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.” 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.”
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. 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.”
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. 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.
Joseph the Guardian of our Lord is told to take the child to Egypt to rescue him from death. Joseph is later told to bring the child back to Israel. But both of these activities Matthew through the Holy Spirit reminds us of God fulfilling prophecy.
But here is the part that always confuses me, is why does Joseph go to Nazareth? In the Gospel according to St Luke, Joseph and Mary return home to the region of Galilee and city called Nazareth. Matthew say it is to fulfill a prophecy, that most people can not find. But if you listen to the story, it seems like Joseph does not trust that Archelaus will not seek the child's life.
God tells Joseph, "For those who sought the child's life are dead." Now one could assume that means all the people who would seek to kill Jesus are dead. On the other hand, God could just be saying those people who were previously desiring to kill the child are dead, but there could be others that might seek his life. Thus, Joseph just thinking ahead does not want to have to move again. Or it could just be as simple as St Luke records, they just went home.
But in any case the real lesson for us, is there will always be people seeking the life of Jesus. Even though Herod is dead, his son Arhcelaus would be threatened by the King of the Jews. When Jesus begins his ministry it is the Pharisees who feel threatened and seek after the life of Jesus. Then later it becomes the chief-priests, scribes, and pharisees who join together to seek the life of the King of the Jews.
But all Christians now seek the life of the King of the Jews. The sign the King of the Jews is placed upon the cross to proclaim where God has placed his son to give us life. It is in this sacrifice where God allows those seeking Jesus Life to receive new life through his death and ultimately his resurrection. It is thanks to those who eventual killed the King of the Jews, we have life eternal.
But here is the part that always confuses me, is why does Joseph go to Nazareth? In the Gospel according to St Luke, Joseph and Mary return home to the region of Galilee and city called Nazareth. Matthew say it is to fulfill a prophecy, that most people can not find. But if you listen to the story, it seems like Joseph does not trust that Archelaus will not seek the child's life.
God tells Joseph, "For those who sought the child's life are dead." Now one could assume that means all the people who would seek to kill Jesus are dead. On the other hand, God could just be saying those people who were previously desiring to kill the child are dead, but there could be others that might seek his life. Thus, Joseph just thinking ahead does not want to have to move again. Or it could just be as simple as St Luke records, they just went home.
But in any case the real lesson for us, is there will always be people seeking the life of Jesus. Even though Herod is dead, his son Arhcelaus would be threatened by the King of the Jews. When Jesus begins his ministry it is the Pharisees who feel threatened and seek after the life of Jesus. Then later it becomes the chief-priests, scribes, and pharisees who join together to seek the life of the King of the Jews.
But all Christians now seek the life of the King of the Jews. The sign the King of the Jews is placed upon the cross to proclaim where God has placed his son to give us life. It is in this sacrifice where God allows those seeking Jesus Life to receive new life through his death and ultimately his resurrection. It is thanks to those who eventual killed the King of the Jews, we have life eternal.
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