Matthew 2:12-23

WHAT WAS SPOKEN WAS FULFILLED

By Johnny Tatum

 

The purpose of this study is to present the infancy of Messiah Jesus. The key phrase is What was spoken by the prophet was fulfilled; the key concepts are providence and identification, and the passage is held together by four scenes.

PART 1: JOSEPH, "GET UP!"

 

Visitors from the East

 

As presented in the Matthew 2:1-12 study, the magi were not three guys wearing bathrobes and Shriner hats. They were powerful king-makers from the East. Actually, if they had been three guys riding into Jerusalem on camelback, Herod would not have trembled. Instead, in accordance with the character of this tyrant, he would have said Someone kill these three losers, and that would have been the end of his problem. However, Herod saw at least 100-armed warriors accompanied by 1,000 cavalrymen! And Herod was further threatened by their search for the new King.

Though the nation of Israel was indifferent to the birth of their Messiah, the king-makers continued their search for the King of the Jews. They followed His star to Bethlehem of Judea. There they worshipped the Baby and give Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. The magi were supposed to return to Herod who, undoubtedly, was determined to kill the Child. However, God did not let that happen.

 

Matthew 2:12-23

 

Scene One: Bethlehem

12 And having been warned by God in a dream not to return to Herod, the magi left for their own country by another way.

God intervened and told the magi Do not do that! Go back another way. So the magi went back to their own country, Persia, by another route.

 

13 Now when they had departed, behold an angel of the Lord appeared.

That is interesting, is it not? Announcements made in the Old Testament Scriptures were made by THE Angel of the Lord. Now, as we begin Matthew, the New Testament Scripture reads AN angel of the Lord. Why is that? Because The Angel of the Lord was the preincarnate (before assuming a human body and human nature) Messiah. And now He has been born, so AN angel of the Lord comes to Joseph.

An angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream.

We want to be very careful and not misunderstand this phrase. In antiquity, the word dream was used to mean "a semi-conscious state". Joseph did not have a dream where an angel came to him. That would be very wrong. This was a real encounter; an angel of the Lord actually came and spoke to Joseph.

And the angel said "Arise!"

Arise sounds a little bit religious. The angel said Get up!

"And take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is going to search for the Child to destroy Him."

 

Scene Two: Egypt

14 And he arose and took the Child and His mother by night, and departed for Egypt;

The trip from Bethlehem to Egypt would have been long. It was approximately 75 miles from Bethlehem to the border of Egypt, and about another 125 miles into the habitable part of Egypt. In all, they had an estimated 200-mile trip, which would have taken the royal family weeks.

 

15 And was there until the death of Herod,

The key phrase:

That what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet might be fulfilled, saying, "Out of Egypt did I call My Son."

 

Scene Three: Jerusalem

16 Then when Herod saw that he had been tricked by the magi, he became very enraged, and sent and slew all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its environs, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had ascertained from the magi.

This does not mean that Jesus was two years old when Herod commanded the massacre of the innocents. Following in time, Jesus would have been [at most] six months old, probably four months old. I believe Herod said Bethlehem and its outskirts and two years old and under to give him a huge margin for error. I am surprised he did not say ten years old and under.

 

The key phrase:

17 Then that which was spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled, saying,

18 "A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children; and she refused to be comforted, because they were no more."

 

Scene Four: Nazareth

19 But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying,

20 "Arise and take the Child and His mother, and go into the land of Israel; for those who sought the Child's life are dead."

21 And he arose.

Did you notice that Joseph kept doing the right things? Is there any question that God chose the right man to be the [virtual] father of Jesus?

And he arose, took the Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel.

 

22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And being warned by God in a dream, he departed for the regions of Galilee,

We will see why Joseph had good reason to be afraid of Archelaus.

 

23 And came and resided in a city called Nazareth,

The key phrase:

That what was spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, "He shall be called a Nazarene."

 

Father, thank You for this Matthew passage in Your Scriptures.

We thank You for what we are going to see in this passage -- through these four scenes we are going to see how You arrange things, how Your providence works, and how You maneuver situations and people to identify Messiah with us.

Each of us comes from a different perspective. We have had different weeks, days, and backgrounds. But Father, Your word is alive and powerful. Will You take this portion of Scripture and apply it to each one of us, to whatever need, whatever situation we have today; will You speak to us?

We pray in Messiah Jesus' name. Amen.

 

Fulfilling Prophecies

 

There are well over 300 messianic prophecies in the Old Testament Scriptures that point to Messiah Jesus. Matthew presented four of them in this passage, and he picked out four rather interesting ones.

When one presents the messianic predictions in the Old Testament and then presents Jesus, the match is so exact that deniers are forced to come up with some explanation to justify their unbelief. Many times they say Well He did it on purpose; He consciously saw the Old Testament prophecies and He just acted them out. Could Messiah Jesus have acted out all of the messianic prophecies to make them self-fulfilling (a common charge made against Him)?

Okay, Jesus could have chosen where He lived as a grown man, He could have chosen His occupation, and He could have gathered together some disciples and taught them in accordance with the Old Testament Scriptures. However, as we have seen before (see Matthew 1:1-17: Who's Who of Jesus' Genealogy study), he would have performed miracles, including healing people and raising people from the dead, to fulfill all messianic prophecies. And He would have pulled off a huge miracle after He Himself died; somehow He would have arranged to resurrect Himself from the dead!

Additionally, there is NO way Messiah Jesus could have taken the predictions presented in Matthew 2 and purposely acted them out, making them self-fulfilling prophecies. Jesus really would have pulled something off by choosing where He was born. And then, as a little baby of a few months old, He would have had to maneuver His father to take Him to Egypt, and later to Nazareth. Most amazing off all, as an infant, He would have arranged things so that Herod would kill all the male babies in Bethlehem!

Fulfilling Old Testament Messianic Prophecies

God Is Moving and Controlling

Prophecy

Scene

Jesus Identified With Man

"And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, Are by no means least among the leaders of Judah; For out of you shall come forth a Ruler who will shepherd My people Israel."

Micah 5:2

The birthplace of Messiah Jesus was Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king.

See Matthew 2:1 and 12-13

The King of the Jews came into the world [the first time] in humility.

Human beings are insignificant.

"I have called My Son out of Egypt."

Hosea 11:1

The royal family's flight into Egypt [and later, out of Egypt].

See Matthew 2:14-15

The Son of God went into the world [and then He was called out].

Every human being is in bondage to the world's system [and then the Lord God pulls out the redeemed to the Kingdom of Light].

"A voice was heard in Ramah, Weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children; And she refused to be comforted, Because they were no more."

Jeremiah 31:15

Back to Jerusalem where Herod orders the killing of all males two years old and younger in Bethlehem and its outskirts.

See Matthew 2:16-18

The Eternal Word of God entered the world of death.

One of the features of being a part of the mortal human race is death.

"A shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse."

Isaiah 11:1a

The royal family goes [out of Egypt and] up to Nazareth after the death of Herod.

See Matthew 2:19-23

Messiah Jesus lived in Nazareth, an unsavory place.

Human beings really are unsavory and worthless.

 

Next:

Matthew 2:12-23, PART 2: PAYING THE WAY

 

To: Matthew 1:1-17, PART 2: WHO'S WHO OF JESUS' GENEALOGY

Matthew 2:1-12, PART 1: WE THREE KINGS OF ORIENT ARE … NOT!

 

Back To: Matthew Series Page

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We want to express our deepest appreciation to Mitchell and Dawn Kolodin for their excellent work in transcribing and editing this entire Matthew study.

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