In the whole world, my community, my family, and my own life, Father God, “your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10).
Read MATTHEW 2:13–23
For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.
The Escape to Egypt
13 When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”
14 So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, 15 where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.”[a]
16 When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. 17 Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:
18 “A voice is heard in Ramah,
weeping and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children
and refusing to be comforted,
because they are no more.”[b]
The Return to Nazareth
19 After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt 20 and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child’s life are dead.”
21 So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee, 23 and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets, that he would be called a Nazarene.
Footnotes
- Matthew 2:15 Hosea 11:1
- Matthew 2:18 Jer. 31:15
New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
May we realize God’s protective presence in our own lives as we read this tale of danger and escape.
The account of the escape of the little family to Egypt and the reference to Hosea in verse 151 are Matthew’s way of aligning the story of God’s Son with the history of God’s special children, the Jews. Just as they went to Egypt as an infant nation under Joseph and then escaped with Moses, so Jesus would begin his life in similar circumstances. There is even a parallel between the vicious scheme of the evil Pharaoh to kill all the baby boys born to the Israelites2 and the outrageous act of Herod in the area surrounding Bethlehem. Even before the ‘Word’3 has spoken, evil forces desire to silence him – but God’s plan of redemption cannot be thwarted.
The refugee status of the infant Jesus, along with his family, speaks to us today in a world where millions are on the move, often for reasons of personal safety. Asylum may be a controversial word in some quarters, but it marks the Christmas story indelibly. The flight to Egypt also reveals an aspect of the incarnation that we should never forget. God is with us in our extremity, when our lives are in danger, when evil threatens to destroy us, just as much as when things are going well and praise rises easily to our lips.
Joseph’s ready response to the warnings received in his dreams is remarkable. He rises in the night (v. 14) and leaves immediately. We don’t know how long the exile lasted, but when it was over, a further guiding dream was given and Joseph’s response was immediate and full (v. 21), even adjusting when further revelation came (v. 22). Here was a man who obeyed God and who sets us an example in our discipleship today. ‘Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.’4
Apply
Pray for those who need God’s comfort this Christmas, especially those for whom the loss of a child makes this season so hard to bear.
Closing prayer
Heavenly Father, Joseph did as you commanded him—to trust you and go wherever you would send him. I ask you to help me live a life of obedience, a life that speaks of trust as I follow your Son, a life overflowing with joy because he leads me on the path of everlasting life.
Last Updated on December 27, 2024 by kingstar
