to kill Him by casting Him headlong off the edge of a cliff (Luk 4:28-29). iii. Jesus passed through the midst of them and got away (Luk 4:30). iv. There is a time to flee (Mat 10:23). B. After Jesus healed a man with a withered hand on the sabbath day the Pharisees held a council with the Herodians to plan how to destroy Him (Mat 12:10-14 c/w Mar 3:6). i. When Jesus knew of the conspiracy, He withdrew Himself from that place (Mat 12:15; Mar 3:7). ii. There is a time to flee. C. According to the Pharisees, Herod sought to kill Jesus (Luk 13:31). i. Jesus knew His time was not yet come, and therefore He was not worried about Herod's designs (Luk 13:32-33). ii. Neither should we fret about the potential threats we face. D. When Jesus healed an impotent man on the Sabbath who had been unable to walk for 38 years, the Jews persecuted Him and sought to slay Him (Joh 5:5-9, 16). i. They were not able to carry out their plans at this time. ii. It was not yet Jesus' time to die. E. Jesus defended His healing of the impotent man by saying that He was working just like His Father worked (Joh 5:17). i. The Jews sought to kill Him again because He claimed God was His Father, making Himself equal with God (Joh 5:18). ii. Jesus was not afraid of their murderous intent, but rather rebuked them for their unbelief (Joh 5:38-47). F. After Jesus had preached some hard sayings to the people in John 6, He remained in Galilee for a while and stayed away from Jewry because the Jews sought to kill him (Joh 7:1). i. This was a time to lay low, not to antagonize His enemies. ii. There is a time to be confrontational, but not every time. iii. Jesus later went back down to Judea and disputed with the Jews and exposed their design to kill Him (Joh 7:19). a. Like typical lying cowards, then denied the accusation (Joh 7:20). b. Everyone knew of their wicked plot though (Joh 7:25). iv. Jesus later again exposed their plan to kill Him (Joh 8:37-40). G. Jesus told the Jews that they didn't know the Father who had sent Him (Joh 7:28-29). i. For this they again tried to take Him to kill Him, but they were not able because His hour was not yet come to be crucified (Joh 7:30). ii. God was turning their hearts like a river of water to accomplish His will (Pro 21:1). H. When the Pharisees heard that many of the people believed on Jesus, they and the chief priests sent officers to take Him (Joh 7:31-32). i. After listening to Jesus speak like no other man they had ever met, the officers returned to the chief priests and Pharisees without Jesus (Joh 7:45-46). ii. The proud Pharisees berated them, accusing them of being deceived (Joh 7:47-49). iii. Jesus again had been delivered out of their hands by God.