Episode Details

Implications of Image: Part III

Abortion and Birth Technology; 12/31/2023; Remsen Bible Fellowship

Introduction

In Matthew 2:12-18, directly after the Christmas story, we read of a devastating set of circumstances. The wise men, or Magi, had searched out the Christ child. Upon leaving Herod’s court, they had been instructed to bring news of the child back to him. But God had other plans.

12 And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.

13 Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” 14 And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt 15 and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt I called my son.”

16 Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men. 17 Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah:

18 “A voice was heard in Ramah,

weeping and loud lamentation,

Rachel weeping for her children;

she refused to be comforted, because they are no more.”

Herod felt as if he’d been “had” by the wise men. In his fury, instead of searching for the One Child himself, he decided to just play it safe: kill all the baby boys in Bethlehem and the surrounding region. This is a heartbreaking scene to read. Now imagine living it as a parent, sibling, or other family member.

But why does this scene break our hearts? Herod’s hatred obviously seems pretty bad, but why should we care if a child dies?

The topics we touch on this morning could well be sensitive - they are certainly sensitive in nature - and could be especially so for you. I don’t know everyone’s story here. My aim in this sermon, as every week, is to help you think through things with God’s perspective as he gives it to us in the Scriptures. If these things lead you to further questions, or concerns, I always welcome those conversations. We want to be guided by God’s word: not our emotions, nor our mere human thoughts (mine, yours, or anyone else’s). We will all pass away like grass, but the word of the Lord abides forever. We do well to bring our lives into conformity with what it says.

Abortion

The ancient world considered the practices of abortion and infanticide to be normal. Even Judaism had conflicts about whether abortion was morally permissible, though infanticide was clearly seen as a violation of the sixth commandment, “you shall not murder” (Exodus 20:13).

We, like the ancients, live in a day and society where abortion is seen as morally acceptable. Unlike the ancients, we also live in a time when you can readily access providers and pills to make ending the life of an unborn child relatively easy. We also have so-called moral philosophers like Peter Singer arguing that infanticide should be acceptable as well, considering the fact that infants are dependant upon others, don’t yet have an independent sense of personhood, and cannot provide for themselves. That’s pretty hard to argue with, isn’t it?

Well, not really. As we discussed a couple of weeks ago, the value and dignity of the human person is not determined by your abilities or capacities. It comes from being made in the image of God. There is dignity and value inherent in simply being a human. Genesis 1:27 says, “in the image of God he created him, male and female he created them.” This is true of every person who has ever existed. The implication is fleshed ou