Today’s passage: Matthew 2:13-23
Helpful information:
- Three prophecies were fulfilled in this passage.
- “Out of Egypt I called my son.” – Hosea 11:1 – This first prophecy is set in the context of the exodus, God freeing His people from slavery. Jesus brings about a new exodus.
- “Rachel is weeping for her children…” – Jeremiah 31:15 – This second prophecy set in the context of the Babylonian exile. In the following verses in Jeremiah 31, God promises to return the people to the land and that there was hope coming in the future. Jesus brings about a new return from exile.
- “He would be called a Nazarene.” – This one seems tricky. There is no place in the Old Testament where these words are directly spoken/written. So, what people think Matthew would have been referring to is something like Isaiah 53:3, “He was despised and rejected by men…” Being called a Nazarene was not a good thing. The Jews despised and rejected Nazarenes. When Nathanael heard of Jesus’ hometown in John 1:46, he asked, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” The answer to that question is, YES! For, “He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows.” (Is. 53:4) “He was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities.; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.” (Is. 53:5)
Questions to consider:
- What kind of freedom does Jesus provide? Freedom from what?
- From what kind of exile does Jesus return us? From what/From whom are we alienated?
- What did Jesus come to do?