God’s ultimate demonstration of love for us, in delivering us miraculously, is seen in Jesus.   ~~~   Christmas is not, will not be, the happiest season for everyone this year. For some this year it might be the first Christmas without a loved one. For some, Christmas is a reminder of poverty, or an abusive husband, or an alcoholic father, or a cold-hearted mother. It’s the reminder of a prodigal child who is yet to return home. It is a reminder of poor decisions made in the past with the consequences of loneliness during seasons like this. For some of you, Christmas is a painful reminder of sin and shame in your life. You may not have a family to gather with because of sinful choices you made in the past, and you wonder of you it is even possible to be delivered from stain and shame of sin. The truth is that at one time or another, we have all been chained in the prison of sin. If you will remember, the wise men have just met Jesus as a baby child, worshiped him, and headed back home. They were supposed to go back to a King named Herod and inform him of where the baby born King of the Jews was located, but they were redirected by God. And God, here in our text, directs Joseph, the baby’s father, to take Jesus and the family into Egypt in order to keep the baby protected from Herod’s evil scheme. And then the Holy Spirit through Matthew says in 2:15, “This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken through the prophet, ‘Out of Egypt I have called my son.” This is seems strange. What is going on here? The quote is taken from an OT prophet named Hosea. But why did Hosea mention this? In order to know that answer, we need to know the context of Hosea. Hosea is the true story of a man who marries a woman who will not be faithful to him. She abandons her husband, along with her children, in order to pursue the lifestyle of a prostitute. And after years of this lifestyle, she ends up in a brothel of sorts, on the auction block. And to her surprise, who is in the audience but her husband, Hosea, who is the highest bidder, purchases his own wife out of slavery, takes her home and loves her unconditionally. God puts this true account into motion to demonstrate to his children, Israel, his unfading love for them. They are the unfaithful wife, and God is the compassionate, patient husband who will not abandon his people. And to remind them of his unconditional love, Hosea speaks for God and says, “When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.” God is reminding His people that he has been faithful to them from the beginning. When they were imprisoned, under the rule of a cruel leader, when they were prisoners in chains, God miraculously delivered them. Egypt was a picture of the world system, the prison of sin, that no matter how hard they tried, they could not break free from those shackles. It was going to take a miracle to deliver them, and that is just what God did. And He called them out of Egypt. But all of that served as a picture, Matthew says. There was a greater fulfillment hidden in that reality that can now be seen in Jesus. There is a new and greater exodus that will occur, and it will be led by Jesus. He is the one who can set you free from the shackles of sin. God’s ultimate demonstration of love for us, in delivering us miraculously, is seen in Jesus.