December 19

Death row
Matthew 2:13

Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him.”

Death row is a special section of a prison where prisoners who were convicted of capital offences are housed while awaiting execution. Of course, the way that the judicial system works, you could be on death row for years while appeals are heard, and other legal procedures are taking place. So, inmates on death row wake up every morning, go through every day, then go to bed each night knowing that death at the hand of the executioner awaits them.

In modern and progressive societies there are movements away from the death penalty, with some countries having already abolished it all together. In many countries, the death penalty remains but research and development has focused on less and less cruel methods of execution.

In ancient and primitive times, the death penalty flourished, and there was no thought given to public opinion or methods to reduce cruelty. In fact, the opposite might be true, that more and more cruel methods were sought.

Today, many who are against the death penalty argue that just being on death row is a form of mental cruelty. The long-term isolation and uncertainty over one’s fate, they believe, is likely to cause mental illness. Some research suggests that some death row inmates are already mentally ill, and many attempt suicide.

Most of us don’t know what it’s like to be living under a death sentence, certainly not in the judicial sense. A small few of us, on account of medical conditions, might have a sense of what it’s like living knowing that death is imminent. In these cases, we try our best to work on diet and exercise and meds to hold off the inevitable as long as possible.

An even smaller few persons born in the world are born under a death sentence. Medical science now allows us to determine the medical condition of a newborn, and that science could determine life expectancy. As a matter of fact, that science can determine the viability of a fetus in the womb and the chance of a good life for the child that would be born.

Jesus was born before all this science and before any thought was given to progressive approaches to the death penalty, but He was born to death row, condemned to die at birth. Well, to be technically and theologically correct, He was condemned to die before He was born.

The first time we were made aware of this was all the way back in Genesis. We could argue about whether it was clearly understood at the time. “And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel.” Genesis 3:15.

But let’s skip all the way to the New Testament where the action is at an obvious high point. Once we get into the birth narratives in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, we get the sense that someone is after Jesus’ life.

Herod attempted to execute the death sentence and entered into negotiations with the wise men in the hope of getting his hand on the child. “Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also.” Matthew 2:7,8. That failed because, “being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way.” Matthew 2:12.

When that plot failed and Joseph took his family away from the executioner’s sword to safety in Egypt, countless young boys were collateral damage of the bloody massacre of the innocents. “Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men.” Matthew 2:16.

Any focus on the birth of Jesus must be a sober mix of joy and deep reflection. In most Nativity displays (and in Church Christmas presentations) the ‘three’ wise men are often included with shepherds looking at the baby in his mother’s arms, on in a box of hay, with Joseph standing nearby. We have to remember that such displays and presentations are art not truth. Worship and adoration from the shepherds on the night of His birth is combined with the much later worship and adoration from the wise men as a matter of convenience.

But if we take a lesson from these displays, it should give us the balance that we need. Here are the two passages that show the balance:

Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” Luke 2:10-14.

And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Matthew 2:11.

There is “Joy to the world” and there is an angelic choir singing “Gloria in excelsis Deo” but the sentence of death is never far away because the wise men who came from far brough it near with the gift of myrrh.

If you know your Bible well you know that Jesus lived with that death sentence over His life for all of His life until it was finally carried out by a combination of the Jewish leadership and the Roman authorities. Don’t let anything cause you to ever forget that in the middle of any celebrations.

Think on these things:

1. Is there anything in your life like a death sentence?
2. Do you know anyone who has lived with a death sentence from sickness, how did they handle it?
3. Do you think that there is any way to not lose sight of Jesus’ death while celebrating His birth?

Prayer focus:

Let us pray today that we would appreciate being taken off death row and work to help others find their way off.
In His Grace

Pastor Alex