Out of Egypt
January 12, 2025 Preacher: Kevin Godin Series: Matthew - The King in His Beauty
Scripture: Matthew 2:13–23
Sermon Transcript:
First, I would like to thank pastor Chris for and pastor Craig for their messages last Sunday. This morning, we will pick up where pastor Chris left off, continuing our journey through the Gospel of Matthew. As we do, it is important to remember that the Scriptures were written in a communal context, very different from the individualistic lens through which we often view them.
To understand what Matthew is telling us we need to see that Jesus stands not only as our personal substitute but also as the second Adam, representing humanity afresh and as the embodiment of God's covenant promises, Matthew presents him as the true Israel. Jesus is the fulfillment of all that Israel was meant to be; He embodies the faithful Son, the servant of the Lord. His every action and decision is a reflection of God's redemptive plan, illustrating that salvation is God's work from beginning to end.
From His humble birth in Bethlehem to His flight into Egypt, each step is a testament to the sovereign grace of God. Even before His public ministry began, God was at work, in Jesus to bring about the redemption of His people. Jesus' life is a living fulfillment of God's promises, a divine choreography revealing that our salvation is entirely God's doing. As we reflect on this passage, I hope we will marvel together at the meticulous detail of God's redemptive plan and the profound truth that salvation, from start to finish, is a gift of sovereign grace.
Jesus is a complete savior, and our main point this morning is that
Jesus perfectly completes every step in God's plan of redemption.
From His humble birth to His sacrificial death, Jesus executes every divine purpose necessary for our redemption. We are saved by sovereign grace and not by any work of our own or of any other power in this world. Salvation is God’s work, we can only receive it by faith as a gift from a loving God.
Last week we finished with the visit from the wise men. Verse 13 continues,
13 Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.”
After the wise men leave, God again sends an angel to give Joseph instructions through a dream. A couple weeks ago, I misspoke. I said there were only six times when God revealed himself in dreams in the New Testament. What I meant to say was six times in Matthew’s Gospel. Four of the six times are to Joseph regarding the birth and protection of baby Jesus. Here again, God reveals to Joseph in a dream through an angel that king Herod is going to try and kill the baby.
There were a million ways God could have stopped Herod, but in His perfect wisdom He chooses to protect the child by having Mary and Joseph flee to Egypt. It is often the case that God shelters us from the storm rather than delivering us from it. Our finite minds struggle to grasp the reasons, but God has proven we can trust him. His ways, though often mysterious, are always best. What looks like defeat and weakness with him always turns to triumph and strength. We may question why another path wasn’t chosen, but if we knew what God knows, and if we were as good as God is, we would choose for ourselves exactly what God has chosen for us. Great peace comes from remembering that truth.
Joseph is told to take the child to Egypt. There was at this time a large Jewish community in Egypt and those with means could safely travel there. God’s purpose, however, was bigger than just finding a place where Jesus would be safe from Herod. God sends Jesus to Egypt for refuge just as he had sent Israel, and like Israel, Jesus will leave Egypt and come to Israel. Then verse 14 says,
14 And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt 15 and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt I called my son.”
It appears Joseph acted right away. We don’t know if he left immediately after the dream or if they waited until night so they would not be observed, but in either case, they left in a hurry. Remember, these are two real young people with a little baby. They don’t know how all this is going to go. Mary and Joseph are like a cork floating down a river, a young inexperienced couple caught up in the most momentous events in history. They go from living quiet ordinary lives in a small town to repeated visits by angels, hosting wise men from foreign countries, and escapes in the middle of the night. What an amazing faith these two have! What mysterious grace that God works this way!
Jesus and his family are protected from Herod’s wrath, but they survived as refugees and immigrants in a foreign land. To be obedient, they had to abandon their families, jobs, and the life they knew in Bethlehem. Even as an infant the Lord had no place to lay his head. Isaiah 53:3 says of him,
3 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
The suffering and humiliation of Jesus was not reserved only for the cross. It began with him leaving the glory of heaven and taking on human flesh, as Philippians 2:6-7 reminds us:
6 …though he was in the form of God, [he] did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.
He who came to save the world was not wanted or welcome by the world. Jesus knows what it means to suffer injustice in this wicked and corrupt world. He experienced rejection, hatred, and injustice. Jesus sympathizes with our suffering. He also understands the spiritual battle such difficulties stir up in our hearts and offers us his strength to help us persevere in them. Hebrews 4:15–16 says,
15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
From the cradle to the cross, Jesus accomplished redemption in every step of His life, including remaining perfectly faithful in suffering. There are false teachers who will tell you that an easy and prosperous life is a God given right to every believer. They imply that anyone who is suffering somehow lacks faith or is in some kind of sin. That is a wicked lie.
What would that imply for Paul or Stephen or the apostles, all of which were killed or imprisoned for their faith? We can easily list numerous examples from our own time that show this theology to be a slanderous lie. People like Paul Schneider, Jim Elliot, Corrie Ten Boom, Richard Wurmbrand, Esther John, Samuel Lamb, and countless others. Indeed, our own congregation bears this out, but even all that is unnecessary because from the very beginning, the New Testament destroys that twisted logic in the person of Jesus himself.
More often it is not the suffering but the comfortable who lack faith. We are frequently at ease because we are not willing, as Joseph was, to let go of every worldly comfort and obey the word of God. A.W. Tozer observed,
“The flaming desire to be rid of every unholy thing and to put on the likeness of Christ at any cost is not often found among us. We expect to enter the everlasting kingdom of our Father and to sit down around the table with sages, saints and martyrs; and through the grace of God, maybe we shall; yes maybe we shall. But for the most of us it could prove at first an embarrassing experience. Ours might be the silence of the untried soldier in the presence of the battle-hardened heroes who have fought the fight and won the victory and who have scars to prove that they were present when the battle was joined.”
Many brothers and sisters whose faith far exceeds our own suffer. In one form or another persecution rather than peace has been the rule for those who follow Jesus. This does not mean that we should seek suffering. There will be no need for that, it will find us. I like the way Martin Luther put it. He said,
“…do not worry where you will find suffering. That is not necessary. Simply live as an earnest Christian, preacher, pastor, burgher, farmer, noble, lord, and fulfill your office faithfully and loyally. Let the devil worry where he can find a piece of wood out of which to make a cross for you, and the world where it can find a branch out of which to make a scourge for your hide.”
His point is that to live faithfully and follow God in a fallen world is difficult and will come with opposition and challenges. Not all suffering is persecution. It could be re-arranging your priorities, or denying yourself to be obedient. It may mean all sorts of suffering and challenges. Never let someone tell you that if you only had enough faith, you would be prosperous and healthy all the time. No person was ever as faithful as Jesus, and he was a man well acquainted with suffering and grief.
Just as Israel were strangers and sojourners in Egypt, so too Jesus would live that way, fulfilling in all righteousness God’s purposes for his chosen people. Throughout his time on earth Jesus will retrace key moments in the history of Israel in his own life and he will succeed in every place God’s people had previously failed. He was completely without sin.
Israel trying to keep the law with sinful hearts was like a musician trying to play a masterpiece on an instrument that’s completely out of tune. Even when they put their fingers in the right places, the notes were wrong because the instrument itself was flawed. Then comes Jesus, with a heart perfectly tuned to God, and He takes that same law, that same music, and plays it perfectly. What was burdensome became beautiful. In His hands, the melody of obedience, that we could never perform, is performed flawlessly, unlocking the blessings of God.
This time, out of Egypt will come a faithful son who keeps the covenant. Matthew says this is in fulfillment of the scripture that says, “out of Egypt I called my Son”. Matthew repeatedly emphasizes that the events of Jesus’ life are fulfilling scripture. Lord willing, we will come back to that next week, but for now, let’s continue. Verse 16,
16 Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men.
As Pastor Chris pointed out last week, Herod and the Bible scholars in Jerusalem, who should have been first to worship Christ, instead rejected him. Herod sought to extinguish the Light of the World and prevent the coming of the kingdom of God to protect his own worldly kingdom. Whenever we align ourselves with the glories of this present age, we invariably set ourselves in opposition to the glory of God and thus become an ally of the devil. The kingdom of God is opposed to the kingdom of this world, and we cannot have a place in one without giving up our place in the other.
That is why those who have earthly power, wealth, and status so rarely follow Christ. Kings, presidents, and prime ministers have more often hindered the work of the gospel than helped it. Seeking security and peace for the work of the kingdom through earthly power is foolish. We must use our influence as Christian citizens honestly and humbly to the best effect we can, but our confidence never rests in worldly leaders or systems.
This election many were worried about which candidate or party might prevail. We must not ignore our civic responsibilities or the good of our nation, but even if the United States should fall, God’s Kingdom will continue to advance. We must be careful that our hearts do not deceive us. It is very easy to hide a desire to remain comfortable in the world under the robes of a concern for a godly culture. We must ask ourselves what really drives our nervousness about such things.
Let’s ask ourselves, if our prayers were answered today, who would be saved? What advancement of the kingdom would be granted? Ask, if all my prayers were answered, would the primary benefit be for my own life and comfort or for the glory of God and his kingdom? Ask yourself, is there a place where God is calling you to trust him, even if it means being humbled or suffering?
We must be very careful about the temptation to seek power, wealth, and influence in the world. Such desires are dangerous to our souls, and they are not the means through which God builds his kingdom or his saints. It is often an act of mercy that God denies us wealth, power, and status. Since our greatest good is found in him, why should we expect him to give us anything that would draw us away from him? We sometimes think God is unkind to withhold things from us not realizing that he does so because he loves us.
Just as a good earthly father often tells his children “no” for their own good, so too does our heavenly father. It might be that in granting us certain jobs or relationships or other advantages, that we would have been led away from him and to destruction. We must be on guard always against covetousness and pride. We see the spiritual contrast clearly between Joseph and Herod. Joseph is willing to leave everything behind in faith, Herod is willing to kill the Son of God to keep what he has.
Herod knows the wise men have seen the star and he knows the scripture has promised a Savior and a King. Yet his plan is to attempt to stop God’s word from coming to pass. This is a kind of spiritual insanity. It is craziness, and yet this is the foolish arrogance that is found in all sin, to think that our rebellion can prevail against almighty God. To think that our will can bend reality and that God’s word will not come to pass.
Some of you will remember that about 30 years ago there was an outbreak of mad cow disease. Those who contracted the disease began to have psychological issues and it eventually led to early onset dementia and the loss of rational control over ones body. Well, that is how sin is. The infection leads to increasingly irrational behavior.
In Herod’s heart is the audacity of the devil himself, to attack the Messiah himself. This is the spirit of Pharaoh, seeking to kill all the Hebrew children so that the promised deliverer cannot come. But Herod is no Egyptian pharaoh, he is a king of Israel. He is the one entrusted with leading God’s chosen people. Friends, this is a vivid reminder that there is a vast difference between knowing the Bible and believing it, between understanding what it says and submitting ourselves to it.
Like Pharoah, Herod orders the death of all the baby boys. Once again, Matthew tells us that this is the fulfillment of the scripture,
17 Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah: 18 “A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be comforted, because they are no more.”
Again, Jesus is retracing the history of Israel. Since Israel disobeyed, Jesus has come to do what they should have. He must suffer what they suffered. He must follow in Israel’s steps up to the point they failed, and then continue to obey and succeed in the mission Israel should have carried out. The attempt to kill the Israelite infants, the journey of Jesus and his family into Egypt and back to the Promised Land is the same basic pattern of Israel of old except Jesus will keep the covenant in every detail. Jesus will fulfill the law and earn all the covenant blessings that were promised to faithful Jews.
He had to do this because although Israel received the promises, like all of us, every one of them failed to keep the law in righteousness. All had fallen short, just as all today continue to fall short. Like them, we have not honored God before all else. We have not worshipped him in truth. We have taken his name in vain, we have profaned the sabbath, disrespected the parents he gave us. Like Israel, we too were born with hearts filled with the selfish desires that lead to murder, adultery, theft, and lying. We all have covetous hearts.
This means that none of us are good enough to earn the rewards God promises to those who are righteous. Not only do we not deserve rewards, but we also deserve punishment because we have opposed God and worked against that which is good. There isn’t anyone here who would have nothing to be ashamed of if our every thought, and deed, and motive were made visible to everyone. But all these are visible to God, and yet in an amazing act of mercy and grace sent his Son Jesus to this world. He came as one of us and walked the same path we walk, remaining faithful at every point we have failed. Jesus lived the perfect human life under the law.
Then in an act of astounding love, on the cross Jesus gives his perfect life for everyone who will put their faith in him. He exchanges his righteousness for our sin. We inherit the promises of the faithful and he takes the punishment of the sinner. He was ridiculed and beaten. He was nailed to a cross, naked and humiliated. He died in our place as a display of the wrath of God against sin, and as a display of the love the Father has for those he has chosen to bless.
Jesus died in our place, for our sin. Then three days later, he rose from the dead. The price had been paid in full. The wrath of God against sin had been satisfied for all those who are in Christ. Jesus fulfills every step required of Israel and every step for all who, by faith, become partakers in Israel’s promises. He paid it all. Every drop, every ounce, it has all been accomplished in Christ.
Believers, whatever suffering this world brings, it brings to us as those who have overcome the world in Christ. However lasting our challenges are, we can endure them knowing they will not be everlasting, for we have been adopted by God and have been made heirs of his kingdom by the blood of Christ. We may have strife in the world, but we have peace with God. Listen to what the apostle Paul says in Romans 8:1–4 about those who put their faith in Jesus,
1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. 3 For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
It is because Jesus was perfectly faithful that he can condemn sin in the flesh. It is because he is truly righteous that the righteous requirement of the law can be fulfilled in all those who are united to him by faith. He has secured our victory and since he has done all this, we can live knowing he will complete the work he began in us and return to raise us with him in glory. The work of redemption has been accomplished in Christ. All we must do to receive it is to repent and believe. To trust in what he has done for us and receive it with joy. It doesn’t matter how many Pharaohs and Herod’s the devil can muster, the promises of Jesus will never fail.
Verse 19 says,
19 But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, 20 saying, “Rise, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the child’s life are dead.” 21 And he rose and took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel.
In the end, Herod died like any other man, his plan to resist God’s plan shown to be foolish and futile. Death is the great leveler of all earthly power. In every generation, persecutors arise, but they come and go while God’s truth remains forever. We do not need to fear men because they all die, but in Christ, we have eternal life. Herod is gone and like Israel before, they leave Egypt and return to 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 in a dream he withdrew to the district of Galilee. 23 And he went and lived in a city called Nazareth, so that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled, that he would be called a Nazarene.
Archelaus is the son of Herod and was in control of the region of Bethlehem. Concerned that he may continue his father’s policy, Joseph and Mary decide to settle in Galilee. This is why although Jesus was born in Bethlehem he is known as a Galilean. This too fulfills the scripture that the Messiah would be called a Nazarene as Nazareth is a town in Galilee.
The term Nazarene was used derogatively to refer to someone from a backward place. It would be like calling someone a hick or a bumpkin today. Jesus fulfills his calling not only in the highly dramatic moments, but in living out his life in humility. He spent most of his life as a carpenter’s son in a place that was totally insignificant.
Being in an unremarkable place or position is no barrier to holiness or faithfulness. Being poor or under the radar of the so-called important people is not a hindrance to pleasing God. God’s promise that we shall be blessed should be enough for one who has faith. Our identity is found in Christ not in social status. Like Jesus, we are to trust God in find our joy in him even when called to humble circumstances. Humility is perhaps the rarest and most beautiful of the graces. It allows us to be content with whatever calling God has for us. We see this perfection in our Lord, who was willing to be humbled for our salvation.
Hebrews tells us he endured because of the joy that was set before him. I pray each of us would have such faith in the joy set before us that nothing can deter us from following him and trusting him in all things. We can trust him even when his calling is difficult because he has already won the victory for us. I would like to finish by reflecting on the words of the apostle Paul in Romans 8:31–39,
31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? 33 Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36 As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
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