Called a Nazarene

Recipients 

Matthew’s community that he is writing to is probably still engaged with the synagogue, quite possibly in Antioch.= We don’t know for sure. It could have been Capernaum, Sepphoris, Phoenicia, Galilee, Alexandria, or others.

The community also needed to know why the entrenched non-Christian religious leaders were no longer to be emulated (Matt. 23). And the community evidently needed to expand its horizons toward gentile mission

I’m thinking through fulfillment of prophesy. I think often times we think of prophesy a little bit like we think through computer code, a scientific formula, or a math problem. We think that if the code is incorrect, the program won’t run, or if the scientific formula has a mistake, then it won’t lead to the anticipated outcome. Similarly if the math problem isn’t worked according to the rules of the discipline, the answer won’t be correct. 

Prophesy is like the code, formula, and math problem, but so much more. We can’t just plug in every prophesy about messiah and come out with a proof to determine if Jesus is the Messiah.  Rather, the OT prophesies are more like a  story that teaches us something about the present reality. Jesus fulfilling prophesy is like a beautiful illustration where an artist portrays on canvas using paints what she has seen with words on paper. When a reader sees such an illustration they gasp with wonder as they see their own imagination brought to life. 

Date of writing prior to AD 70

“As the servant of Yahweh, Jesus does fulfill biblical prediction, but the point here is that the Messiah’s uprightness will please the Father. Jesus’s affirmation that he came to fulfill “the law and the prophets” should be viewed as fulfillment of the Bible as a whole, not merely of its predictive portions.” ~David Turner

“Events in biblical history anticipate events in Jesus’s ministry in that Jesus fills them with new significance.” ~David Turner

Matthew 2:19–22 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.

Matthew 1. The Magi’s Arrival and Question (2:1–2)

Matthew selects historical details that support his theological ends and omits other details.

Good resource —>List of many of the prophecies Jesus fulfilled from the OT

https://www.gotquestions.org/prophecies-of-Jesus.html

Matthew Guide Thus Far:

Moving Towards the Light

The Hope of Grace Past. Dec 1, 2024. Matthew 1:1-17

Love Refined and defined. Dec 22, 2024 Matthew 1:18-25

God Uses the Wisdom of Man. Dec 29, 2024. Matthew 2:1-18

Kingdom Living

Called a Nazarene. Feb 16, 2025. Matthew 2:19-23

Have you tended to look at the prophecies about Jesus in the Old Testament as formulas that would prove who the Messiah would be, or as helpful insight to help us to love Jesus more?

How does God’s protection of Jesus through Joseph cause you to trust in God for your daily protection and provision?

Do the uncertain references in the Bible, such as Matthew 2:23 bother you or cause you to doubt Jesus or his Word in any way? We can’t certainly point to where it was spoken by the prophet that Jesus would be a Nazarene.