the Return to Nazareth Matthew 2:20 | 1507
Mt 2:11 ❖ What does it look like to give our best to Jesus ?
find him , re port to me , so that I too may go and wor ship him .”
9 Af ter they had heard the king , they went on their way , and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them un til it stopped over the place where the child was . 10 When they saw the star , they were over joyed . 11 On com ing to the house , they saw the child with his moth er Mary , and they bowed down and wor shiped him . a Then they opened their trea sures and pre sent ed him with gifts b of gold , frank in cense and myrrh . 12 And hav ing been warned c in a dream d not to go back to Her od , they re turned to their coun try by an oth er route .
2:11 a Isa 60:3 b Ps 72:10
2:12 c Heb 11:7 d ver 13 , 19 , 22 ;
Mt 27:19
2:13 e Ac 5:19 f ver 12 , 19 , 22
14 So he got up , took the child and his moth er dur ing the night and left for Egypt , 15 where he stayed un til the death of Her od . And so was ful filled what the Lord had said through the proph et : “ Out of Egypt I called my son .” a g
16 When Her od re al ized that he had been out wit ted by the Magi , he was fu ri ous , and he gave or ders to kill all the boys in Beth le hem and its vi cin i ty who were two years old and un der , in ac cor dance with the time he had learned from the Magi . 17 Then what was said through the proph et Jer e mi ah 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 h
The Escape to Egypt The Return to Nazareth
13 When they had gone , an an gel e of 19 Af ter Her od died , an an gel of the the Lord ap peared to Jo seph in a dream . f Lord ap peared in a dream i to Jo seph in
“ Get up ,” he said , “ take the child and his 2:15 g Ex 4:22 , 23 ; Hos 11:1 Egypt 20 and said , “ Get up , take the child moth er and es cape to Egypt . Stay there
2:18 and his moth er and go to the land of un til I tell you , for Her od is go ing to h Jer 31:15 2:19 search for the child to kill him .” i ver 12 , 13 , 22 a
15 Hosea 11:1 b
18 Jer . 31:15
2:9 – 12 The purpose of the magi ’ s pilgrimage to see the child is accomplished as they “ bowed down and worshiped him ” ( v . 11 ). It is doubtful that at this time these quasi- pagan religious figures understand Jesus ’ divine nature . Yet their worship is far more than even they understand .
“ Gold ” is the most- often mentioned valued metal in Scripture . “ Incense ” was used in Israel ceremonially as part of a recipe for the only incense permitted on the altar ( Ex 30:9 , 34 – 38 ). A dead body was prepared for burial by washing , dressing it in special garments , and packing it with fragrant “ myrrh ” and other spices to stifle the smell of a body as it decayed .
Joseph was visited in a dream by an angel . It seems plausible that the same angel appears in the magi ’ s warning dream ( v . 12 ). If so , the warning in a dream is consistent with the view that the star guiding them was an angel .
2:1 – 12 The very act of sacrificial giving defines what it means to love each other . The magi did not know the full identity of Jesus as we are privileged to know , yet they demonstrated worship and gift- giving at the arrival of the king of the Jews . Our sacrificial worship and love of Jesus will produce true , sacrificial love for one another .
At this most fundamental level , Matthew teaches us that Jesus ’ arrival in history to initiate the salvation of his people from their sins surely requires that we give ourselves to him . When we do so , his life becomes the pattern for our own lives .
UNCORRECTED PROOF
2:13 – 15 Once the magi escape safely , the angel of the Lord again appears in a dream to warn Joseph about Herod ’ s scheme to murder the child . Joseph is again immediately obedient , escaping to Egypt by night .
Matthew points to the flight and later return from Egypt as a “ fulfillment of Scripture .” Matthew has a multifaceted perspective on the way that Jesus “ fulfills ” the OT Scriptures . ( 1 ) In some cases , “ fulfill ” can indicate the way in which the events of Jesus ’ earthly life and ministry enact what the prophets predicted . ( 2 ) In other cases , “ fulfill ” can indicate the way in which Jesus brings to its intended full meaning the entire OT Scripture . ( 3 ) In still other cases , Matthew ’ s use of “ fulfill ” can indicate the way in which Jesus ’ earthly life and ministry mirror certain aspects of the national history of Israel . 2:16 – 18 No other historical records exist of this incident , which is not surprising since Bethlehem was a somewhat small , rural town at this time . The events of Jesus ’ earthly life repeat the pattern of earlier attempts by a foreign power to wipe out God ’ s chosen people . 2:19a Herod died at the age of sixty- nine in March , 4 BC . Herod divided his kingdom between his sons , Archelaus , Herod Antipas , and Herod Philip . Herod Antipas ruled the region of Jesus ’ primary ministry . 2:19b – 23 The family probably stayed in Egypt no more than a year . When they discover that Archelaus is ruling over Judea , Joseph detours to Nazareth in the region of Galilee , a region governed by Herod Antipas .
Nazareth was originally settled by people from