INTRODUCTION
Matthew 2:13-23 is divided into three episodes, each of which concludes with a statement about events “fulfilling” prophecy (2:15, 18, 23). His movements were mapped centuries before. As the incarnate Word (John 1:1, 14), He is living out the script of the written Word.

THE TEXT
“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 . . . .’” (Matthew 2:13-23).

OUT OF EGYPT
Threatened by the magi’s news about the birth of a king, Herod makes plans to kill Him. But the Lord intervenes with yet another dream (1:20; cf. 2:19, 22) and sends Joseph to Egypt. As Israel leaves Egypt at night, so Joseph leaves Israel by night (v. 14), and this confirms that Matthew sees Israel as the new Egypt. When he quotes Hosea 11:1 (v. 15), he is making the same point: Israel was Yahweh’s firstborn (Exodus 4:22-23), called out of Egypt; Jesus, the true, faithful Israel, the Son of Yahweh, is called from the threatening world of Herod’s kingdom.

MESSIANIC WOES
After Joseph has fled to safety, Pharaoh Herod sets about slaughtering all the newborn male children around Bethlehem (v. 16). This is literally over-kill. Herod is looking for one child, but kills dozens. This too is part of God’s predestined purpose for the Messiah, fulfilling the prophecy of Jeremiah 31:15. Matthew is the only NT writer to name Jeremiah, and he quotes him not only here but in 27:9 (where Judas returns the 30 pieces of silver, which purchases a “field of blood”). Jeremiah 31 is mainly a joyous passage about Israel’s return from exile, and includes a number of parallels with the story of Jesus: The returning exiles are described as a “virgin” (Jeremiah 31:4) and as Yahweh’s firstborn son (31:9, 20), and the exile is the “salvation” of Israel (31:7). Matthew quotes the gloomiest verse in the entire chapter, but he intends his readers to bring the entire chapter to mind. His point is that the sequence leading from slaughter to salvation is part of God’s purpose. Redemption comes through sorrow, and the Lord calls children who “are not” (Matthew 2:18) back to life.

NAZARENE
Verses 19-21 are closely parallel to Exodus 4:19-20, which describes Moses’ return from exile in Midian. The one key change is that Joseph returns to “the land of Israel” (Matthew 2:21), while Moses “returned to Egypt” (Exodus 4:20). Joseph’s settlement in Nazareth also fulfills prophecy. Matthew’s uses the plural, “prophets” (v. 23), and this shows that he’s not quoting a particular verse but summarizing a teaching found in several passages.

The point turns on a multiple Hebraic pun. Nazirites (Numbers 16) were “holy” warriors, so Jesus’ hometown reveals Him as God’s holy one (cf. Mark 1:24). The Hebrew word for “branch” is netzer, and this is a name for the Davidic Messiah (Isaiah 4:2; 11:1; Jeremiah 23:5; Zechariah 3:6; 6:12). Jesus’ hometown reveals Him as the Davidic “branch,” growing from the dead stump of Jesse. “Branch” and “holy one” come together in Isaiah 4:3, in a context that describes Israel’s restoration after exile. Finally, Nazareth was an unimportant town in a despised region, so Jesus’ hometown reveals His humility.