“After they were gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, ‘Get up! Take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you. For Herod is about to search for the child to kill him.’ 14 So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night, and escaped to Egypt. 15 He stayed there until Herod’s death, so that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet might be fulfilled: Out of Egypt I called my Son.” (Matthew 2:13-15)
Per the historical records of the New Testament, we know that Jospeh was warned in a dream about Herod’s plot to “destroy” Jesus, with the clear instructions to “flee to Egypt” (and stay there until Herod dies). Two major points stand-out here:
1. Herod wanted Jesus dead.
The beginning of Matthew 2 describes the scene: Magi traveling a long distance to Bethlehem of Judea (possibly with a large entourage, easily noticed by the townspeople), following a remarkable star in the sky with hopes of locating where the King of the Jews was born (Matthew 2:1-6). History tells us that Jesus could have been approximately two years old at this point. Therefore, when Herod learns of the Magi’s mission, he orders that all children, ages two and younger, be killed.
2. Jesus’ flight to Egypt was planned (anticipated).
The “so that” in verse 15 is incredibly important! Please do not overlook these words, for they turn our minds to the fact that Jesus’s journey to Egypt was not a surprise. It was prophetic! God’s Word provided an important detail about Jesus in Hosea 2:15, which he fulfilled when moving to Egypt around the age of two. This prophecy points to Jesus as God’s Son (2nd Person of the Trinity),
Egypt’s border is nearly 90 miles from Bethlehem, outside of Herod’s jurisdiction (safe for Jesus, Mary, and Joseph), but still within the Roman province. This would be likened to Americans traveling across state lines to visit family. While Ohio and Indiana have different Governors, they are both under the jurisdiction of the US government. All this to say, Joseph and Mary were not violating the law by obeying God’s instruction to take refuge in Egypt.
Sadly, the historical details of this pivotal event are either misunderstood or utilized to manipulate hearts for political agendas (see picture below).
Whether the persons who repost these pictures are aware of the true, historical events or not, we need to be prepared to dialogue respectfully with them. Jesus’ fulfillment of nearly 300 prophecies from the Old Testament scriptures demonstrates, with mathematical precision, the notably miraculous intentionality of Jesus’ life on earth…his journey to Egypt included.
Jesus was the promised Messiah from Genesis 3:15, and the Word who was with God and was/is God (John 1:1-3), the Creator of the Universe and everything in it (John 1:14; Colossians 1:15-17). Jesus came down from Heaven, adding upon Himself a fully human nature (Philippians 2). His mission was planned (Luke 2:24; 19:10; John 17:4) in eternity past and fulfilled by real-life events in history. To flippantly minimize these events into political memes or window displays is to misunderstand their immense importance. Every heart needs to know that Jesus was a real man who claimed to be God incarnate, the Savior of the world. To view him as merely a good teacher (or refugee) falls tragically short of reality.
Hold Fast Apologetics 