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.”
19 But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, 20 saying, “Rise, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the child’s life are dead.” 21 And he rose and took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there, and being warned in a dream he withdrew to the district of Galilee. 23 And he went and lived in a city called Nazareth, so that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled, that he would be called a Nazarene. (Matthew 2:13–23, ESV)
Events today:
- Jesus' family flees to Egypt.
- Herod massacres innocent children in Bethlehem.
- Jesus' family returns to Nazareth.
Map
- Highlight Bethlehem, Egypt, Judea, Galilee, and Nazareth.
Scripture Quotations
- Matthew referenced Hosea, Jeremiah, and other prophets in this passage. Matthew's three Old Testament references help us get his message about who King Jesus is.
- Matthew saw these passages fulfilled in Jesus (2:15, 18, 23).
Jesus is Our True Exodus (2:13-15)
What happened?
- After the departure of the wise men, Joseph experienced another divine dream (2:13).
- Joseph had four divine dreams meant to guide his steps—this is the second.
- God told him to flee to Egypt, over eighty miles away, with the child and his mother because Herod (not called king) was going to search for the child, to destroy him (2:13).
- Under the cover of night, Joseph took his small family to Egypt, a place totally outside Herod's jurisdiction (2:14).
- We don't know with certainty where they went in Egypt, but Alexandria, a bustling metropolis at the time of Christ, housed almost one million Jews at that time.
- One would imagine the gold, frankincense, and myrrh helped fund their brief stay in Egypt.
- They remained there for somewhere between a few months and two years, until the death of Herod (2:15).
- Herod died in 4 BC.
- Jesus was born sometime between 7-5 BC, and fled to Egypt when he was no longer a baby lying in a manger, but a child in a house.
- Note: Jesus was a refugee.
- Vulnerable: he is the King-Messiah, but totally dependent upon Joseph and subject to Herod's whims.
Matthew saw this as a fulfillment of Scripture.
The Scripture:
When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. (Hosea 11:1, ESV)
Jesus mimicked the patriarchs by escaping to Egypt.
- Abraham: famine (Gen. 12:10).
- Isaac: the Lord told him not to go during his famine (Gen. 26:1-2).
- Joseph: sold into slavery (Gen. 37 ff.).
- Israel/Jacob and Sons: during famine (Gen. 46:5-7).
And then he mimicked Israel by leaving Egypt.
- So that, "out of Egypt I called my son."
- Israel was called Yahweh's firstborn son (Ex. 4:22).
- Jesus is the Son of God.
Matthew said Jesus' movements fulfilled Scripture.
- Just as the patriarchs and the nation Israel went down into Egypt and were later delivered, Jesus goes to Egypt and is called back.
- The true Son—true Israel—is revealed in Jesus!
- Exodus from Egypt vs. Exodus from Sin
- Red Sea vs. Immersion into Christ
- Passover Lamb vs. Fulfilled Passover Lamb
- Pharaoh vs. Sin and Death
- Law on Tablets vs. New Law on Hearts
- Promised Land vs. Spiritual Rest in Christ
- Kingdom of Priests to the nations vs. Priesthood of Believers to all nations
When humanity failed, Israel was recruited to show the way of salvation to humanity. When Israel failed, Jesus of Nazareth, a true Israelite, succeeded.
Of course, God has a further purpose for racial Israel.
God's calling is irrevocable (Rom. 11:29).
I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means! (Romans 11:1, ESV)
For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. (Romans 11:29, ESV)
A future national salvation.
Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. (Romans 11:25, ESV)
But Jesus is the fulfillment of what Israel was meant to be.
- The obedient Son.
- The True Vine.
- The ultimate seed of Abraham.
So Jesus is our true exodus!
Jesus is Our Real Return from Exile (2:16-18)
What happened?
- Herod, who, again, is no longer referred to as king in Matthew's gospel, became furious when he realized he had been tricked by the wise men (2:16).
- Going backward from the time he had ascertained from the wise men, Herod determined to kill all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under (2:16).
- Given the size of Bethlehem and its vicinity at that time, scholars approximate that ten to thirty boys would have died in this gruesome and grievous murder.
- Insane—Herod is a display of human nature under sin's power in resistance to God.
Matthew saw this as a fulfillment of Scripture.
The Scripture:
Thus says the Lord: “A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping. Rachel is weeping for her children; she refuses to be comforted for her children, because they are no more.” (Jeremiah 31:15, ESV)
- Rachel: matriarch of Israel, buried near Bethlehem.
- Ramah: place where Nebuchadnezzar gathered Judean captives before taking them into Babylonian exile.
- Jeremiah depicted Rachel, the symbolic mother of the nation, mourning her exiled children.
Matthew shows how that ancestral grief repeated itself in that same region in Jesus' day.
- This mourning was an echo—Herod tried to eliminate the Messiah just as earlier foreign powers had tried to wipe out God's people.
Jeremiah went on, in that same passage and prophecy, to speak of a new covenant (Jeremiah 31:31-34).
Elements of this new covenant:
- Law within his people.
- Written on their hearts.
- Everyone will know him.
- Total forgiveness.
Something good was coming!
- But their return was not as bright as Jeremiah depicted.
- Political subjugation
- Lesser temple
- No glory of God
- Incomplete gathering of tribes
- But their return was not as bright as Jeremiah depicted.
Something good is still coming!
Haggai addressed the disappointment with the second temple.
“The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former,” says the Lord of hosts. “And in this place I will give peace,” declares the Lord of hosts. (Haggai 2:9, ESV)
The greater glory has arrived.
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14, ESV)
When the first exile ended, Israel never regained its former glory. Their return remained incomplete until the glory of the Lord returned in Christ Jesus.
The return from exile was a crucial step, but it was incomplete until the true Glory of God, Jesus Christ, entered human history and inaugurated the spiritual kingdom of God.
Jesus is Our Humble Servant (2:19-23)
What happened?
- While Jesus and his family were in Egypt, Herod died, prompting an angel of the Lord to appear in a dream to Joseph, announcing to him that it was safe to return to Israel (19-20). Joseph, entirely on brand, did as the angel commanded.
- Upon returning, he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judah in place of his father Herod (22).
- Herod made a late change to his will before his death, splitting his kingdom into three parts to three sons, Archelaus, Antipas, and Philip. Archelaus was cruel and ruthless like his father.
- Joseph feared this situation, but was warned in another dream to withdraw to the district of Galilee, settling in a small city called Nazareth (22-23).
- Luke tells us Mary and Joseph started out in Nazareth (Luke 2:4).
- Perhaps they returned to their prior home.
- Nazareth is about twenty-five mountainous miles away from Capernaum on a trade road called The Way Of The Sea. The route climbs from the coast of the Mediterranean up the hills near Nazareth, and back down into Galilee. Along that path was this little, out-of-the-way, town that had been hacked into the region's rocky hillside. Through archeology and historical records, it appears only around a few hundred people lived there during the time of Christ. Never referenced in the Old Testament, and barely mentioned in history, Nazareth was a forgotten place.
Matthew saw this as a fulfillment of Scripture.
Matthew made two subtle shifts when he (1) abstained from quoting a direct Old Testament source and (2) declared the prophets (plural) had spoken that the Messiah would be called a Nazarene (2:23).
- These shifts are important to note because it is hard to find the specific prophecy Matthew referenced.
Interpretive options:
- The Messiah would be from Branchtown.
The Hebrew word neser means "branch" or "shoot."
This connects with Isaiah's prophecy about the Messiah:
There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. (Isaiah 11:1, ESV)
The Messiah would be from Branchtown.
- The Messiah would be lowly and despised.
Perhaps Matthew used "Nazarene" as slang for contempt; He would be from a backwoods, forgotten, inconsequential town.
Perhaps Matthew thought this caught the general mood of the collective prophets.
Psalms 22:1, 6-8 — My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?... But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by everyone, despised by the people. All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads.
Psalm 69:4
They gave me poison for food, and for my thirst they gave me sour wine to drink. (Psalm 69:21, ESV)
More in number than the hairs of my head are those who hate me without cause; mighty are those who would destroy me, those who attack me with lies. (Psalm 69:4, ESV)
Zechariah 9:9 — lowly and riding on a donkey.
Isaiah 11:1 — from the stump of Jesse.
Isaiah 42:1-4 — a bruised reed he will not break, a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.
Isaiah 50:6 — I gave my back to those who strike, and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard.
Isaiah 53:2 — no beauty or majesty.
Isaiah 53:7 — He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.
While Israel waited for a conquering King, Jesus came as a humble servant.
- Early Christians were called "the sect of the Nazarenes" (Acts 24:5).
Conclusion
- Jesus is
- Our true exodus...
- Our real return...
- Our humble servant...
Study Questions (Matthew 2:13-23)
Head (Knowledge & Understanding)
- This passage contains three "fulfillment" formulas where Matthew references the Old Testament (Matthew 2:15, 17-18, 23). What were the original contexts of the prophecies from Hosea and Jeremiah, and how does Matthew apply them to the life of Jesus?
- Describe the political threats that prompted Joseph to flee to Egypt and later settle in Galilee instead of Judea. What do the actions of Herod and his son Archelaus reveal about the world into which the King arrived?
- The sermon explains that Jesus is the "true Son" who relives and fulfills Israel's national story. In what specific ways does Jesus' journey to Egypt and back parallel the experience of the patriarchs and the nation of Israel during the Exodus?
Heart (Feelings & Impressions)
- Imagine being Joseph, receiving angelic warnings in dreams that required immediate, life-altering action. What fears might he have felt? What does his consistent, immediate obedience in the face of that fear reveal about his heart's posture toward God?
- Matthew includes the horrifying "Massacre of the Innocents" and connects it to Jeremiah's prophecy of "Rachel weeping for her children." How does this raw depiction of suffering and grief affect you? How can we hold the reality of such evil in tension with the truth of God's sovereign protection of Christ?
- The King of Kings is introduced as a vulnerable refugee who grows up in a forgotten, despised town called Nazareth. How does the theme of Christ's "humble glory" challenge your own desires for comfort, recognition, or importance?
Hands (Actions & Beliefs)
- Jesus, our King, began his life on earth as a political refugee fleeing violence. How should this truth shape our beliefs, attitudes, and actions toward the refugees and displaced people in our world today?
- Seeing Jesus as our "true exodus" means He is the one who delivers us from the bondage of sin, just as God delivered Israel from Egypt. In what specific area of your life do you need to stop striving in your own strength and trust in the liberating power of Jesus' finished work?
- The people of Israel were waiting for a conquering hero, but God sent a humble servant. In what ways might your expectations of God need to be realigned with the pattern He reveals in Scripture—one of strength displayed in humility and glory hidden in obscurity?