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Matthew 2:13-23

Matthew has carefully retraced the origins of Jesus, both in terms of His ancestry as well as His birth. In
Matthews recounting of the visitation by the Magi, he showed how it was the chief priests and the scribes
in Jerusalem who named the place where Messiah was to be born: in Bethlehem of Judea, which was of
course the very place where Jesus was born.

The worship of Jesus by the Magi would bring to the mind of Matthews Jewish readers another king of
Judah, who received Gentile homage. The Queen of Sheba came to visit Solomon - the son of David - in
Jerusalem, having heard of his wisdom. She honored him with gifts of gold and spices (1 Ki 10:1-10).

And Isaiah prophesied that when Messiah sets up His kingdom in His Second Coming, Gentile kings will
come to Him, bringing Him gifts (Isa 60:5-6). In that day, the kings will bring gold and incense (in the
Hebrew, frankincense).

The Magi brought both of these - gold and frankincense - but they brought one additional gift - what was it,
from verse 11? Myrrh, which foretold of the death of Jesus. In His Second Coming, Jesus death will be a
thing of the past; He is alive forevermore, and will then be seen, in all of His glory. In that day, all the
peoples of the earth will worship Him - the divine King.

But when Jesus first came into the world, His own people - the Jews - were unaware of His birth. Matthew
points out that only the Magi - Gentile foreigners - seemed to know that a divine King had been born, to the
Jews. And even as Jerusalem discovered this from the Magi, they appeared to be indifferent, to it.

But Herod, the imposter king, was not indifferent to it. He saw it as a threat to his throne, and quickly
responded, by attempting to determine when and where this new King of the Jews had been born.
Unfortunately for Herod, the Magi were redirected by the Lord to circumvent Jerusalem, on their return
home - depriving Herod of the information he was seeking, on the young Childs precise location, in
Bethlehem.

Matthew goes on to show how this chain of events resulted in the movement of Jesus with His family - first
to Egypt, and then, to Nazareth of Galilee.

Well continue in verse 13.

[Matthew 2:13-23]

Notice how Matthew is continuing to focus on the role of Joseph, in the early life of Jesus - it is Joseph, as
the head of the family, who received direction from the Lord through the revelations, in his dreams.

And we continue to note the swift obedience of Joseph, as he receives the Lords instruction. His faith does
not hesitate, does not doubt. Joseph was a just man (1:19), and just right for his part - to preserve the life of
the young Child, Jesus, as Herod sought to destroy Him.

As we look back at verse 13, notice how the dream of Joseph parallels the dream of the Magi. In fact, it is
quite likely that these dreams were given by the Lord on the same night - the night of the Magis visitation,
after they left.
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Now remember, Joseph wasnt even there, when the Magi came; only Jesus and Mary were there. Just think
about Mary sharing that encounter, with Joseph - retelling how the Magi prostrated themselves before Jesus
in worship, and how they presented gifts to Him. And Mary could show those precious gifts to Joseph.

There is no record of any words that were exchanged, between the Magi and Mary. They probably did not
share a common language. Even if they did, its very unlikely that the Magi would have offered details
about their encounter with Herod in Jerusalem.

The dream that the Magi had that night confirmed their suspicions about Herod. Herod was not to be
informed concerning the location of Jesus. Perhaps the Magi thought that the young Child would be safe
now, since they werent reporting back to Herod. But the Lord knew Herods heart; the Lord knew that
Jesus was not safe. So an angel once again came to Joseph in a dream, and gave him instructions - to flee
to Egypt.

The Greek word for flee carries the meaning of escaping from danger. But this angel is more specific
than that, informing Joseph that Herod intends to seek the young Child, Jesus - to search for Him, until he
finds Him; and when Herod finds Him, he plans to put Him to death. The angel left no doubt as to Herods
purposes.

When you have an extremely alarming dream, you tend to wake up. And as soon as Joseph woke from this
dream, he recognized the divine authority of it - and he acted. There could be no planning, no organizing,
no careful packing, no tying up of loose ends. When youre fleeing danger, theres no time for any of that.
They grabbed the essentials, and they got out.

They left that very night, underlining the urgency of the situation. Traveling by night was not common,
because it could be dangerous. But it was far more dangerous for them, to wait till morning. And the cover
of night also would have concealed their departure.

Now, Egypt was difficult to reach, from Bethlehem - without first traveling northward to Jerusalem. But
that would have been the last place that Joseph would have headed.

Instead, he would have opted for the poor route southward, toward Hebron, proceeded along a rugged road
to Gaza on the coast, and then followed the coastal road down to Egypt. It was about 150-200 miles to the
nearest city of significance, Pelusium in the Nile delta. The journey would have taken them at least a week.

But the family had to leave so suddenly. They couldnt have carried enough food, for such a long journey;
and where could they stay? When youre planning a trip, you figure out what you need to bring, and you
plan to purchase the rest - food; lodging. And part of your plan is the financing of the trip, which usually
involves saving up for it.

But Joseph and Mary werent expecting to take any trips, and they were poor. So where would they have
gotten the financing that they would have needed, for this trip? From the Lord. He knew they were taking
a trip, and He had provided the financing already - through the gifts of the Magi. Their luxurious gifts
would have covered the journey down to Egypt, and also the period of their stay there.

Now, why would the Lord have instructed Joseph to take the family to Egypt? Primarily because Egypt, a
Roman province in that day, was outside of Herods jurisdiction, and therefore beyond his reach; the family
would be safe, there.
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Also, a very large Jewish population lived in Egypt - a third of the city of Alexandria, also in the delta
region, was Jewish. This means that the family would be among their own people, and that Joseph could
find work, there, if the stay was extended. There was both safety and security for them, in Egypt.

In the dream, the angel did not specify the period of time that the family would have to stay in Egypt; they
were just to stay until told otherwise. It would be based upon when Herod died, as we see in verse 15.

Now, this is the only record we have in Scripture of Jesus going down to Egypt. Matthew mentions it, but
then provides no details, concerning that time. Why not? Because those details werent important.

What was important was that Jesus was going down to Egypt and then coming out of Egypt, because that
would fulfill a prophecy that Hosea wrote, which we see recorded in verse 15. Matthew makes it clear
whose voice is declaring this prophecy, through Hosea. Matthew writes, that it might be fulfilled which
was spoken by - who? By the Lord. It was the Lord, who declared in the prophecy, Out of Egypt I called
My Son.

Now, in the original context, this prophecy is about the nation Israel, who the LORD regards, collectively, as
His son. When the children of Israel were slaves in Egypt, the LORD told Moses to say to Pharaoh, Thus
says the LORD: Israel is My son, My firstborn (Ex 4:23).

In Hoseas prophecy, the LORD is reflecting on His loving care for Israel - like the tender love of a father, for
his son. The LORDs call of Israel out of Egypt resulted in their physical deliverance. The LORD desired
Israel to be an obedient son, carrying out the LORDs will - to be a light to the other nations. The idea in this
is Gods calling, for a purpose. Of course, we know that Israel has not yet fulfilled that purpose.

But Matthew can see the fulfillment, in Jesus. Here is the Son of God, His firstborn, who would be called
out of Egypt - and physically delivered from it - in order to fulfill the LORDs saving purpose to all nations -
Gods calling, for a purpose. So we see that this type of the called Son is fulfilled, in Jesus.

Lets continue with the passage, in verse 16.

v. 16 Because Bethlehem is so near to Jerusalem, and because the only natural route by which the Magi
could have returned to their homeland was through Jerusalem, Herod would have known very quickly that
the Magi had purposely avoided returning to him.

Herod may have realized this as early as the day following their departure from Bethlehem. And when he
did, Herod was absolutely furious; exceedingly wroth, according to the KJV.

Herod had already resolved to kill this new King of the Jews. But with the Magis disregard of his direct
orders, there was now the possibility that his little rival might evade him. So the enraged Herod took
measures to ensure that such a possibility never came to pass.

Herod would have immediately sent forth his minions - perhaps soldiers from the nearby fortress of
Herodium. Since the Magi had frustrated Herods plan to pinpoint the location of the Child, Herod now
settled for the indiscriminate killing of all the young male children in the vicinity of Bethlehem.

Herod was counting on what the Magi had told him - about the time of the appearance of the star. He
assumed this marked the time when the child was born - and no doubt, Herod added a little time to it, to
ensure he didnt miss his target. All the young boys - infants and toddlers up to two years in age - were
slaughtered.
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It cannot be too deeply considered; it is too heinous. That Herod was entirely capable of this is certain,
based on the historical record of his other barbarous acts. That his soldiers would carry it out is also
certain, based on their fear of the personal consequences, for failure to obey Herods orders.

Bethlehem is estimated to have had a population of about 1000, at this time. Perhaps some twenty or thirty
young boys were murdered, throughout the extended area of the village - but the atrocity was really beyond
measure.

The mention of Egypt and the slaughter of the young boys could not fail to prompt the minds of Matthews
Jewish readers to the events surrounding the birth of a key figure in the history of the nation - Moses. Lets
turn back to the account in Exodus chapter 1 and 2 to refresh our memories.

The family of Jacob had gone down to Egypt during the time of the great famine, where Joseph had taken
care of them. After Joseph died, they continued living in Egypt in the land of Goshen, where they
multiplied into a great nation.

But them a new king came into power.

[Exodus 1:8-16]

v. 8-10 During the time that the family of Jacob was growing into a nation, the Assyrians had come in and
overtaken the delta region of Egypt. They reigned for a time in this area of lower Egypt, and were known
to the Egyptians as the Hyksos. As foreign oppressors, the Hyksos were greatly despised by the Egyptians
(Is 52:4).

The Hyksos were eventually deposed by an Egyptian ruler from Thebes in upper Egypt. This is most likely
the new king that arose over Egypt - a Theban king.

This new king, being unfamiliar with lower Egypt and its history, would not have known Joseph - the great
benefactor of lower Egypt, who had saved all the people from the dire famine, so long ago. The king
would, of course, not have been familiar with Joseph=s descendants, either - the family of Jacob.

The new king would have noted that the family of Jacob was numerous - and of a different race than the
Egyptians. Remember that Jacob=s family was Shemite; the ancient Egyptians were Hamites. In fact,
Jacob=s family was of the same race as the hated Hyksos, for the Assyrians were also Shemites.

Accordingly, this new king would have been suspicious of the family of Jacob - even suspecting they might
ally themselves with the Hyksos - and so he sought to exert control over them.

He did so by deception - dealing subtly, craftily, with the children of Israel, enlisting the help of the
Egyptian people, so that, over time, they first became indebted, then enslaved to the Egyptians.

v. 11-14 Despite these measures, the children of Israel kept multiplying. So the king took a more drastic
approach.

v. 15-16 The king charged the Hebrew midwives with killing all the male infants, at birth. This would
eventually result in the complete annihilation of the nation of Israel - genocide.
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But the midwives, fearing God, did not obey the king, and made excuses to him. So the king then directly
charged the people, with carrying out his command - that all the male newborns must be cast into the Nile
River (v. 22).

It was during this time that Moses was born - as a male child, under Pharaohs sentence of death. Well, the
mother of Moses could not conceive of putting her beautiful baby boy to death; so what did she do? She
made an ark of bulrushes, covered it with pitch, and laid it in the reeds by the bank of the river. An ark of
safety - of refuge.

And who found the ark? Pharaohs daughter - and when she saw that beautiful baby, and he cried, she had
compassion on him, and adopted him as her own son. In this way, Moses was preserved from the death
sentence of the king - and in a sense, preserved right under the throne of Egypt, from that death - in the
form of Pharaohs daughter.

We can clearly see the parallel with Jesus. Jesus also was preserved from death - from King Herods
slaughter of the young male children. And that preservation was also, in a sense, under the throne of Egypt
- as the family took refuge from Herod within Egypts jurisdiction. So the young Moses was a type of
Jesus as the Male Child who was delivered, to become the Deliverer of His people.

This type is seen once more in the revelation given to the apostle John - through the great sign that
appeared in the heavens, of a woman who bore a male Child - and of the dragon, ready to devour her Child,
as soon as it was born. But God delivered the Child - the one who was to be the ruler of all nations (Rev
12:1-5). This makes it evident that Satan was behind the actions of Herod.

[Return to Matthew 2]

Matthew points out that the slaughter of the children was also the fulfillment of a prophecy of Jeremiah.

v. 17-18 We find this prophecy in Jeremiah chapter 31. Lets turn there. It begins in verse 15. This
prophecy was given to Jeremiah concerning the final siege of Jerusalem by Babylon, when Babylon took
the city, slaughtered many inhabitants, and took others captive back to their land.

Ramah is north of Jerusalem; it is likely the location where Jacobs beloved wife Rachel died, as they were
making their way to Bethlehem (Gen 35:19). Jeremiah hears Rachel mourning over her children, from her
grave - suggesting a grief of such intensity that exceeds the bounds of the natural.

In the original context, the mourning is over the descendants of Rachel - those of Judah who are about to be
taken into exile. They were literally assembled in Ramah, for the long march to Babylon. Rachel mourns
because they are no more; as good as dead. There seems to be no consolation, to be had.

Jeremiahs prophecy goes on to say that there is consolation - that a remnant of the nation will return to the
land (v. 16-20). The prophecy then looks far into the future, to the time after the Tribulation, when Israel
shall be delivered from her enemies. The LORD urges Israel to repent - and be saved (v. 21).

Jeremiah goes on to prophesy that Israels deliverance will come through a new thing, that the LORD has
created in the earth. We read of this in verse 22.

[Jeremiah 31:22] A woman shall encompass - encircle - a man. Now, this would be a fitting image for a
woman who is carrying a male child in her womb - but is that a new thing, on the earth? No, that happens
every day!
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However, the word for man here is unusual - in the Hebrew, its a geber. It means a man at the height of
his powers - we might say, a hero. A woman shall encompass a hero - who does that sound like? Jesus?
Yes.

Jeremiah was prophesying of the Messiah - that the mighty God would come in a body of flesh. That is a
new thing, that the LORD would create on the earth. This is Gods hero, who will be the Deliverer of His
people - a prophecy that would give them comfort, in their current day of sorrow.

Matthew recognized the fulfillment of this prophecy, in the children who are no more, in Bethlehem; but
also, he was reminded of the comfort of the one Child who escaped, who will return as the Deliverer of His
people.

Lets continue in verse 19.

v. 19-20 Did you notice the angels words here? Those who sought the young Childs life are dead. Its
in the plural.

Obviously Herod was seeking Jesus life. Was there another who was involved in this plot - someone else,
who was now dead? This may be referring to one of Herods sons named Antipater. Its possible that
Antipater was involved in the plot, as he shared his fathers cruel disposition. But it turns out that Antipater
was executed by order of his own father about five days prior to Herods death.

Although we know that Herod died in 4 BC, we dont know what year Jesus was born - except that it was
before 4 BC. So there is no way to calculate precisely how long the family was in Egypt. However, there
is one clue, that Matthew gives us.

Notice that Matthew still uses the term young Child for Jesus - meaning a toddler of one or two years of
age. Jesus was still very young; the family could not have been in Egypt more than a year; more likely, it
was just a few months.

Notice that instruction came once again to Joseph in a dream - and his apparently prompt obedience.

v. 21-23 Joseph and the family would have reversed their original course, once again taking the trade route
back to Gaza. It was only when Joseph got into the land that he learned the news of the political situation -
that Archelaus had succeeded his father Herod, as ruler of Judea.

After Herod the Great died, his kingdom was divided by Rome three ways and given to his remaining sons
- those he hadnt put to death, that is. Archelaus ruled Judea, Samaria and Idumea. Archelaus was so brutal
and ineffective that he was deposed by Rome after nine years, and replaced with an appointed governor.

History records that at the very beginning of his reign, Archelaus had 3000 people put to death in
Jerusalem. This was likely part of what Joseph had heard, upon his return. He would have recognized that
Archelaus was his fathers son; which meant that Judea was still not a safe place, for Jesus.

Joseph was afraid in the respect that he sensed the danger of going back to Bethlehem, under such
conditions. And God confirmed this to Joseph, in a dream; it was indeed still dangerous.

The sense that Matthew gives to us is that God then redirected Joseph, to return to his original home town -
to Nazareth, which is in Galilee. A different son of Herod, Antipas, was ruling over Galilee and Perea. In
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the world of the Herods, this Antipas was relatively mild. Relatively! Well encounter him a few more
times, in Matthews gospel.

The return to Nazareth is marked by Matthew as another fulfillment, of prophecy. In most Bibles, the
prophecy is in quotation marks, reading, He shall be called a Nazarene. This appears to be
straightforward, until you discover that there is no such prophecy, in the OT.

In fact, the word Nazarene or the town of Nazareth are completely absent, in the OT. This is due to the
excellent reason that the town didnt exist, when the OT was written; Nazareth is thought to have been
founded during the intertestamental period (sometime after 400 BC).

So Matthew wasnt quoting the OT. Many Bibles reflect this by not putting the phrase in italics (oblique
type), as they do direct quotes of the OT. There are no punctuation marks in the original Greek, so it is
possible that it wasnt intended to be a quotation, at all.

But Matthew does speak of a fulfillment, doesnt he? Now, when Matthew speaks of a fulfillment of an OT
prophecy, he usually names the prophet - and what he said, or wrote. But here, Matthew speaks of the
prophets, plural. More than one of them spoke about this.

What Matthew was communicating was that this was a theme of prophecy - that Jesus would be called a
Nazarene. But how can that be? The word doesnt exist, in the OT.

The town itself is not the focus; the focus is the fact that Jesus would be called, as being from it.

Remember how Matthew began this chapter - Jesus was born in Bethlehem, of Judea. But where is Jesus,
now? He is in Nazareth; and that is the town by which Jesus became known; Jesus of Nazareth.

It was presumed that Jesus was from Nazareth, that he was born in Nazareth. And Nazareth was not where
Messiah was supposed to be from. When people heard where He came from some obscure town, in Galilee
- a no-wheres-ville, in prophecy - they despised Him. He didnt come from the right place - so they
dismissed Him.

And this was the theme of prophecy that Matthew was citing, concerning Messiah. Were going to take a
quick look, at just one of these.

Turn to Isaiah 53. This is what the prophet declared.

[Isaiah 53:1-3]

v. 1 The answer would be, not Israel!

v. 2 If you have some hard dirt in the backyard, and it never receives any water, what is the last thing you
would expect? For a little plant to spring up, from that soil.

Theres the idea with Messiah - He would suddenly spring up - where He was least expected. He didnt
look like Israel expected - like a king; he didnt come from where Israel expected - perhaps Jerusalem. And
so

v. 3 And so Israel rejected Him.

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We find this theme of the despising of the Messiah also with the Psalmist (Ps 22, 69) and with the prophet
Zechariah (4:6-10, 9:9).

Turn to Johns gospel, chapter 1. Jesus was calling His disciples to follow Him. Having found Philip,
Philip then sought out his friend Nathanael.

[John 1:43-46] Nathanaels scornful words reflect the idea Matthew is bringing out. No good of God could
come out of tiny, obscure Nazareth! It was a scriptural nonentity. But once Nathanael came and saw - he
believed.

Now turn to John chapter 7. Jesus had just made a proclamation at the Feast of Tabernacles - to believe on
Him, to receive the water of Life. And an argument ensued.

[John 7:40-42] Clearly many believed Jesus was born in Galilee - in Nazareth.

So what Matthew is revealing is that the dismissal of Jesus based on His supposed birthplace of Nazareth
wound up being a fulfillment of a theme of prophecy. The prophets foresaw that Jesus would be rejected
by His own people - called - in derision - a Nazarene.

Matthews navigation of the early days of Jesus reveals the divine hand of the Lord in every movement, so
as to fulfill the words that the Lord spoke so long ago, through His prophets. It also prepares the readers
for the ministry of the obedient Son, called by God to be the Deliverer of His people - and of any and all,
who are willing to receive Him.

Matthew will now move on to the ministry of Jesus, beginning with the one who was sent to prepare the
hearts of the people for Him - John the Baptist.

Reading: Matthew 3:1-12, Luke 1:1-25, 57-80, John 1:1-31