Fulfilled Prophecies of the King

Matthew 2:13-23

We are in chapter 2 of our exposition of the Gospel of Matthew. Remember that we have said that Matthew is writing predominantly for the sake of the Jews to prove that Jesus is their King.

In Matthew 1:1-17 we saw Jesus’ genealogy and learned that He is the Son of Abraham and the Son of David—that is, He is descended from the kingly line as the fulfillment of God’s covenants with Abraham and with David. Then in Matthew 1:18-25, we saw Jesus’ divine origin—that He is the Son of God—in the account of His virgin birth.

In chapter 2 Matthew continues to emphasize that Jesus is the king. First, Matthew records the coming of the Magi who recognize Jesus as the king of the Jews and worship Him in Matthew 2:1-12. In this section, we saw the fulfillment of Micah’s prophecy regarding the Messiah’s birthplace in Bethlehem.

Second, Matthew emphasizes the kingship of Jesus through the antagonism of Herod. We saw some of this last time and we will see it especially today in Matthew 2:13-23. Jesus is shown to be king not only by virtue of the homage paid by the Wisemen but He is shown to be king by virtue of the hatred of King Herod, the usurper of the throne of the king of the Jews.[1] And again, we will see all this confirmed through the fulfillment of the prophecies of the Old Testament.

Matthew 2:13–23 contains three sections: the escape to Egypt (Matt. 2:13–15), the massacre of the infants in Bethlehem (Matt. 2:16–18), and the return to Israel (Matt. 2:19–23). Matthew concludes each of these sections by citing the fulfillment of an Old Testament passage.^[2]

Matthew shows the movement of the child Jesus with His mother and Joseph in such a way as to emphasize the fulfillment of prophecy. Matthew is the only gospel writer who records Jesus living as an infant in Egypt, Herod’s murder of the babies in Bethlehem, and the reason that Joseph took his family to Nazareth. But more than just recording these historical movements, Matthew wants you to see how Jesus’ entire life is a fulfillment of prophecy.

What is really interesting is the particular prophecies that Matthew chose to emphasize in this section. None of them are what we would have typically considered as a prophecy or prediction of the Messiah. In fact, it is not likely that even the Old Testament prophets saw these verses as predictive of the Messiah. Yet, Matthew insists that in these events Jesus fulfilled scripture.

As I said in our introduction to this Gospel, the use of Old Testament quotations is very characteristic of Matthew. He sees the authoritative revelation of the Old Testament revealing Jesus through prophecy, analogy, type, and even verbal allusions. This would have been entirely understood by his Jewish readers. It was their own interpretative method.^[3]

Listen for these things as we read Matthew 2:13-23:

¹³ Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him.” ¹⁴ When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt, ¹⁵ and was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, “Out of Egypt I called My Son.”

¹⁶ Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men. ¹⁷ Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying: ¹⁸ “A voice was heard in Ramah, Lamentation, weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, Refusing to be comforted, Because they are no more.”

¹⁹ Now when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, ²⁰ saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the young Child’s life are dead.” ²¹ Then he arose, took the young Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel. ²² But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea instead of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And being warned by God in a dream, he turned aside into the region of Galilee. ²³ And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, “He shall be called a Nazarene.”

I hope you recognized that Matthew gave three fulfilled prophecies. Did you also notice the order of those prophecies? According to Matthew, Jesus’ early life sees Him: 1) leaving Egypt (Matt. 2:15); enduring a harsh judgment (Matt. 2:18); and being excluded by the world (Matt. 2:23). What Matthew is showing is that Jesus’ early life carried Him down the exact same path that Israel walked.

In the Old Testament, Israel is seen as those who were chosen by God, who sojourned in Egypt, who endured a harsh judgment, and were excluded by the world. Here, Matthew reveals that Jesus also walked through each of those incidents. Therefore Jesus is the fulfillment of the Old Testament history of the Jews. As their Messiah/King Jesus embodies and fulfills Israel’s history and purpose.

Matthew wanted the Jews to know three facts about Jesus’ childhood:[4]

1. God selected His Son (Matt. 2:13-15)

The magi who came to worship Jesus as the king of the Jews have just left Bethlehem after being warned in a dream not to return to Herod as he had requested (Matt. 2:12). Their coming had not only brought worship to the Christ child but also danger. The insanely jealous and paranoid King Herod is not only aware of Jesus’ birth, but he intends to kill Him.

And so again, God speaks to Joseph in a dream:

God knew Herod’s heart and read his secret purpose.^[5] Certainly, we all believe that God could have miraculously preserved the child Jesus from harm. Yet here, God protected Jesus’ family by sending them to Egypt by use of a dream. It reminds us of the dreams of Joseph in Genesis when God sent Jacob’s family to Egypt to save them from the famine and to preserve them as the nation of Israel.

Again we find Joseph obedient to the word of God: “¹⁴ When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt.”

Egypt afforded a natural haven for first-century Jews. A large Jewish community had lived there for several centuries, and even from Old Testament times Egypt had often provided a refuge when danger threatened Israel (e.g., 1 Kgs. 11:40; 2 Kgs. 25:26; Zech. 10:10).^[6] Matthew doesn’t give us the details of the journey, where they stayed, or what they did in Egypt. What Matthew wants us to see is that Jesus went to Egypt and then came back home to the land of Israel because that is what happened to the nation of Israel in the Old Testament. This is why Matthew quotes from the prophet Hosea in Matthew 2:15,

¹⁵ and was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, “Out of Egypt I called My Son.”

Matthew uses his characteristic fulfillment formula: “that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet.” He wants us to see that Jesus’ exodus from Egypt is a fulfillment of scripture. Listen to that prophecy from Hosea in context:

¹ “When Israel was a child, I loved him, And out of Egypt I called My son. ² As they called them, So they went from them; They sacrificed to the Baals, And burned incense to carved images. ³ “I taught Ephraim to walk, Taking them by their arms; But they did not know that I healed them. ⁴ I drew them with gentle cords, With bands of love, And I was to them as those who take the yoke from their neck. I stooped and fed them. (Hosea 11:1-4).

If you were reading the book of Hosea and you came to Hosea 11:1, it is not likely that you are going to understand this as a prophecy of Jesus Christ. What is clear in this section of Hosea is that God is recalling how He called the nation of Israel out of their bondage in Egypt and made them His own people. God called Israel the child He loved, His Son. Hosea 11 pictures God’s love for Israel. Although God threatens judgment and disaster, yet because he is God and not man (Hos. 11:9), he looks to a time when in compassion he will roar like a lion and his children will return to Him (Hos. 11:10–11). In short, Hosea himself looks forward to a saving visitation by the Lord.

How did God show His great love for Israel? He called them out of Egypt. You can read about it in the book of Exodus. It was the defining moment in the history of the Jews. The Exodus proved that God had selected Israel and that He loved them.

There was no other event so central to Jewish history and religion as the exodus. It was where God selected them. It was where God demonstrated His love for them. It was when God called Israel to be His son. Every Jew held to that truth. And now Matthew reveals that Jesus shares that same testimony. He also was called out of Egypt. He also was delivered by God. Jesus is God’s Messiah by reason of His calling and deliverance from Egypt.

Matthew sees striking parallels in the patterns of God’s activities in history in ways he cannot attribute to coincidence. Just as God brought the nation of Israel out of Egypt to inaugurate his original covenant with them, so again God is bringing the Messiah, who fulfills the hopes of Israel, out of Egypt as he is about to inaugurate his new covenant. This is the first of several instances in Matthew in which Jesus recapitulates the role of Israel as a whole.^[7] So just as we found a new “Genesis” in Matthew 1, a new beginning in Christ; now we find a new “Exodus” in Matthew 2, a new deliverance for God’s people in the person of Jesus Christ.[8]

So the first proof Matthew gives for Jesus the King is that God selected Him. Here comes Matthew’s second proof,

2. The Enemy Struck Him (Matt. 2:16-18)

Joseph has fled to Egypt with the child and His mother, but obviously, Herod does not know that. He still thinks that the child king is in Bethlehem, and he has been waiting for the Magi to return and tell him where the child was. But Matthew 2:16 says,

The word “deceived” is a word that often means to ridicule or mock. So, we can see why Herod “was exceedingly angry.” The slaughter of the baby boys in Bethlehem was the evil action of a paranoid tyrant fueled by rage. Herod wanted to destroy the Christ child.

And Matthew sees that as the next event that fulfills prophecy.

¹⁷ Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying: ¹⁸ “A voice was heard in Ramah, Lamentation, weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, Refusing to be comforted, Because they are no more.”

This time Matthew is quoting from Jeremiah 31. Some of you have studied much of Jeremiah recently in our Adult Sunday Bible Study. So you know that Jeremiah prophesied during the siege of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar and predicted the exile of Israel in Babylon.

The verse that Matthew quotes is Jeremiah 31:15 where the prophet spoke of the horrific response of the inhabitants of Jerusalem during the Babylonian attack and of those carried off into exile. This verse depicted the lament of mothers in Israel bewailing their sons led off into exile.

Ramah originally was located approximately five miles north of Jerusalem and would have been one of the first cities the exiles passed by as they headed north on their way out of Israel. First Samuel 10:2–3 associates Rachel’s tomb with the same general area on the border of Judah and Benjamin.^[9]

What was the reason for the exile? The exile was a punishment from God because of their idolatry though an enemy who hated them. And while God did punish Israel, the enemy God used to discipline His chosen nation wanted to do more than punish them—the enemy wanted to destroy them.

This is what God said about Assyria who carried the northern tribes into exile:

⁵ “Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger And the staff in whose hand is My indignation. ⁶ I will send him against an ungodly nation, And against the people of My wrath I will give him charge, To seize the spoil, to take the prey, And to tread them down like the mire of the streets. ⁷ Yet he does not mean so, Nor does his heart think so; But it is in his heart to destroy, And cut off not a few nations. (Isa. 10:5-7)

And when God sent Babylon to carry Judah into exile He said this about the Babylonians:

⁵ “Sit in silence, and go into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans; For you shall no longer be called The Lady of Kingdoms. ⁶ I was angry with My people; I have profaned My inheritance, And given them into your hand. You showed them no mercy; On the elderly you laid your yoke very heavily. ⁷ And you said, ‘I shall be a lady forever,’ So that you did not take these things to heart, Nor remember the latter end of them. (Isa. 47:5-7)

The point is that God’s people have always had an enemy who has wanted to destroy them. It is the history of the nation of Israel. Satan has been trying to destroy the seed of the woman, the seed of Abraham, the nation of Israel, and the line of the Messiah ever since Genesis 3:15. The Jews knew this was their history. The hatred of their enemies reassured the Jews that they were God’s people. Just as the enemy is relentless in his pursuit of Israel, so was he in his pursuit of Jesus.

Even though Jeremiah 31:15 speaks of death and exile, it occurs in a setting of hope. Rachel weeps for her children, but God comforts her, promising the restoration of his people (Jer. 31:15–17), because Israel is “my dear son, the child in whom I delight” (Jer. 31:20 (NIV); compare Mt 2:15; 3:17). This time of new salvation will be the time of the new covenant (Jer. 31:31–34). The painful events of Jesus’ persecuted childhood are the anvil on which God will forge the fulfillment of His promises to His people, just as the cross will usher in the new covenant (Mt 26:28).^[10]

God selected His Son, the Enemy struck him, and

3. The world scorned Him (Matt. 2:19-23)

After Herod died, Joseph received another dream telling him he could return.

The angelic orders to return to the land of Israel because those seeking the child’s life were dead (Matt. 2:19–21) explicitly recall Moses’ call by God to return to his people to rescue them from Egypt. In Exodus 4:19 God said to Moses, “Go, return to Egypt; for all the men who sought your life are dead.” Jewish readers would have immediately recognized the allusion: like Moses, Jesus had outlived his persecutor and would lead his people to salvation (Mt 1:21; Acts 7:35).^[11]

So Joseph returns to Israel, but again God warns him in a dream against settling in Judea where Jerusalem and Bethlehem are.

²² But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea instead of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And being warned by God in a dream, he turned aside into the region of Galilee.

And here Matthew gives us the last of the five fulfillment quotations in these first two chapters.

²³ And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, “He shall be called a Nazarene.”

Now you will search in vain to find the quote “He shall be called a Nazarene” in the Old Testament. I can guarantee that you will not find it because it is not there—anywhere. In fact, Nazareth is such a small, insignificant town that it is not even mentioned in the Old Testament at all. Matthew gives us a clue that this fulfillment is different from the rest by writing that it was spoken not by a particular prophet but by “the prophets.”

In other words, he may be indicating that he is not quoting one specific text but summarizing a broader scriptural theme. What might this theme be?

He is pointing out something that was also important to the Jews, and that is not only did the Jews know they were God’s people because they God selected them and because they had an enemy who wanted to destroy them. They also knew they were God’s people because the world treated them as outcasts.

It is possible that Matthew is using a play on word Nazarene. The three main letters are the same as the Hebrew word נֵצֶר nēṣer, meaning branch. It is used in Isaiah 11:1, “There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, And a Branch shall grow out of his roots.” (Isa. 11:1). Although the line of Jesse (the father of King David) appeared to be cut off, a branch will come up from the dead stump. This is clearly a Messianic prophecy of the coming king upon whom the Spirit of the Lord would rest (Isa. 11:2) and who would judge in righteousness (Isa. 11:3-5). Isaiah 11:10 says of Him, “And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse, Who shall stand as a banner to the people; For the Gentiles shall seek Him, And His resting place shall be glorious.” Other prophets use a synonym of the word for branch to describe the Messiah King (Isa. 4:2; Jer. 23:5; 33:15; Zech. 3:8; 6:12-13).

In the days of Jesus, the term “Nazarene” was a often a term of derision to describe someone from a very remote or obscure place (much like our contemporary words hick or backwoodsman). Remember Nathaniel’s comment about Nazareth in John 1:46? “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” When the Jews called Him “Jesus of Nazareth” that was not a term of endearment. It was a term of scorn. It was an intended insult to call the church “the sect of the Nazarenes” (Acts 24:5).

First-century Christian readers of Matthew, who had tasted their share of scorn, would have quickly caught Matthew’s point. He is not saying that a particular OT prophet foretold that the Messiah would live in Nazareth; he is saying that the OT prophets foretold that the Messiah would be despised (cf. Pss 22:6–8, 13; 69:8, 20–21; Isa 11:1; 49:7; 53:2–3, 8; Dan 9:26). The theme is repeatedly picked up by Matthew (Matt. 8:20; 11:16–19; 15:7–8). In other words Matthew gives us the substance of several OT passages, not a direct Old Testament quotation.^[12]

Jesus is King Messiah, Son of God, Son of David; but he was a branch from a royal line hacked down to a stump and reared in surroundings guaranteed to win him scorn. Jesus the Messiah, Matthew is telling us, did not introduce his kingdom with outward show or present himself with the pomp of an earthly monarch. In accord with prophecy he came as the despised Servant of the Lord.^[13]

And so Matthew completes the cycle to show that Jesus is God’s chosen Messiah King. The Jews would know that Jesus was the Messiah King because:

God Selected him by calling him out of Egypt.
The Enemy Struck him, by continually seeking to kill him.
The World Scorned him, by treating him as an outcast.

And this is the testimony of God’s people even to this very day. We are those selected, yet those who are opposed and scorned.

If Jesus isn’t God’s King, then why did Herod try so hard to kill Him? If Jesus isn’t God’s King, why did God go to such great lengths to protect Him? If Jesus isn’t God’s King, why does the world respond so negatively to Him?

When you get honest, it is obvious. The world hates Him because He convicts them. John 7:7 “The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it that its works are evil.”

But even though He was despised and hated, God preserved Him because He is the Savior of the world. Peter preached to the Sanhedrin who condemned and killed Jesus saying:

¹⁰ “let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole. ¹¹ “This is the ‘stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.’ ¹² “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:10-12)

Jesus is the King who was rejected and killed, but raised from the dead. And the call of your life is to submit to Him. This morning we come to the Lord’s Table to remind ourselves of our submission to King Jesus.

This morning take this opportunity and bow your heart to the king, surrender your life to Him, and join us in the Lord’s Supper.

[1] John MacArthur, The King Fulfills Prophecy, Part 1. https://www.gty.org/library/sermons-library/2185/the-king-fulfills-prophecy-part-1 accessed 6/5/2022

^[2] David Turner and Darrell L. Bock, Cornerstone Biblical Commentary, Vol 11: Matthew and Mark (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2005), 53.

^[3] Michael Green, The Message of Matthew: The Kingdom of Heaven, The Bible Speaks Today (Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2001), 72.

[4] I borrowed from the outline in a sermon by Bro. Rory at FBC Spur, TX found at https://fbcspur.org/selected-struck-scorned-matthew-213-23/ accessed 06/05/2022

^[5] John Phillips, Exploring the Gospel of Matthew: An Expository Commentary, The John Phillips Commentary Series (Kregel Publications; WORDsearch, 2014), Mt 2:13–14.

^[6] Craig Blomberg, Matthew, vol. 22, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1992), 66.

^[7] Craig Blomberg, Matthew, vol. 22, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1992), 67.

[8] Ray Fowler, http://www.rayfowler.org/sermons/matthew/christmas-mourning/ accessed 06/05/2022

^[9] Craig Blomberg, Matthew, vol. 22, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1992), 68.

^[10] Craig S. Keener, Matthew, vol. 1, The IVP New Testament Commentary Series (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1997), Mt 2:16–17.

^[11] Craig S. Keener, Matthew, vol. 1, The IVP New Testament Commentary Series (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1997), Mt 2:19–20.

^[12] D. A. Carson, “Matthew,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Matthew, Mark, Luke, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein, vol. 8 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1984), 97.

^[13] D. A. Carson, “Matthew,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Matthew, Mark, Luke, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein, vol. 8 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1984), 97.