Exposition of Matthew (Matthew 2:18-23)
(Prophecies fulfilled at the birth of Christ)
Question to be answered in this study
- What does sorrow have to do with God’s will?
- What is the one thing we can count on when in the midst of sorrow and difficulties?
- Did Herod’s decree include the town of Rama?
- How long did Jesus and His family spend in Egypt?
- Can we depend on God to supply all our needs today; can we know for sure that He will?
Introduction
There is sorrow, according to God’s will, that has the purpose of bringing some to repentance. In 2 Corinthians 7:10-11 we read: “For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death.” Paul shows the similarity of principles at work in Israel in Jesus’ day as it was in Jeremiah’s day. Israel was sinful and as a result bad things happened. They had fallen into idolatry to the point of worshiping Bail and even were offering their children to be burned alive as a sacrifice to Molek, Lev 18:22. The principle still holds today in our world. Our world is full of sin, evil, and hatred; that is why bad things will happen constantly. That is why the covid-19 has shut down the entire world. Sin is everywhere and is affecting the lives of people everywhere. We see the proof of this every day in the news, in our cities and neighborhoods, even in our own family, and in our own lives.
Believers have no promise in the Bible that bad things will never happen to them. I read about a street preacher last week, who was dedicated to sharing the gospel by preaching on the street. He said that God was more powerful than covid-19 and could also heal it. I agree, but that does not mean that I am free to ignore the safety guidelines. I’m not sure he meant that by what he said. However, he died from the virus a short time later. There is no promise that we will avoid sorrow. To the contrary, as long as we are on this earth, we will know pain and suffering. If you walk in the rain, you get wet. If you walk in the world, you will suffer hurt. But in the midst of it all, the Bible also promises that God is still on His throne, still in control, and has a wonderful plan for his children.
The principle is this, we can always trust the Lord and know that He is working in the midst of our trials and troubles to bring about, in the end, a good thing. “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose,” Romans 14:20 (KJV). Throughout scripture, this principle reminds us that the Lord is working out His plan for us. Even childbirth reminds us of this principle. The pain that is endured in child birth proceeds the joy of bringing a new life into the world. It is also a picture of the pain Jesus endured on the cross, in order to bring us forgiveness and a new life. The suffering we experience now is a result of sin but it is also a preparation for when we enter the heavenly kingdom with our new glorified bodies never to suffer the consequences of sin again. God uses the trials of this life to mold us into His image, for it is during trials that we grow much more spiritually than during the good times. It is more likely when we’re facing difficulties that our prayer life improves, our study of God’s word increases, and we are more willing to repent and reconcile with others.
Let us go back and review verse 18:
Matthew 2:18, “In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not.”
In verse 18, Matthew references the prophecy of Jerimiah: “Thus saith the LORD; A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping; Rachel weeping for her children refused to be comforted for her children, because they were not. Thus saith the LORD; Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears: for thy work shall be rewarded, saith the LORD; and they shall come again from the land of the enemy. And there is hope in thine end, saith the LORD, that thy children shall come again to their own border.” Jeremiah 31:15-17 (KJV).
The problem with this reference is, Jerimiah said the weeping was in Rama and not Bethlehem. Rama was about the same distance, some 15 miles, to the north of Jerusalem, as Bethlehem was to the south of Jerusalem. This passage is similar to the one we studied in Hosea earlier. It also has a near and far fulfillment. The near fulfillment was, Jeremiah was giving Israel a warning concerning the coming destruction of the city of Jerusalem at the hands of the Babylonian army. This was a judgement for the sins of Israel. The prophecy was fulfilled in 605 BC, when the army of Babylon invaded Judah and killed many Jewish soldiers and took the sons of Israel as captive slaves back to Babylon. Obviously, when that happened, the mothers of these sons weep greatly. Jeremiah uses the name of Jacob’s favorite wife “Rachel” as a symbol for all the mothers of Israel that were weeping. The mothers of Israel would lose their sons to the Babylon captivity and they could not be comforted. Jerimiah’s prophecy also had a far fulfilment, which was the weeping around Bethlehem when Herod ordered all the children killed below the age of two years, which could have also included Ramah and other place within a radius of 30 miles.
So once again, Matthew looked back in Israel’s history and found prophecy that matched the events taking place around the birth of Jesus. God has a plan and carries it out by foretelling events hundreds of years before they take place, sometimes in symbols and sometimes in historical events. The question is, why does God allow such bad things to happen to His own children? Answer: We are all acquainted with troubles and sorrows. There isn’t a person alive who isn’t. Difficulty arrives unannounced and can remain a very long time and sometimes indefinitely, and as a result can cause much sorrow. Some may wonder why God allows things to happen, which cause so much sorrow, for instance the covid-19 virus.
So, Matthew quotes Jeremiah as a reminder to us that the mourning in Bethlehem will one day give way to joy. Our God is a God of resurrection. Jesus raised the dead and brought them back to life. He takes what we count as a great loss and turns it into a victorious gain. He wipes away our tears and takes away pain. He is merciful and forgives us our sins. God will do many wonderful things but not necessarily in the time frame we desire. We must in faith wait on God’s plan to reveal itself. We’ve all suffered in one way or another, and it’s easy to get absorbed in it, especially when it seems never ending. But never forget that you have overcome this world by your faith in Jesus Christ. The enemy can fire shots at you and sometimes they’re really painful. But he can’t touch your eternal future, and he can’t rob you of your peace before God. And one day, this world will pass away and at that point, all the suffering will fade away with it. That’s what Matthew wants us to remember, that God works all things together for good for those who love Him, to those called according to His purpose. This world and its suffering will one day be over and God will create a new heaven and earth where all those who know him as their Lord will live with Him forever. That’s what Matthew wants us to trust in and not place our hope in the things of this world.
As we move forward an angel informs Joseph of the news of Herod’s death:
Matthew 2:19-20, “But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the LORD appeareth in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, 20Saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel: for they are dead which sought the young child’s life.” This is the third time Joseph has heard from the angel of the Lord. He is probably getting used to getting his directions directly from the Lord. Raising the Lord Jesus was not something God was going to leave to chance. He would be involved in His son’s life to the very end. The angel’s message to Joseph was that King Herod was dead, so they could go back to Israel. Therefore, Joseph leaves as instructed.
The Bible does not tell how long Jesus spends in Egypt before returning to Israel. According to the time line, we know Herod died in 4 BC, Jesus was probably born around 6 BC. This means the wise men arrived after Jesus was already about a year old. Therefore, their stay in Egypt was probably not over a year. According to Matthew, they waited until hearing that Herod was dead. The gifts they received from the wise men probably covered their expenses during that time..
It is encouraging to know that God also provides our needs today: We read in Philippians 4:19 (KJV), “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” And in Matthew 6:25-34: “Therefore, I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, Then even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.”
These wise men of Matthew chapter 2 heard the word of God and placed their faith in the new born Messiah. I urge you to do the same today if you haven’t already. Place your faith in Jesus Christ, your King, your High Priest, your perfect sinless sacrifice given to save you from your sins. Matthew tells us, they waited until hearing that Herod was gone. Wouldn’t it have been an encouragement to this young family as they watched God provide in perfect proportion to their needs? They didn’t know they were going to Egypt, so they couldn’t have planned to pay for it, but God provided valuable gifts. Once they were there, they had no idea how long they would stay, but the gifts God provided lasted long enough.
By now, Joseph is probably becoming accustomed to getting directions this way. These parents were learning that raising the Savior of the world was not something that God was going to leave to chance. They were going to get lots of helpful parenting advice. The angel says get up and go to the land of Israel with the Child and Mary, so, Joseph leaves in the middle of the night. Earlier we saw where Matthew compared the weeping caused by the Babylonian captivity to the time of Jesus when Herod ordered the death of all male children below 2 years of age. There is also a connection between this story in Jesus’ life and the account of Exodus: Moses, is a picture in the Bible of Jesus. Moses originally fled Egypt because the Pharaoh sought to kill him. Jesus flees the promised land when Herod seeks to kill him.
In the Exodus account, the Pharaoh commanded that every male Hebrew child be killed by casting them into the Nile. And in Matthew, we see king, Herod, ordering every male Jewish child killed in Bethlehem. Furthermore, Moses was rescued from that death sentence by a mother placing him in a basket in the Nile to be rescued by Pharaoh’s daughter. Jesus was rescued by His mother taking Him across the Nile. Both stories turn on a similar event: In Exodus, we’re told the Pharaoh dies, and so it’s time for Moses to return to free His people, Israel, from bondage. And in Matthew, Herod dies so Jesus’ family is told it’s time to return so Jesus can free His people, Israel, from bondage to sin. In both cases, an angel of the Lord said return because the one seeking your life has died. Moses returned with his family, just as Jesus returned with his family.
Matthew 2:21-23, “And he arose, and took the young child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus did reign in Judaea in the room of his father Herod, he was afraid to go thither: notwithstanding, being warned of God in a dream, he turned aside into the parts of Galilee: And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene.”
Archelaus was part of the Herod dynasty and continued the Mafia type reign. God warned Joseph of the danger, so they went to Nazareth instead of Jerusalem to live until Jesus entered His ministry.