We live in a world that is not that dissimilar as Matthew 2. We live in a world where people still perform senseless acts of evil and wickedness. Sometimes in safe and comfortable Singapore, we assume that every day we get up, it will be just like the day before. And when we read of great tragedies, we are reminded that Christians have the resources to wrestle with this. These resources are also available to us to deal with suffering, tragedy and disaster.
This section is the part of the Christmas story that nobody really wants to preach on. The myrrh brought by the wise men, doesn’t just signal a future death, but one that takes place soon. Jesus is a King and He brings a great Kingdom. He brings a new rule and reign of God and brings a new political system that the world has not seen before. The very first thing that comes with this new kingdom is shadow and opposition. We will see from this section how we suffer for and with Christ Jesus.
(A) First Shadow: Made To Flee (Matt 2:13-15)
Prior to this, we are told that the wise men were warned in a dream not to return to Herod (Matt 2:12). Dreams are how God speaks and reveals His intent to us, and He used it to protect Jesus.
Next, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream (Matt 2:13). We get yet another dream, and this is not the first time that Joseph has dreams. In Matthew 1:19, when Joseph was about to divorce Mary, he also had a dream. God has interrupted the narrative a couple of times by this point in the story.
What is the content of the instruction? The angel told him to “rise” which is a call to take some drastic action now. He needs to prepare to obey. He will need to listen carefully, and gear up himself to act. There is no doubt that God is calling Him to go and do something. Joseph is required to take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt because Herod is about to search for the child to destroy him (Matt 2:13a).
He is the sovereign God and He is telling Joseph to run for his life now. Why? Sometimes God calls us to obedience that we don’t understand. If He is sovereign, why does he need to flee? Why couldn’t He just magically protect them or remove the threat?
God also told them to remain there until God tells him. This might be surprising for Joseph. In the Old Testament, going to Egypt is never a good thing! Yet, this was God’s instruction. This was the only way for them to remain protected and safe. After all, Herod had not acted yet, and this was giving preemptively.
Joseph takes his family and flees to Egypt by night out of Herod’s reach where they remain till Herod’s death (Matt 2:13b-14). This is a preemptive word from the Lord. God anticipates what is going to come and protects Joseph in this way.
Habakkuk 2:3 also gives us a beautiful description of how God’s word works in time. His word is specific. It does not come randomly. His word is never late and always comes at the right time. In Habakkuk 2, God spoke to the prophet at the right time, to meet his needs. So it is in Matthew 2. God knows exactly when to say, what to say to His people.
Do you trust that God gives His word to use in a timely manner? Do you believe that He speaks even to protect us from something in life? This is what we see in Matthew 2, that God speaks at a specific time to protect His people. How will this change the way you listen to His word? How will you listen differently? What would you be listening for, if you trusted this kind of God?
In Matthew 2:15, Matthew tells us God’s perspective on these events and disrupts the chronology of the narrative. Matthew is preempting some of the story. He is saying that they need to enter Egypt so they can come out of it. He wants us to understand and be so clear that even this act of fleeing is a part of God’s plan.
Matthew explains it by quoting Hosea 11:1. In Hosea 11, Israel is the one who comes out of Egypt. Why is Matthew linking this to Jesus? In Exodus 4:22-23, God calls Israel His firstborn. Thus, God goes in to save Israel. God calls His son, Israel, out of Egypt. This is what Hosea draws on. Matthew takes it one step further. All that happened in the OT is an imperfect foreshadowing of God calling His true firstborn — Jesus. Israel has been an unworthy, unfaithful firstborn son, who has also turned back to idols. Jesus, however, is the perfect firstborn. This is the pattern that Matthew is drawing on. Thus, he wants us to think of the Exodus account while reading this narrative.
We see that even when they were on the run and made to flee, God was accomplishing a greater plan of fulfilment. He did so in order that we might better understand His Son. God’s perspective sees the same conflict at play. Since Genesis 3:15, the offspring of the serpent will be at odds with the offspring of the woman. In the Exodus account, Pharaoh opposed God’s purposes. Matthew borrows the same pattern and shows how Herod also stands against God. This goes on to the end, in the book of Revelation, with Babylon standing in opposition to God.
The reality of this spiritual conflict continues today – violence, spiritual rebellion, evil and hatred of God and His Saviour. This is the thread throughout history. God’s church will continue to grow and spread in the nations. But at the same time, persecution will also exist and evil will also be present. False teachers, lies and anti-God religion will exist at the same time. This is what Jesus said in the parable of the weeds and the wheat.
Do you believe this? This is how God’s word works. None of us can be ambivalent about the offspring of the serpent and the woman. We are either growing in His purposes or we are opposing it.
(B) Second Shadow: Slaughter of Innocents (Matt 2:16-18)
Herod was furious at being tricked by the wise men (Matt 2:16). He sent and killed all the male children two years old or under – based on the earlier appearing of the star, the wise men’s arrival, etc. He sought to eliminate God’s Messiah. Revelation 12 describes a sign-based parallel to this demonic activity in opposing Christ, reminding us at the very least that there is a spiritual dimension to this activity.
How does Matthew want us to understand these events? Matthew quotes Jeremiah 31:10-17 in Matthew 2:17-18. Matthew shows us how to think scripturally. He interprets this in the lens of scripture, recognising that there is true sorrow and lamentation, but also true hope. He sees the parallel of these events through the Old Testament, in passages that depict lamentation and sorrow. But in Jeremiah, we also read of hope.
Now, Matthew is not saying that we don’t focus on the bad things and only see the good things. He sees that there is terrible tragedy, but also hope and redemption. We too, should be people that see tragedy and also grieve and weep. We don’t easily say, “there is a silver lining”. There is a place for mourning in the church. We also stand with the church throughout history in mourning and weeping. Yet in our next breath, we can also say, “I know my Redeemer lives”. Matthew is teaching us that we need a category for suffering for Christ’s sake and for spiritual evil.
Is there great suffering in your life right now? You don’t have to pretend and put on a happy face when you go to church. You can sing praises but also ask God, “how long?” We can learn to be better at expressing both joy and sorrows, and we can go to the Psalms to do so!
(C) Third Shadow: Despised and Scorned (Matt 2:19-23)
Two events trigger the return of Joseph’s family to Israel. The return of Joseph and his family mirrors the initial escape. Like in the escape, an angel appeared to him in a dream (Matt 2:19). This happened when Herod died. The angel spoke to him even in Egypt! Being in Egypt did not stop God from revealing His plans to Joseph.
The angel gave instructions to return “for those who sought the child’s life are dead” (Matt 2:20). Joseph did as he was told and returned (Matt 2:21). Joseph was an obedient man but Matthew also records for us how he was afraid of Archelaus reigning in his father’s place (Matt 2:22, c.f. Lk 3:1). Joseph is a man just like us! God has spoken to him three times in a dream, yet here, he also fears. Thus, in another dream, he was warned and withdrew to Galilee (Matt 2:22). Matthew 2:23 tells us that this is how God fulfils Scripture again.
Everything happened with a purpose! Matthew wants us to understand that even Jesus in Nazareth has a part in God’s plan. In Matthew’s context, mention of Nazareth was as a perjorative term, as John 1:46 suggests. Thus, Joseph’s son will come from a poor, miserable place.
Remember that this is the same Matthew that laid out the generations in the genealogy in Matthew 1. Again and again, he seeks to emphasise how God knows what is going on. Even Jesus being from Nazareth is part of God’s plan. We are not very clear what Matthew 2:23 refers to. Some say that “Nazerene” means branch, and refers to the text in Isaiah. Another (better) explanation is that since Nazarene is a pejorative term, it could refer to texts like Isaiah 49:7, 53:2-5.
The tragedies of the text remind us that suffering accompanies this kingdom that comes. But it’s situated in two ways. First, they come amidst the busy work of angels — the angel appeared to Joseph proving Scripture, appeared in dreams to wise men, and an angel appeared to Joseph to tell them to flee and also to return. Angels are ministering spirits working on God’s behalf (c.f. Heb 1:14), and their ministry is to protect and preserve God’s people (c.f. Ps 91:11-13).
Second, we have seen Matthew’s effort to stress the fulfilment of Scripture. This has happened twice in this text, and four times in the first 2 chapters. We are being reminded again and again that God’s Word will be fulfilled. He is sovereign.
What does Matthew want us to see? All the pain, suffering and tragedy is not outside of God’s plan. On Holy Wednesday, Luke 22:3-7 tells us that Satan entered Judas Iscariot to turn him against his master. Christians throughout the world think about what it means to betray Jesus, what it means to be unfaithful to the one who is faithful and true. Yet, even this tragedy is not outside of God’s hand.
What is going on in your life today? Where are you in your walk with God? Is your heart far from Him? Have you grown cold to Him because of what you see in the world around you? There is a Saviour who loves you so much that He would undergo betrayal, die on the cross, be buried in the tomb and rise to glory. As we continue to meditate on this one who came for us, let us humble ourselves before Him, consecrate ourselves anew and give ourselves to Jesus.
How has God intervened in your life recently for your protection and preservation? Where is the role of suffering for Jesus’ sake in your life – do you know the shadows of Christ’s kingdom?