CHRISTMAS INTERLUDE

God’s Protections At Christmas

Part IV: God’s Protection From Selfish Leaders

(Matthew 2:19-23)

Introduction: (To show the need . . . )

Gaining protection from selfish leaders is every citizen’s concern:

(1) It occurs in the political realm: (a) Christopher Lasch’s 1995 “book, ‘The Revolt of the Elites and the Betrayal of Democracy,’ noted that as decision-making power was concentrated in the hands of a relatively small number of credentialed ‘elites,’ American politics became characterized not by concern for practical outcomes, but by the self-serving ideals of a narcissistic expert class . . . who couldn’t care less about whether their policy prescriptions actually help the people . . .” (“Moral posturing on homelessness,” Republican-American, December 1, 2025, p. A6) As a result, Wall Street Journal reporter John McCormick recently wrote that “‘Americans are deeply frustrated with their government’s inability to solve problems.’” (John McCormick, “Americans See a Government That Can’t Solve Their Problems,” November 8, 2025, wsj.com as cited in msn.com) (b) One illustration of this issue was is the failed oversight of Medicaid: “Americans” are “concerned about rising incidence of autism” and “part of this apparent epidemic can be attributed to evolving diagnostic standards . . . ‘Before the 1990s, medical science determined that a child either was autistic or he wasn’t. Today, a vastly larger population of children is ‘on the spectrum,’” so “autism diagnoses have risen 300% in the past 20 years . . . (But) (n)ew data suggest another explanation . . . (that) ‘Medicaid pays health care providers big bucks to diagnose and treat children with autism . . . Wall Street Journal columnist Allysia Finley wrote Dec. 7 . . . (She) added, ‘Many lower-income kids are labeled autistic merely because they have behavioral or developmental problems.’ Could it be that most, or . . . all, of the fearmongering and conspiracy-theorizing that have intruded on autism research and reporting comes down to . . . Medicaid fraud? . . . (T)he findings described by Ms. Finley . . . have led honest parents down the wrong paths in managing behavioral problems and . . . disabilities in their children . . . (and) researchers down dry holes in attempts to get to the root of a medical problem . . . (a)ll to the benefit of people who want to steal money from inadequately overseen government programs.” (“Autism programs need oversight,” op. cit., December 13, 2025, p. A6) (c) Abuses in government social programs is another issue: “America’s biggest, most distortionary transfer of wealth . . . flows from the relatively young and poor to the relatively old and wealthy. It’s the . . . largest driver of our government debt and the quiet engine behind the malaise of Millennials and Gen Z . . . Treating every elderly person, no matter how well-off, as a member of a protected class entitled to increasingly unaffordable benefits will eventually destroy a system that progressives in particular cherish . . . Social insurance programs are compatible with a basic safety net,” and some people truly need them, “but what we have now is a slow-motion generational fleecing.” (Veronique de Rugy, “The quiet engine behind Gen Z and Millennial malaise,” op. cit., December 20, 2025, p. A6)

(2) It occurs in the business realm: A recorded interview by radio host Gary Byron on the December 26^th “The Talk of Connecticut” show featured an expert who stated that all of America’s largest companies intentionally let their customer service departments not function well in hope that customers will put up with their imperfect services and products instead of taking their business elsewhere! Company heads think customers will be uninhibited enough in their buying habits to keep falling for their alluring marketing schemes regardless of the quality of what they sell!

Need: So we ask, “With our concerns over protection from selfish leaders, what does God advise?”

I. When God told Joseph to take his family and return from Egypt to Israel, he faced selfish leaders in Israel whose conduct created a high-risk environment for his family:

A. Infighting marked King Herod’s family, so he changed his will six times, the sixth one being formed five days before he died in poor health and before he got Caesar’s required approval. (Z. P. E. B., v. Three, p. 137-138)

B. Herod’s fifth will gave his youngest son Antipas the throne where an elder son Archelaus was given the throne in the sixth, unapproved will, so each son went to Rome to argue before Caesar his reason to be king, Ibid.

C. Caesar decided that Antipas would be tetrarch over Galilee and Perea, that Herod’s son, Philip would be tetrarch over Gaulanitis, Trachonitis, Batanea and Paneas and that Archelaus would be ethnarch over Judea, Samaria and Idumea “with the promise to be made king if he proved capable of that position,” Ibid.

D. However, just before Archelaus left Israel for Rome, he had assumed rule of Jerusalem and crushed a revolt that erupted over Herod’s past burning alive of two rabbis who opposed the image of an eagle Herod had put over a Temple gate. Archelaus slew 3,000 Jews to prevent more unrest at the coming Passover. However, when Archelaus was in Rome, riots erupted over his slaying of the 3,000, with the Temple porticos being burned, Roman soldiers looting the Temple treasury and the spread of the unrest to the countryside, Ibid.

E. Archelaus then returned from Rome driven by Caesar’s charge to prove himself worthy of becoming king.

F. This motivation coupled with pressure from his competitive brothers Antipas and Philip to prove himself effective lest they complain to Caesar about him to try to get Caesar to make themselves king, Archelaus used violence and cruelty to control his revolting subjects, treating both Jews and Samaritans with brutality, Ibid.

G. It was at this dangerous time in Judaea that God in Matthew 2:19-21 told Joseph to return to the land of Israel.

II. In view of the selfishness and power of these three competing sons of former King Herod, when God told Joseph to return to Israel, Joseph exhibited cautious wisdom in dealing with these leaders:

A. First, Joseph obeyed the Lord by waiting for God to guide him: in Matthew 2:13, the angel had told Joseph to flee with his family to Egypt and to stay there until he gave Joseph further instruction. Joseph had done what the angel had said in fleeing to Egypt and staying there until the angel brought him word again, Matthew 2:19.

B. Second, Joseph relied on divine precedent: The angel had told Joseph to take Mary and Jesus and flee into Egypt, and his message that they return gave the similar content of Joseph’s taking Mary and Jesus and going to Israel, Matt. 2:13, 20. The content of the first message confirmed the content of the second message.

C. Third, in being confronted with a possible exposure to selfish official Archelaus’ cruel, dangerous reign, Joseph paused in his travel long enough for God to direct him as to where he was to settle in Israel:

1. Joseph and his family traveled to Israel along the Mediterranean seacoast road, the shortest route to Israel. (MacMillan Bible Atlas, 1968, Map 226: “The Return from Egypt; The Boy Jesus in the Temple,” p. 142)

2. However, in reaching Gaza on that road, Joseph would have heard of Archelaus’ cruelty inland in Judaea, and though Joseph knew that Micah 5:2 foretold that Jesus as Messiah would be from Bethlehem, he was reluctant to take his family east uphill to settle in Bethlehem just 7 miles south of Archelaus’ Jerusalem.

3. Thus, Joseph stopped traveling long enough for God’s angel to clarify where he was to settle in Israel!

D. Fourth, in heeding God’s angel who warned Joseph about settling in Archelaus’ realm, Joseph cautiously took refuge from Archelaus’ realm in Judaea by settling in his original hometown of Nazareth in Galilee:

1. The angel warned Joseph in a dream to avoid Archelaus’ realm, so he literally “took refuge” (anachoreo, Arndt & Gingrich, A Grk.-Eng. Lex. of the N. T., 1967, p. 62-63) by traveling north along the coast road before cutting inland to head northeast to his hometown of Nazareth, Matthew 2:22-23; Luke 2:4; Ibid.

2. Joseph’s family thus settled in Antipas’ fairly peaceful realm to escape life under brutal Archelaus.

Lesson: When Joseph faced powerful, selfish leaders whose actions created a high-risk environment for his family, he cautiously and closely followed God’s guidance at every step he took.

Application: (1) May we trust in Christ Who died as our Atoning Sacrifice for sin that we might receive God’s gift of eternal life, John 3:16; 1 Corinthians 15:1-11. (2) If facing powerful, selfish leaders whose actions create a high-risk environment, may we cautiously, closely follow God’s guidance in every step we take.

Conclusion: (To illustrate the message and/or provide additional guidance . . . )

Since the challenge we face with selfish leaders is their preoccupation with promoting their own agendas without considering how their actions affect the welfare of their subjects or consumers, we are left best functioning as independently as we can of such leaders. We apply this concept to the issues in our introduction:

(1) In contrast to self-serving elites, we need to do the opposite – to contribute to society by paying attention to the effects of our own actions on other people and adjust as necessary best to edify other people. (Proverbs 11:26 NIV: “People curse the one who hoards grain, but they pray God’s blessing on the one who is willing to sell.”)

(2) In response to self-serving elites in the government who fail to administer proper leadership over Medicaid with its resulting alleged fraud, we must address as much of our own health needs as we can to minimize our exposure to government health care (1 Timothy 5:23; 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12).

(3) In contrast to self-serving government leaders whose social programs are badly mishandled, we must work for our own livelihoods and oversee our own financial affairs to avoid being in need (1 Thess. 4:11-12; Eccl. 11:1-6).

(4) In contrast to self-serving business leaders who give poor customer service in hope that consumers will keep falling for their alluring marketing schemes and keep buying from them, Hosea 12:7 warned of merchants who love to defraud their customers. We need to be careful as consumers as to what we buy, and from where we buy it.

May we trust in Christ Who died as our Atoning Sacrifice for sin that we might receive God’s gift of eternal life. In facing powerful, selfish leaders, may we cautiously, closely follow God’s guidance.