Christmas Chronology: Matthew 2:13-18

 

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.”^[c]

For the second time, an angel appears to Joseph in a dream. The first time, God sent the message in the dream to assure Joseph that Jesus was conceived of the Holy Spirit and to encourage Joseph to take Mary as his wife (1:20-21, blog). This second appearance in a dream is about saving their son’s life. Both appearances were to make sure that Joseph did the right thing so that Jesus could complete his mission. There have been times that I have wished that God would speak to me audibly so that I could know for sure what he wanted me to do and make the right decision. But even the greatest crises I have faced in my life don’t compare in importance to what Joseph faced. The salvation of the world depended on Joseph obeying God immediately. Maybe God doesn’t speak to most of us this way because our circumstances are just not that crucial in the light of eternity.

It seems from Matthew’s language that this appearance happened right after the Magi left, maybe the same night. Matthew indicates in verse 14 that Joseph did get up that same night, pack up his family and their belongings and leave for Egypt. Joseph’s obedience was immediate. There was no hesitation. This shows the kind of man Joseph was. First, he was a man who had a close enough relationship with God that he got this kind of communication from God. If we want God to speak to us clearly, we have to live close enough to him to hear his voice. Second, he was a man of faith and unquestioning obedience. When Gabriel appeared to Mary and to Zechariah, they had questions (Luke 1:11-20, blog, Luke 1:26-38, blog). But Joseph never questioned when God told him something. He just obeyed, and instantly. What if Joseph had said, “I’m too busy right now. I’ll do what God says later.” Jesus would have been one of the innocents slaughtered by Herod. The plan of salvation would have been set back, perhaps by centuries. When God tells us to do something, we’d better do it, and right away. We never know what the eternal consequences will be if we don’t.

As the angel told them to do, they left for Egypt. Egypt was a province of Rome at that time, and it had a large Jewish community. They had their own temple and synagogues. There were probably members of Joseph’s extended family, or clan there. They would have a place to fit in and live, and be beyond Herod’s jurisdiction. We don’t know how long they stayed in Egypt, because we don’t have reliable historical information to show when Herod died. But it probably wasn’t more than a year or two.

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.”^[d]

It probably took a few days for Herod to realize that the Magi were not coming back, so the Holy Family had a bit of a head start. Herod had asked the Magi specifically when the star appeared so he could calculate when the baby had been born (2:7). So he knew that Jesus couldn’t be more than two years old.

This event, commonly called the slaughter of the innocents, is not corroborated in any secular history. But it fits with what we know of Herod’s ruthlessness. Plus, Matthew wrote this book to Jewish believers in the first century. This tragedy would have been a clear memory for those who were alive at that time, the way the Kennedy assassination is for those of us who were alive when that happened, or as 9/11 is for most Americans today. Matthew could not have put this in his gospel if it hadn’t really happened. Someone would have called him on it.

Twice in this short passage, Matthew cites fulfillment of prophecy. Peter and Paul also stressed Jesus as fulfillment of prophecy in their preaching to Jews (Acts 3:17-18, blog, Acts 28:23, blog). This was to show Jews of that time that this Jesus movement was not some Gentile fad. It was foretold by Old Testament prophecy. The hope of Israel, which had been desired by all Jews for centuries, had been fulfilled in Jesus. Yes, Christianity was open to everyone, including Gentiles, and they didn’t have to get circumcised and become Jews to be saved. But Jesus came to his own people first. Jesus was a Jew, and there is unbroken continuity from the promise made to Abraham to the promise made to David to the fulfillment of those promises in Jesus. He is the Savior of the world, and also the promised Messiah of Israel.

I hope you’ve enjoyed these posts, and that they’ve been meaningful to you this Christmas season. May you and yours have a wonderful Christmas!