Matthew Chapter 2:13-23 A Road Trip

Transcription

1 Matthew Chapter 2:13-23 A Road Trip It is amazing the kinds of stories that sprang up around the life of Christ which are inconsistent with what we know from scripture and at times are downright silly. Consider the one tied to a work of Michelangelo. Rest on the Flight into Egypt (c. 1597) is a painting by the Italian Baroque master Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio ( ), in the Doria Pamphilj Gallery, Rome. The scene is based not on any incident in the Bible itself, but on a body of tales or legends that had grown up in the early Middle Ages around the Bible story of the Holy Family fleeing into Egypt for refuge on being warned that Herod the Great was seeking to kill the Christ Child. According to the legend, Joseph and Mary stopped on the flight in a grove of trees; the Holy Child ordered the trees to bend down so that Joseph could take fruit from them, and then ordered a spring of water to gush forth from the roots so that his parents could quench their thirst. The basic story took on many extra details during the centuries. Caravaggio shows Mary asleep with the infant Jesus, while Joseph holds a manuscript for an angel who is playing a hymn to Mary on the violin. The ass, a traditional ingredient of the legend and a foretelling of the ass that would one day bear Christ into Jerusalem, watches. 1 Actually the Coptic church in Egypt has built a whole tradition around Jesus time there. Consider the following link: There are lots of resources around which present the lost years of Jesus but they are of no value except as curiosities. But this morning we will look at what we do know which is all God says we need to know. Introduction III Prologue Chapter 1:1-2:23 D. The Egyptian Sojourn and Exodus 2:13-15 E. The Slaughter of the Innocents 2:16-18 F. The Return to Nazareth 2:19-23 Conclusion Introduction: Over the last weeks we ve seen God speaking up after 400 years of silence. He announced, through His angels, John s miraculous birth to Elizabeth and Zacheriah. John was God s promised herald for an even more miraculous child. God told Mary and Joseph of their soon to be born son, the long promised Messiah. Again, through His angels, God announced the coming of His kingdom to the lowest members of society, shepherds. And at the dedication of the new baby He had two of His old saints, Simeon and Anna foretell of the coming kingdom. Simeon s words included the promise that the coming salvation was for both Jew and Gentile. He also warned of the suffering that would come with parenting the Promised One. 1 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, en.wikipedia.org

2 Finally, we saw the coming of the Magi, scholars of the same school Daniel was once involved with. Again God demonstrates the Gentiles place in the coming kingdom. God not only came to the lowest, but He also came to the highest. And in the midst of the promise of coming glory, the work of Satan was already coming into play with the duplicitous nature of Herod and his desire to locate the young king. But God warned the Magi and they took the back road out of Bethlehem, leaving Herod in the dark. But will Herod give up simply because he was thwarted this once? D. The Egyptian Sojourn and Exodus: Obviously not! But more on Herod in a moment. First let s pick up the story after the departure of the Magi back to their own country. Herod s response was outrage and anger. His plans were consistent with his history, the death of a rival. But his plans were no secret to heaven. God again sends an angel to Joseph. This time the message is a warning of Herod s intent, and instructions for the family to flee to Egypt (about an 80 mile journey). There was some practical logic to the choice of Egypt. Keener comments: A very large Jewish community lived in Egypt in this period. Perhaps one-third of Alexandria, located in northern Egypt, was Jewish; with a population estimated at about one million, it was one of the empire s largest cities. Alexandria included a well-to-do Jewish element, schooled in Greek thought; most inhabitants of Egypt, however, were agrarian peasants, some of the poorest in the empire. Other Jewish communities had existed farther south, especially in Elephantine, for centuries. Literature from Palestinian Jews indicates that many of them questioned the devoutness of their Egyptian Jewish kinfolk, although Egyptian Jews considered themselves faithful to God. The Nile made travel easy within Egypt, but the coastal road to Egypt from Palestine was not the finest, and Egypt would be even harder to reach from Bethlehem without traveling northward to Jerusalem (one would have to take the poorer route southward to Hebron; see comment on 2:12). Egypt had served as a place of refuge in the past (1 Kings 11:40; Jer 26:21). 2 Solomon tried to kill Jeroboam, but Jeroboam fled to Egypt, to Shishak the king, and stayed there until Solomon s death (1 Kings 11:40). When King Jehoiakim and all his officers and officials heard his words, the king sought to put him to death. But Uriah heard of it and fled in fear to Egypt (Jeremiah 26:21). God gave a specific instruction. Joseph was to keep his family in Egypt until he received specific instructions to return. Now, we actually know nothing of the trip itself. We don t know how long the family remained in Egypt. There is some disagreement over both the birth date of Christ as well as the death date of Herod. Generally, Herod was thought to have died in 4 B.C., but more recent scholarship has him dying in 1 B.C. This date makes more sense if we accept the general dating of Christ s birth as 3 or 2 B.C. Once again God comes to Joseph, this time to tell him to bring the family back to Judea. And again Matthew takes us back to the Old Testament. He quotes Hosea 11:1: When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. 2 Keener, Craig S., IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament, Downers Grove, IL, ) 46 (

3 Here we find a common principle. When Hosea originally made this statement, it wasn t prophetic, it was a reminder that God brought Israel out of Egypt during the time of Moses. But under the direction of the Holy Spirit, Matthew now applies it to Christ s time in Egypt and his return from there. There is one other point that should be made here. And that is Christ also embodies Egypt. Boice notes: What Matthew understood (and wants us to understand) is something beyond a mere futuristic prophecy namely, that Jesus is the ultimate embodiment of Israel, the one in whom s wrapped up the true character and destiny of the people. The fact that Jesus was taken to Egypt and returned from Egypt was one of God s ways of alerting us to how significant Christ s tie with his people really was. 3 E. The Slaughter of the Innocents: Now we come to another sad account in scripture, but not all that uncommon in history in general. It simply confirms the depravity of men and that the god of power is a seductive one. To make sure the king didn t survive to be a threat to his throne, Herod goes on the offensive. The simplest solution is reminiscent of Hitler s ultimate solution. It also reminds us of, interestingly enough, an Egyptian king. Then a new king, who did not know about Joseph, came to power in Egypt. Look, he said to his people, the Israelites have become much too numerous for us. Come, we must deal shrewdly with them or they will become even more numerous and, if war breaks out, will join our enemies, fight against us and leave the country. The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, whose names were Shiphrah and Puah, When you help the Hebrew women in childbirth and observe them on the delivery stool, if it is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, let her live. (Exodus 1:8-10, 15-16). And now Herod wants to bring destruction on a Jewish boy child. And as was and is the case, Satan was behind all this, striving to prevent the coming of the Messiah, and/or to destroy the Jewish people, thus showing he is more powerful than God. He (Satan) was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies (John 8:44). Of course while Satan and Herod conspired The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them (Psalm 2:4). Now, let s understand the significance of the event, both from an historical point of view as well as a prophetic. Some argue the event couldn t have happened because there is no secular source of support. But Wiersbie notes: 3 Boice, James Montgomery, The Gospel of Matthew, Vol.1 & 2, Baker Books, Grand Rapids, MI, 2001, 40. ) 47 (

4 We must not envision hundreds of little boys being killed, for there were not that many male children of that age in a small village like Bethlehem. Even today only about 20,000 people live there. It is likely that not more than 20 children were slain. But, of course, 1 is too many! 4 Keep in mind these fulfillments are typical rather than literal. And so Matthew presents the prophetic importance when he again links this event with a passage from the Old Testament, in this case Jeremiah 31:15. This is what the Lord says: A voice is heard in Ramah, mourning and great weeping, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because her children are no more. Again there is a two-prong aspect to the passage, its original intent and its application here. Walvoord states: This prophecy referred to the captivity in Babylon and the slaying of the children in the conquest of Judea by Babylon. The parallel in Bethlehem is all too evident. Rachel represents mothers in Israel who mourn their children. In both cases, sorrow came in a time when Israel religiously was in apostasy and under the heel of the oppressor. 5 And so Chromatius notes: These innocents who died then on Christ s behalf became the first martyrs of Christ. David refers to them when he says, From the mouths of nursing babies you have perfected praise because of your enemies, that you might bring ruin to the enemy. For in this persecution even tiny infants and nursing babies were killed on Christ s behalf and attained to the consummate praise of martyrs. Thus it is that those blessed babes have deservedly lasted beyond others. They were the first who were worthy to die on Christ s behalf. TRACTATE ON MATTHEW F. The Return to Nazareth: But Herod, perpetrator of this and many other crimes died in 4 B.C. as we already noted. Immediately an angel appeard to Joseph, letting him know that it was safe to return because those who plotted against the life of the child were dead. But the reality for Joseph is the reality of every Christian life. While one trial may come to an end, this doesn t mean an end to all trials. On the way back, Joseph got the word that Herod s son Archelaus was now reigning in his father s stead. And Joseph was concerned this was a case of out of the fire into the frying pan. Apparently, his fears were reasonable because he had another dream and this last one sent him away from Bethlehem and towards Nazareth. About the only thing we know of Archelaus is his reign was fairly short because he was deposed in 6 A.D. He ruled for only about 10 years. Finally, it should be noted there are no Old Testament passages that speak specifically of the Messiah being called a Nazarene. Therefore any explanation of the verse is an attempt to understand scripture starting with the assumption of divine inspiration. Barbieri explains: 4 Wiersbe, Warren, W., The Bible Exposition Commentary, New Testament, Vol. 1, Victor, Colorado Springs, CO, 2001, p Walvoord, John F., Matthew Thy Kingdom Come, Kregel Publications, Grand Rapids, MI, 1974, p Simonetti, Manlio, ed., Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, Matthew 1-13, Inter-Varsity Press, Downers Grove, IL, 2001, p. 35. ) 48 (

5 Since Matthew used the plural prophets, perhaps his idea was not based on a specific prophecy but on the idea that appeared in a number of prophecies concerning Messiah s despised character. Nazareth was the town which housed the Roman garrison for the northern regions of Galilee. Therefore most Jews would not have any associations with that city. In fact those who lived in Nazareth were thought of as compromisers who consorted with the enemy, The Romans. Therefore to call one a Nazarene was to use a term of contempt. 7 On the other hand there were benefits to living in Nazareth. The Preacher s Bible notes: There were at least two advantages to Jesus being brought up in Nazareth. 1. It was a quiet town, small and of little fame, ready-made for a close community and neighborliness and for quiet contemplation. 2. It was also a town in touch with the modern life and world events of that day. Two of the major roads of the world passed within eyesight of the hills surrounding the city: the road that stretched between Rome and northern Africa (North and South) and the road that ran between the great cities of the East and West. Jesus can be imagined standing on the hills observing (perhaps even meeting) some of the travelers and caravans using the major routes as they crisscrossed the world. He had opportunity to observe and study the nature and dealings of all kinds of men and all kinds of nationalities as they used the major routes 8 So, the family settles in has more children and life becomes routine, or so we might suppose because we hear nothing else for many years. Thus ends Matthew s prologue to the life of Christ, though there is one more account of Christ s childhood. We will glance at this, as we move on to discuss the ministry of John the Baptizer next week. Conclusion: There are no direct applications to take from this account but there are certainly principles which can be found. The one I want to focus on is demonstrated by Joseph and that is waiting of the Lord for His leading. Now clearly we don t have to do this in all cases. For example, no Christian husband or wife has to look for God s leading as to whether to stay in their marriage or not. God makes it clear that, no matter the situation, short of adultery, He calls us to remain married. But on the decisions of life, how to use what God has given us, how best to serve Him, how to act in difficult situations, like Joseph, we should be waiting on the Lord s leading. And it can come through prayer, through His word, and through Godly counsel. Let us not fall into the trap of running ahead of Him. As the eyes of slaves look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maid look to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the LORD our God, till he shows us his mercy (Psalm 123:2) Do not say, I ll pay you back for this wrong! Wait for the LORD, and he will deliver you (Proverbs 20:22) but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint (Isaiah 40:31). 7 Barbieri, Jr., Louis A., The Bible Knowledge Commentary, Matthew, Victor Books, Colorado Springs, CO, 1987, p Preacher s Outline & Sermon Bible, The, Leadership Ministries Worldwide, Chattanooga, TN, 1998, p. 26. ) 49 (

6 But you must return to your God; maintain love and justice, and wait for your God always (Hosea 12:6). ) 50 (

7 Matthew Chapter 2:13-23 A Road Trip Introduction III Prologue Chapter 1:1-2:23 D. The Egyptian Sojourn and Exodus 2:13-15 E. The Slaughter of the Innocents 2:16-18 F. The Return to Nazareth 2:19-23 Conclusion Introduction: D. The Egyptian Sojourn and Exodus: (1 Kings 11:40; Jeremiah 26:21; Hosea 11:1) E. The Slaughter of the Innocents: (Exodus 1:8-10, 15-16; John 8:44; Psalm 2:4; Jeremiah 31:15)

8 F. The Return to Nazareth: Conclusion: (Psalm 123:2; Proverbs 20:22; (Isaiah 40:31; Hosea 12:6) Personal Application: Is there an area where you need to make a significant decision. Have you been waiting on the Lord and seeking His will? If not, it isn t too late to start doing so. Prayer for the Week: Lord, like Joseph I ask You for Your leading and direction. Help me to be patient waiting on Your time rather than mine. In Jesus name, amen.