The Escape to Egypt – Matt 2:

Understand the back story

a. Three characters in play – Worshipful sinners, hard hearted Spiritual leaders, and the baby Jesus.

b. Last week we considered the wise men, and their reaction to Jesus.

c. This week, we consider King Herod and his reaction to Jesus.

d. There is a deeper “story” being retold as well – the Israelites journey to and from Egypt.

The text.

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]

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]

The talking points

1. When Joseph is told by an Angel to go, he listens.

2. He leaves in the middle of the night, arriving in Egypt, making the prophecy that he came “out of Egypt” true.

3. And the evil plan of Herod doesn’t work, although that the evil done is real, and “once again Rachel weeps.”

The meaning to them

1. We must listen, when God speaks to us – our lives may depend on it.

2. Even today the wheels of prophecy are turning around us.

3. The evil plans being worked out against us will ultimately fail, although the evil is real, and often the short term effects drive us to weep with Rachel.

What about Christmas

1. What is God telling you to do? Listen and obey, even if it seems to be completely “nonsensical.” It is a great time of year to do something bold.

2. Remember that God’s hands are moving through time, in big and yet sometimes obscure ways, to accomplish His plans – even though the event may feel very random and chaotic

3. We all long for a “simple holiday,” but in reality, sin’s destructive power continues to rage in our world and in our families. Jesus promises to save us, and only in Jesus.

Posted via email from Mark Kraakevik