The Fleeing Child is the Future Rescuing King Matthew 2:13-23

Craving Captivity

Associated press ran a story in 2007 about a man who got out of prison to only want to go back to prison.

“A man who robbed a bank ten years ago and was sentenced to seventy months in a federal penitentiary decided he liked prison life so much that he committed another crime so he could return. Danny Villegas walked inside a Federal Credit Union in Florida and told the teller he was robbing her, adding, “You might as well call the police right now.”

Villegas then sat down on a couch in the lobby and waited for police to arrive. “He said he wanted to rob a federal bank because he wanted to go back to a federal penitentiary,” said Lieutenant Ron Wright of the South Daytona Police Department. Villegas had worked in construction in Texas for five years but had grown tired of the work. Associated Press, “Police Say Man Staged Florida Robbery to Go Back to Prison,” Houston Chronicle (January 9, 2007)”

In some ways this story is a modern telling of Israel’s exodus; at least part of it anyways. Israel is forced into captivity by Egypt for several hundred years. God hears Israel’s cries for relief and raised up Moses as a deliverer who would led them on an exodus. After ten miraculous plagues that humble Pharoah. Israel is released from prison, out of exile God called his son. And yet, like the man weary from working construction, when the journey got tired some, Israel wanted to go back.

Exodus 16:3 (CSB)

3 “If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in the land of Egypt, when we sat by pots of meat and ate all the bread we wanted. Instead, you brought us into this wilderness to make this whole assembly die of hunger!”

Why would anyone want to go back to prison? Why would Israel crave Egypt when they were given the very presence and promises of God?" We may wonder at this behavior and scratch our heads in confusion. Similarly, some may also wonder why someone would choose to go back into exile when they have been given Jesus, the very Son of God who is the embodiment of God's love and the fullness of God.

We are prone to crave exile. It is our Adamic nature to be held captive by sin. This morning, Matthew will show us how, even in the early stages of Jesus’ life, God was sovereignly working to set us free and keep us free from captivity. This morning I want the eyes of your heart to see,

Jesus is our king who leads us on a new exodus, turns our mourning into joy, and rules over us with righteousness that restores our peace.

Matthew 2:13–15 ESV

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.”

King Jesus will lead His people on a new Exodus (Matthew 2:13-15; Hos 11:1)

It's difficult to read this passage without thinking of Jacob and his family's migration to Egypt during a famine in Canaan (Gen 46). When God promised Abram land, seed, and blessings, he also prophesied that Israel would be in captivity for four hundred years. God providentially moved his people to Egypt through Jacob and Joseph's treachery to protect them from the famine in Canaan. Four centuries later, after God's people had multiplied and become enslaved, He would sovereignly lead them out of captivity in a great exodus to the promised land. He would do so with a child he saved from the brutality of a pharaoh with a heart similar to Herod's.

During the time when Moses was born, Pharaoh was afraid that the Jews would unite with Egypt's enemies. As a result, he ordered all Israelite male infants to be thrown into the Nile River. However, God saved Moses from Pharaoh's cruel intentions so that he could become the savior of his people. Similarly, Jesus was also rescued from the hands of Herod, who sought to harm him, and he came to the world to lead his people on a new exodus. Matthew draws parallels between Hosea and these two instances, highlighting the divine intervention in both cases.

Matthew quotes Hosea 11:1

Hosea 11:1 ESV

1 When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.

Hosea 11:1 is a reference to the story of the exodus. In the passage, Israel is referred to as God's son and it is said that God's love is demonstrated by rescuing Israel from slavery in Egypt. The following verse, however, reveals God's sadness over Israel's constant wandering away from his covenant love and how they will end up being enslaved again in Egypt. The passage ends with a powerful line declaring that God will call his son out of Egypt.

In the book of Matthew, Jesus is considered the true Israel and the faithful son that Israel failed to be. The pattern of Israel and Jesus is similar. God saved his people from famine by sending them to Egypt and later rescued them from captivity there. When the Israelites broke their covenant with God, they were exiled. However, God later restored them. Similarly, God protected Jesus from Herod by sending him to Egypt. Jesus was exiled to Egypt not because of his sins but because of the sins of his people. When Herod died, God called Jesus back from exile to grow as His faithful son, who would one day lead his people on a new exodus.

Throughout Matthew’s gospel, you will see Jesus reenact Israel’s history. He is the faithful Son, where Israel was unfaithful. His faithfulness ensures our exodus out of captivity. Jesus is the true Israel, the faithful Son, the Messiah King, who leads his people on exodus-out of captivity and into the presence of God.

Dear brothers and sisters, take a moment to reflect on the captivity and enslavement you were in before you came to know Jesus. According to the Bible, you were once a child of wrath, living in the kingdom of darkness. You had a brutal heart, like Pharaoh, and a murderous heart, like Herod. You were in exile because of your treasonous acts against the Lord. However, God's never-ending and loyal love for his chosen ones led you to his Messiah King. He transformed your heart and gave you eyes to see and ears to hear the voice of the one calling you to follow him to the promised land. God sent you a new Moses, who led you on a new exodus, never to return to slavery again. The child born to Mary and Joseph is Jesus, your Rescuer King. Are you following Him?

There is no other who can lead you on exodus out of the kingdom od darkness and into the kingdom of light, but Jesus. Charles Spurgeon wisely warns us,

When Jesus said, “I am the Way,” He clearly intended to exclude all other ways, so beware lest you perish in any one of them!

The Last Message For The Year, Volume 56, Sermon #3230 - John 6:37

Charles Spurgeon

King Jesus will turn His people’s mourning into joy (Matthew 2:16-18; Jeremiah 31)

In verse 16-18, Herod realizes he had been pricked by the Magi. In his rage,

Matthew 2:16 (ESV)

16 …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.

During the Christmas season, we often assume that Jesus' birth occurred over a few days. However, the truth is that we're uncertain about the exact timeline. It's possible that it took the Magi two years to find the child, or it could be that by the time Herod realized he had been deceived by the Magi, two years had already passed. Either way, Jesus would’ve been a toddler, and Herod believed if he killed all the toddler boys under two years old, he would eliminate the threat of the newborn King of the Jews.

Bethlehem would’ve not been heavily populated at the time. It is estimated that twenty young boys were slaughtered at the hands of Herod. His evil brought suffering to the families, such a feeling of sorrow that Matthew quotes Jeremiah 31 in verses 17-18

Matthew 2:17–18 ESV

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.”

In the book of Jeremiah, God's patience with Israel had come to an end, and he decided to send them into exile at the hands of the Babylonians. In the thirty-first chapter of Jeremiah, Rachel is depicted weeping for her children, who would die during the exile.

Matthew was familiar with the Old Testament and the promises of God found in Jeremiah. Despite the sorrow and suffering that evil brought upon his people, including their exile from their land, Matthew knew that God loved Israel with an everlasting love and had promised to remain faithful to them even in captivity (Jeremiah 31:3). Through his prophet Jeremiah, God reassured his exiled people of this promise,

Jeremiah 31:31–34 ESV

31 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, 32 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord. 33 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34 And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”

God loves his people, and he promised them that a day would come when they would no longer mourn or live in exile. They would no longer suffer from the hands of evil. On that day, God would do great work in their hearts, forgiving their iniquity once and for all and giving them new hearts that long to obey his commands (Ezekiel 36:25-27). Even though Bethlehem would suffer the death of her children at the hands of Herod, God would comfort his people by letting His child live.

God warns Joseph so that he flees to Egypt and remains there with Mary and the child until Herod dies. This was to preserve the child’s life because if the child dies there is no hope for Rachel’s sorrow.

Church, you have to understand, the Herods and Pharaohs of the world are seeds of the Serpent. They are the cronies of Satan. The rage of Pharoah and Herod toward God’s Messiah is the rage of Satan. Satan’s goal is to destroy God and everything that belongs to Him, especially his image bearers. J.I. Packer said this about Satan,

Satan has no constructive purpose of his own: his tactics are simply to thwart God and destroy men.

J. I. Packer

Persecution of God’s children exists because Satan falsely believes He can thwart God’s plan of redemption.

But here’s the thing; Satan is not able to thwart God. As John Clavin rightly points out,

The whole of Satan’s kingdom is subject to the authority of Christ.

John Calvin

There is only one true King, one Sovereign, and that is the Lord Jesus. In the book of Acts, we see how Satan attempts to stop the advancement of God's kingdom with all his power. He stirs up persecution against God's church, resulting in the imprisonment and killing of many Christians. Despite this, the church continues to spread and grow beyond Jerusalem, reaching Antioch and even parts of Europe. Moreover, Jesus arrests Paul, the chief persecutor of the church, and turns him into a champion for the church.

During Nero's reign, the city of Rome was set on fire and he falsely accused the Christians of being responsible for it. This led to a brutal persecution of Christians, where their homes and businesses were destroyed and many believers were imprisoned and killed. However, more than 200 years later, the city of Rome eventually converted to Christianity both socially and politically.

According to a 2023 report on the persecution of Christians in the world from Christianity Today, more than 5,600 Christians were killed for their faith last year. More than 2,100 churches were attacked or closed. More than 124,000 Christians were forcibly displaced from their homes because of their faith, and almost 15,000 became refugees. Overall, and the same as last year, 360 million Christians live in nations with high levels of persecution or discrimination. That’s 1 in 7 Christians worldwide, including 1 in 5 believers in Africa, 2 in 5 in Asia, and 1 in 15 in Latin America. And yet….

The fastest-growing Christian church in the world is in one of the most persecuted regions: Iran and Afghanistan. According to Persecution.org, some estimate a million or more Iranian converts to Christianity. Neighboring Afghanistan rivals Iran as the fastest-growing church–influenced by Iranian Christians whose similar language and cultural connections have built bridges for the spread of the gospel.

You can’t stop God. Satan cannot stop God. Nothing can stop God from joyfully advancing His kingdom by making much of the son he exiled to Egypt to call out of Egypt, and preserved his life. God comforts his people who mourn at the hands of the Herods and Pharaohs of the world through the life of His Son. Because the child lived, he grew to be the faithful Son who did what Israel could not do. He kept the law perfectly. He pleased God in every way. And when he was handed over to another Herod. This time God would not spare the life of his child, but instead offers him on a cross as a perfect sacrifice that atones for your sin. Jesus, however, dos not remain in the grave. He is raised on the third day, defeating sin, death, and Satan once and for all. And now, those who mourn shall be comforted. Because the Son lives, you can live for all eternity with Him!

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow, Because He lives, all fear is gone; Because I know He holds the future, And life is worth the living, Just because He lives!

Jesus turns your mourning into joy because he lives. God ensured he lived when he fled to Egypt as a child and when he died on the cross as your Saviour, God ensured you could live for all eternity by raising Jesus from the dead!

Our savior displayed on a criminal's cross Darkness rejoiced as though heaven had lost But then Jesus arose with our freedom in hand That's when death was arrested and my life began

Satan has no claim on you, nor do the Herods of the world. As Christians, we will face trials and tribulations on our way to heaven. We will face opposition as we strive to joyfully advance the kingdom of God by making much of Jesus. But take heart, fellow believers, your Savior turns your mourning into joy because he lives, and he lives to rule righteously and give peace to his people.

King Jesus will rule over and restore all of His people (Matthew 2:19-23; Isa 11:1-9)

Matthew 2:19–23 ESV

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.

Once again Matthew records God sovereignly moving the child to fulfill the promises he made through his prophets; specifically the Messiah being the branch of Jesse.

Matthew does not quote a particular prophet. So, what prophetic passage does this text fulfill? D.A. Carson and Gregory Beale note, the word Nazarene relates with the Hebrew word netser, referring either to Isa. 11:1 where it means ‘branch.’ What is the context of Isaiah 11:1-9

Isaiah 11:1–9 ESV

1 There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. 2 And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. 3 And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear, 4 but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. 5 Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist, and faithfulness the belt of his loins. 6 The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them. 7 The cow and the bear shall graze; their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 8 The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s den. 9 They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.

The stump is a metaphor for the royal family of David. The shoot speaks to the restoration of the line of the Messiah. Isaiah speaks of the branch in Isaiah 53:2

Isaiah 53:2 ESV

2 For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him.

Isaiah 53 refers to a future Suffering Servant who will take the sins of His people upon Himself, triumph over them, and restore them.

‌The rest of the passage describes the qualities of a perfect King. This King will rule with wisdom, understanding, knowledge, and reverence for God. He will be a just and righteous ruler with complete authority. Under his reign, the kingdom will be renewed and transformed into a state of perfect peace, akin to the Garden of Eden. Even dangerous animals like lions, wolves, and venomous snakes will no longer pose a threat, ensuring the safety of even children. It will be a utopia, a heaven on earth, the realization of 'His kingdom come.' Jesus will govern his people with fairness, and his kingdom will enjoy lasting peace, which will be made possible through the cross and resurrection.

When Moses led God's people on the first exodus, God delivered them by providing a way through his judgment: the Red Sea. Water, in a way, represents judgment. For instance, think about the flood in Genesis 8-9. God judged the Egyptians by closing the Red Sea and killing all the soldiers on the chariots, while Israel escaped to the other side. Similarly, Jesus leads us through God's judgment on the cross into God's presence, just as Moses led his people on dry land to God's promised land. Jesus bears our judgment and provides us with safe passage into His kingdom through his death and resurrection. Through his cross, he leads us out of the kingdom of darkness and into the kingdom of light. Through his cross, he turns our mourning into joy. Through his cross, he conquers sin, death, and Satan, and promises to restore and unite heaven and earth under his righteous and peaceful rule.

Don’t return to exile!

There are two important things I want you to remember today. Firstly, if Jesus has saved you and brought you out of a state of separation from God, which is what 'exile' means, and given you eternal life through his death and resurrection, do not go back to that state of separation. What I mean is that when you engage in sin and idolatry, you are going back to exile. When you neglect your prayer time, which shows that you rely on God, you are going back to exile. When you skip church because you are more interested in the entertainment of the world, you are going back to exile. When you try to make yourself happy instead of relying on God, you are going back to exile. When you focus more on building your own life instead of God’s will, you are going back to exile. Why would you go back to that state when Jesus has given you everything you need, even more than what you need, to live a life that is pleasing to God and has a purpose? He has also given you his kingdom, which is an inheritance that is beyond any worldly value. Therefore, stay with Jesus and do not go back into exile.

Keep fighting for the kingdom

Secondly, according to Darrel Doriani, Satan always strives to destroy the work of God and his Christ. Revelation reveals that Satan wanted to devour the child from the beginning (Rev. 12:4). However, the child will shepherd the nations with a rod of iron (Rev. 12:5). Though Satan's doom is sealed in Revelation 18-20, his rage remains for now. Jesus is defeating him and will defeat him "by the blood of the Lamb" (Rev. 12:11). The battle continues, but discerning disciples are vigilant and prepared for spiritual warfare (Eph. 6:10-20). Be ready to fight, knowing that the war has already been won.