My friend, Rudy Ross, likes to talk about how God leaves breadcrumbs for us to discover truths. That is very true, as Matthew recounts Jesus’ departure from Egypt and entrance back to the Holy Land.
Just as Moses returned from Midian to set his people free from slavery, Jesus left Egypt and returned to Israel to set all of humanity free from the power of sin.
When Herod died, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said,
“Get up, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who were seeking the child’s life are dead.”
Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel (Matthew 2.19-21).
People familiar with the story of Moses know that even though God sent him back to Egypt, he had no easy time while he was there getting his people free. The same is true for Joseph, who brought Jesus back to Israel.
The Lord said to Moses in Midian, “Go back to Egypt, for all those who were seeking your life are dead” (Exodus 4.19)
Even though Herod had died, he was replaced by three of his sons. Judah and Samaria came under the control of Archelaus.
Galilee and Perea, east of the Jordan River, were to be ruled by Antipas. We will encounter him as Herod Antipas in chapter 14.
The third son, Philip, also appears in chapter 14. Like their father, they were local client rulers appointed by Rome, and none of them was officially given the title of king.
Archaelaus was so unpopular that Rome removed him from office in 6 AD and appointed Pontius Pilate to re-rule the territory of Judea and Samaria.
The Jewish historian Josephus stated that Archelaus began his reign by massacring approximately 3,000 Passover celebrants. It is clear that Joseph did not want to bring the young Jesus into such an environment.
But when he heard that Archelaus was ruling Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And after being warned in a dream, he went away to the district of Galilee (Matthew 2.22).
Without a doubt, it is an immense honor to be the mother and stepfather of the one who would be the Savior of the world. On the other hand, there was a tremendous risk and responsibility to raise the young Jesus to adulthood.
It is an immense honor for God to want to work through mere human beings. When God gives us a task that only He can accomplish, we know that there is both risk and reward.
Faith says we will trust Him to protect us, to guide us, and to give us the power to accomplish the task that He has given to us.
Even though we are not Mary or Joseph, we are people who have the privilege of working with God to fulfill His redemptive purposes.
Called a Nazarene
Matthew noted that the Holy Family moved to the town of Nazareth. It was about 70 miles north of Bethlehem and had a population of around 500 at the beginning of the first century AD.
Nearby was a large city called Sepphoris, which Antipas built as the capital of Galilee.
There he made his home in a town called Nazareth, so that what had been spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, “He will be called a Nazarene” (Matthew 2.23).
Matthew stated that the prophets spoke that Jesus would be called a Nazarene. The scholars point out that you can’t find any reference to Jesus being connected with Nazareth in the prophets.
Even more interesting, the city of Nazareth had not been built by the conclusion of the Old Testament.
R.T. France, in his commentary on the Gospel of Matthew, proposes that the reference to Jesus as “a Nazarene” does not allude to the city of Nazareth. Instead, it was used as a term of scorn directed at Jesus.
This interpretation is supported by Nathanael’s dismissive remark about Jesus from Nazareth when speaking to his brother.
Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him about whom Moses in the Law and also the Prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth.”
Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”
Philip said to him, “Come and see” (John 1.45-46).
The idea of being a Nazarene suggesting a term of derision rather than the location of his hometown cannot be answered with certainty. What can be answered is that Isaiah prophesied years before Jesus came on the scene that the Messiah would not be respected.
Who has believed what we have heard?
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
For he grew up before him like a young plant
and like a root out of dry ground;
he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,
nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
He was despised and rejected by others;
a man of suffering and acquainted with infirmity,
and as one from whom others hide their faces
he was despised, and we held him of no account. (Isaiah 53.1-3)
The words of Philip to Nathaniel are appropriate for all who misunderstand the person of Jesus. The best way to know Jesus is to “come and see” and discover who He is.
Jesus’s outward appearance may seem foolish to the world, as Paul mentioned in the Letter to the Romans. Instead of focusing on the external, we should look inward and experience Him.
As we study the Gospel of Matthew we will have the opportunity to both know about Jesus and to experience Him.
YouTube Discussion
Rudy Ross and I discussed this passage on YouTube today. It is on the Bob Spradling YouTube channel.
Real Voices 