Jesus is the Promised Son

Good morning, church family.

If you're a guest here or you've never been to Maranatha, my name is Luke Fawcett.

! I'm a pastoral intern here. I have the privilege of serving you guys in that way.

Thank you once again for giving me the privilege of opening God's Word with you

and considering the implications of it for our lives.

The title for the message this morning is

Jesus is the Promised Son.

Jesus is the Promised Son.

We're finishing our Advent series by looking at the final section of Matthew 2, verses 13 to 23.

Matthew 2:13–23

Matthew 2, verses 13 to 23.

Matthew 2:13–23

This time of year reminds me a lot of my childhood,

when I would ride with my mom in her old minivan and listen to a lot of classic Christmas tunes.

For you teens, this was before Spotify and commercial-less streaming,

so that was how I enjoyed music.

But more than any other holiday, I think Christmas is set apart by its festive songs.

While many are concerned with Santa Claus and sleigh bells and snow,

others actually reflect true elements of the biblical storyline.

Wise men and wonder,

shepherds and stars,

angels and anticipation,

heaven and earth.

Some are tender and serene.

Perhaps your favorite song is in these kind of lyrics.

Some of these we just sang.

Silent night,

holy night.

All is calm,

all is bright.

Round yon virgin,

mother and child,

holy infant,

so tender and mild.

Sleep in heavenly peace.

Sleep in heavenly peace.

Or this one,

away in a manger,

no crib for a bed.

The little Lord Jesus

laid down his sweet head.

The stars in the sky

look down where he lay,

the little Lord Jesus

asleep on the hay.

Or this one,

O little town of Bethlehem,

how sweet we see thee lie.

Above thy deep and dreamless sleep,

the silent stars go by.

But other songs are cheerful and triumphant.

O come all ye faithful,

we just sang this,

joyful and triumphant.

O come ye,

O come ye to Bethlehem.

Come and behold him,

born the king of angels.

O come,

let us adore him.

O come,

let us adore him.

Or joy to the world,

the Lord is come.

Let earth receive her king.

Let every heart prepare him room.

And heaven and nature sing.

What centers each of these Christmas classics

are themes like joy and love and peace,

like light and life for the world.

Our souls are calmed

and they're lifted up

because of the incarnation of Jesus.

He is God with us.

He has entered into our story.

But that is only half of the story.

They conclude Matthew's account

where we left off last week

with wise men bowing down

and worshiping the blessed baby.

But what about the other half of the story?

Our passage has a completely different feel to it.

Instead of peaceful safety,

we see murderous threats.

Instead of sweet sleep,

there is urgent escape.

Instead of joyful song,

there are sorrowful lamentations.

Instead of Bethlehem,

we get Egypt.

What kind of Christmas is this?

Perhaps we have virtually no songs

that tell about this

because even among the biblical authors,

the gospel writers,

Matthew is actually the only one

who gives us this account.

But this too

is part of Jesus' story.

It is part of our story.

And while our stories,

perhaps even

this Christmas experience for you,

is mingled with sorrow

and joy,

pain and peace,

loneliness

and comfort.

We will see that this half of the story

is not just necessary.

This half of the story

is glorious

for those who are in Christ Jesus.

So if you have not already,

I would encourage you to open

a physical copy of God's word

to Matthew chapter 2,

Matthew 2:13–23

verse 13 to 23.

You can find our passage

on page 808

of the Pew Bible

in front of you.

Page 808

of the Pew Bible

in front of you.

You can follow along

as I read this passage.

Now when they had departed,

behold,

an angel of the Lord

appeared to Joseph

in a dream

and said,

Rise,

take the child

and his mother

and flee to Egypt

and remain there

until I tell you.

for Herod

is about to search

for the child

to destroy him.

And he rose

and took the child

and his mother

by night

and departed to Egypt

and remained there

until the death of Herod.

This was to fulfill

what the Lord

had spoken

by the prophet.

Out of Egypt

I called my son.

Then Herod,

when he saw

that he had been tricked

by the wise men,

became furious

and he sent

and killed

all the male children

in Bethlehem

and in all that region

who were two years old

or under,

according to the time

that he had ascertained

from the wise men.

Then was fulfilled

what was spoken

by the prophet Jeremiah.

A voice was heard

in Ramah,

weeping

and loud lamentation.

Rachel weeping

for her children.

She refused

to be comforted

because they are no more.

But when Herod died,

behold,

an angel of the Lord

appeared in the dream

to Joseph in Egypt

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.

And he rose

and took the child

and his mother

and went to the land

of Israel.

But when he heard

that Archelaus

was reigning over

at Judea

in place of his father

Herod,

he was afraid

to go there.

And being warned

of him in dream,

he withdrew

to the district

of Galilee.

And he went

and lived

in a city

called Nazareth

so that what was spoken

by the prophets

might be fulfilled,

that he would be called

a Nazarene.

You may have noticed

that there are

three scenes

in this narrative.

Three scenes.

Each indicated

by the word

when.

You can see these

in verse 13.

Now when

they had departed,

that's the wise men.

Verse 16.

Then Herod,

when he saw

that he had been tricked

by the wise men.

And verse 19

and 22,

kind of combined there.

Now when Herod died,

and in verse 22,

but when he heard

that Archelaus

was reigning

over Judea.

These scenes

or situations

carry along

the narrative

and they each

close with

a prophetic fulfillment.

So Matthew here

is merging

situation

and scripture.

He's merging

the providence

and the sovereignty

of God together.

Something that

we'll look back at

toward the end.

So the important thing

is that when

something happens,

it happens

to fulfill

what God

has said.

When something

happens,

it happens

to fulfill

what God

has said.

So let's start

with point one.

God's people

live

in exile.

God's people

live

in exile.

verse 13

gives us

this first

situation.

Now when

they had

departed.

The they here

is referring

to the wise men.

These wise men

who God

had previously

told

not to return

to Herod.

So the question

is,

what happens

when the wise men

leave

without telling

Herod?

Well,

Matthew shows

us

verse 13b,

Behold,

or look,

an angel

of the Lord

appeared to

Joseph

in a dream

and said,

Rise,

take the child

and his mother

and flee

to Egypt

and remain

there until

I tell you.

For Herod

is about

to search

for the child

to destroy

him.

Notice

that there

are four

commands

given here.

Rise,

take,

flee,

and remain.

And there's

one reason.

Herod

is looking

for Jesus.

Herod

is looking

for Jesus.

Do you

sense the

urgency

and the

danger

here?

He's saying,

get out,

Joseph.

Herod

is coming

to kill

your son.

And God

does not

give Joseph

a return

date.

He just

says,

remain here

until I

tell you.

This is

not unlike

when God

called Abraham

in Genesis

Genesis 12:1

chapter 12

verses 1.

He said,

go from

your country

and your

kindred

and your

father's

house

to where?

To the

land that

I will

show you.

Leave

everything,

Abraham,

your country,

your family,

your community

and go.

I will

show you

where I

will take

you.

I will

take care

of you.

You can

hear here

echoes

of the

story.

Leave

everything,

Joseph.

Leave

your family,

leave your

country,

leave your

community,

leave your

culture

and go.

I will

take care

of you.

You

might

imagine

Joseph's

fear.

I mean,

who would

not fear

their child

in danger?

Always

looking over

your shoulder,

wondering

what's going

to happen.

Even

though Joseph

is later

obedient,

he is not

absolved

of emotion.

And we

know from

previous stories

that Joseph

has had

cause for

fear,

right?

Mary has

gotten

pregnant.

He doesn't

know who

got her

pregnant,

but he

knows it's

not him.

There's

going to

be a

divorce,

potentially.

There's

going to

be

complications

and Joseph

is afraid.

So an

angel has

to come

to him

and the

first thing

that the

angel

says is

do not

be afraid.

Do not

be afraid,

Joseph.

But later

as well

when Herod's

son Archelaus

assumes the

throne,

Matthew

tells us

that Joseph

was afraid.

He knows

what Herod

is like.

He knows

what kind

of father

Herod

is like

and what

he's

passing on

to his

sons.

And so

God redirects

the story.

God directs

Joseph to

relocate

outside of

Bethlehem.

Joseph's

concern here

reminds me

of something

that happened

my freshman

year at

Cedarville

University.

Some of

you may

have heard

of it.

It's called

COVID-19

pandemic.

The students

had just

returned from

campus from

their spring

break trips

and classes

had resumed

as normal.

Second day

we attended

chapel at

10 a.m.

But to

our surprise

our president

Dr.

White walks

up on

stage and

he says

to leave

campus that

day.

He says

don't pack

up your

stuff.

Don't say

bye to your

friends.

just get

out of

campus

today.

This is

real.

Like literally

we left

that day

from campus

two days

after coming

back.

And you

can imagine

some of the

questions that

ran through

our heads.

Right?

When am I

going to

return?

For me I

was eight

hours away so

what about

all my

stuff?

I didn't

even have

a car.

I had to

figure that

out.

What about

my community?

Right?

My friends.

But within

a day

everyone

had emptied

the campus

and was

awaiting further

instructions for

what would

happen next.

For this

Jewish family

within the

night

Joseph,

Mary,

and Jesus

are literally

refugees

in a foreign

nation.

Exiled

from Israel.

But notice

here the focus

on Jesus.

Look again

at verse

13.

The angel

says,

rise,

take the

child and

his mother.

He doesn't

say,

take Mary

and her

kid.

See,

this is

still Jesus'

story.

And while

the situation

is alarming,

you can

already begin

to see the

sovereignty of

God at

play,

accomplishing

his purposes.

This

intervention

by the

angel is

not just

the second

to Joseph,

but the

third of

four in

two chapters

for Matthew.

So don't

miss the

fact that

God is

all over

the details

of the

story.

Perhaps

the most

surprising

detail of

the entire

instruction

here is

where God

tells

Joseph to

take his

family.

Did you

notice that?

He says,

flee to

Egypt.

Now,

geographically,

Egypt was

near the

southern

border of

Israel.

So it

makes sense

that if

they're in

Bethlehem,

kind of at

the south

part of

Israel,

that they

would flee

to Egypt.

But if

you know

your Old

Testament,

Egypt is

not just

a geographic

place to

Israel.

Egypt

represented

this world

and all

that it

had to

offer,

the luxury,

the power,

the food,

everything you

could want

was in

Egypt.

You may

remember

Israel's

complaint in

Exodus 16

after God

miraculously

takes them

out of

Egypt and

begins their

journey.

Here's what

they say.

Would we

had died

at the

hand of

the Lord

in the

land of

Egypt

when we

sat by

the meat

pots

and ate

bread to

the full.

for you

have brought

us out

into this

wilderness

to kill

this whole

assembly

with hunger.

Exodus

16

3

Or later

in Numbers

as they're

still journeying

through the

wilderness,

the people

are weeping.

So why

are they

weeping?

And here's

what it

says.

We

remember

the fish

we ate

in Egypt

that cost

nothing.

The cucumbers,

the melons,

the leeks,

the onions,

and the

garlics.

Not

garlics

pure,

but garlic.

Also,

I don't

know what

leeks are,

but I

assume that

they were

good because

they wanted

that.

But now

our strength

is dried

up and

there is

nothing at

all but

this manna

to look

at.

We don't

want manna,

Moses.

We want

Egypt.

Take us

back.

But Egypt

was exile

for God's

people.

Egypt

was a

place

of

slavery

and

bondage.

From

God's

perspective,

Egypt

represented

a curse,

God's

judgment

on those

who were

hard-hearted,

a place

full of

devastation

and

plagues.

That's

why God's

covenant

curses

in Deuteronomy

28

actually

close

with a

promise

that he's

going to

take them

back to

Egypt

if they're

disobedient.

He says,

And the

Lord will

bring you

back in

ships to

Egypt.

Notice

this,

A journey

that I

promised

you should

never make

again.

And there

you shall

offer

yourselves

for sale

to your

enemies as

male and

female slaves,

but there

will be

no buyer.

Israel

was never

supposed to

go back

to Egypt.

God had

redeemed

them.

He had

brought

them out

of slavery.

He had

brought

them to

Sinai,

where they

were given

his law,

where they

were meant

to worship

him alone.

Forget the

other gods,

forget the

world,

forget the

luxury,

forget the

pleasure.

You were

made to

worship

me alone.

They were

never supposed

to go back

to that.

So why

is the

Messiah

in Egypt?

Egypt?

Why take

the

promised

son out

of the

promised

land?

Egypt

seems like

the last

place Jesus

should be.

But verse

14 shows us

that Joseph

obeys

immediately,

without question

or hesitation.

Notice it

says,

Joseph

remained in

Egypt until

Herod's

death,

which God

later communicates

in verse 19,

which roughly

was about a

year later.

Stories like

these remind

us that

faith is

exercised

the most

when we

know the

least.

Faith is

exercised

the most

when we

know the

least.

When all

we have

to trust

is God's

word and

his character,

is he

enough?

For

Joseph,

he was

enough.

He didn't

ask questions,

he simply

followed.

But Matthew

tells us in

verse 15

that despite

the difficulty,

this was

God's

plan.

This was

to fulfill

what the

Lord had

spoken by

the prophet

out of

Egypt.

I called

my son.

Now,

students,

you know

from inductive

Bible study

lessons you've

had that

there's one

overarching rule

in Bible study.

See if you

can finish

this phrase.

Context

is

king.

Yes,

context is

king.

So when

later

authors like

Matthew

cite earlier

authors like

Hosea,

we have to

go back

to Hosea

to figure

out what

is Matthew

communicating.

So let's

flip back

to Hosea

Hosea 11 · chapter mention

chapter 11.

This is

where Matthew

is citing.

I'm going to

give you a

little context

here.

He cites

verse 1,

but I want

to read

through

verse 5.

Hosea 11,

1 to 5.

When Israel

was a

child,

I loved

him,

and out

of Egypt

I called

my son.

The more

they were

called,

the more

they went

away.

They kept

sacrificing

to the

Baals and

burnt offerings

to idols.

Yet I

who taught

Ephraim,

it was I

who taught

Ephraim

to walk.

I took

them up

by their

arms,

but they

did not

know that

I healed

them.

I led

them with

cords of

kindness,

with the

bands of

love.

I became

to them

as one

who eases

the yoke

of their

jaws.

I bent

down to

feed them.

So they

shall not

return to

the land

of Egypt,

but Assyria

shall be

their king,

because they

have refused

to return

to me.

Hosea,

as a

prophet

during the

time of

exile,

is looking

back to

Egypt,

looking back

to Israel

in this

toddler,

adolescent

kind of

stage.

God had

called

Israel out

of Egypt

through his

servant Moses.

You can

remember the

repeated phrase

that Moses

says to

Pharaoh.

But just

as quickly

as they

were liberated

from Egypt,

they enslaved

themselves to

other gods.

So God

redeemed

them,

but Israel

still rebelled.

This eventually

led to another

exodus cycle,

where even

though they

wouldn't go

back to

Egypt,

they would

be put

in bondage

through a

different

foreign nation.

They would

go back

into slavery,

and then

eventually be

brought back

out of the

promised land.

But when

we read

Hosea's

account,

there's one

really striking

question.

How can

Matthew say

that Jesus

was taken

out of

Egypt if

Hosea is

clearly

referring to

Israel?

In other

words,

how is

Matthew not

pulling these

words out of

context to

fit his own

purposes,

something that

we as Bible

readers are

always mindful

of avoiding?

Well,

some have

tried to

answer this,

and there's

a few things

that are not

very helpful.

First,

some try to

resolve this

tension by

claiming that

Hosea is a

prediction about

Messiah and

not Israel.

But aside from

the problem

that if it's

about Messiah

and not

Israel,

that that

implicates

Jesus as

this wayward

son who

went away

from God,

who we

know Jesus

is not,

the other

problem is

that it

reads the

New Testament

back into

the Old

Testament,

instead of

starting with

the Old

Testament and

working your

way forward

toward the

New Testament.

Hosea really

is talking

about Israel,

not Jesus.

God called

Israel his

firstborn son

in Exodus

4.11.

So when

Hosea looks

back to

Exodus,

he's talking

about Israel,

God's

firstborn son,

this nation

that he

called to

himself.

And the

other thing

is that

Hosea,

verse 1,

is not a

prediction at

all.

He's looking

backwards so

that he may

look forward

to the

exile.

Back to

Exodus,

forward to

exile.

Now others

knowing the

context say,

okay, that's

not a very

good argument.

But there is

this loose

connection between

Egypt, right?

Jesus goes

into Egypt,

Israel goes

into Egypt.

Okay, Jesus,

this is a

fulfillment.

But again,

this is kind

of like playing

word association.

It's very

loosey-goosey

in terms of

how the Bible

operates.

And we know

from Matthew's

other

fulfillments

that he is

very specific.

He is very

direct when he

wants to say,

this was

to fulfill

this.

So what are

we supposed

to think?

Okay, those

are not the

best ways to

read it.

How do we

think about

this?

Well,

pastor and

theologian

Kevin DeYoung

helps us

out.

He says that

Matthew wasn't

trying to give

Hosea a new

meaning.

But he did

see something

messianic in

Hosea's words.

Jesus would

be the

faithful son

called out

of Egypt,

filling up

what was

lacking in

this faithless

first son,

Israel.

So in the

same way

that Hosea

looks back

at Exodus

and sees a

pattern for

exile,

Matthew is

looking back

to Israel

and seeing a

pattern in

Jesus'

life.

Another

commentator

puts it

like this,

Jesus was

reenacting

the Exodus

story with

one major

difference.

Whereas

Israel proved

itself to be

an unfaithful

and idolatrous

son,

Jesus would

prove himself

to be a

faithful son

through whom

God would

bring about

that long

promised

restoration of

God's people

that Hosea

later anticipates.

This is what

Hosea anticipates.

So what

Matthew is

saying is

that Jesus

is the

true Israel.

He is

the faithful

son.

Jesus must

go into

Egypt in

order to be

brought out

of it.

He must

enter into

humanity in

order to

redeem it.

He must

go to the

cross to

be raised

again to

life.

This is the

pattern of

Jesus.

And notice

the way that

Matthew traces

this across

the first

five chapters

of his

book.

We're in

chapter 2

where Jesus

is called

out of

Egypt.

But then in

chapter 3

Jesus goes

through the

waters of

baptism.

Does that

remind you of

the Red

Sea?

In chapter

4 he

wanders for

40 days

in a

wilderness.

Does that

recall 40

years in a

wilderness?

But the

difference is

Jesus resists

temptation

every single

time.

He does

not live

by bread

alone.

But every

word that

comes from

the mouth

of the

Father.

And then

in chapter

5 he

will go

up to

a mountain

and he

will bring

down God's

law.

Jesus is

this true

Israel.

He is

the faithful

son.

Now that's

a lot of

whole Bible

theology,

right?

But why

does this

matter for

you and

me?

Okay,

here's why

it matters.

Jesus does

not just

have to

die and

be raised

for our

sanctification

and our

justification.

Jesus has

to live

the life

that we

were supposed

to live.

If he

doesn't live

a perfect

life,

then the

death means

nothing.

The

resurrection

means

nothing.

So Jesus

has to be

the faithful

son,

the faithful

daughter that

you and I

were meant

to be.

He has

to be

this true

Israel who

goes through

the wilderness

and comes

out as a

faithful son,

who goes up

the mountain

and comes

down and

brings God's

law to

us.

He has

to go to

the cross.

He has

to go to

the grave.

Someone has

to die.

And it's

either Jesus

or it's

you and I.

Do you see

this?

Do you see

the pattern?

Do you see

why this

matters?

I wonder

if you feel

today like

you don't

measure up.

Well,

that's good

because Jesus

measured up

for you.

So turn to

him for help

today.

It is because

Jesus is

truly God's

son that we

through faith

inherit his

rights,

eternal

life,

sonship,

God's

presence,

communion with

the Holy

Spirit.

All of our

Christian hope

is bound

up in the

life,

death,

resurrection,

and return

of Jesus.

That's why

it matters.

Okay,

that brings us

to our second

point.

God's people

weep at

loss.

God's people

weep at

loss.

God's people

weep at

us.

We've

already read

this,

so I'm not

going to

read it

again,

but verse

16 gives

us the

second scene

of this

story,

where Herod

goes to

Bethlehem

and he

starts

murdering

baby boys.

And it

says that

this was to

fulfill what

the prophet

Jeremiah had

said.

Now,

who in the

Bible does

this remind

you of?

If you

guys were

here during

our Daniel

series in the

summer,

maybe this

has overtones

of Nebuchadnezzar

and three

Hebrew boys

who he

wanted to

kill.

Herod,

like Nebuchadnezzar,

demands absolute

worship,

but not just

from his own

people,

from every

people and

nation and

language,

from Jews

and from

wise men.

Both kings

reject God's

rule and

seek to

destroy whoever

opposes them.

inherit's fear

of losing

the kingdom.

He ensures

the loss

of all

these mothers

baby boys

in Bethlehem.

You can

picture the

scene,

mothers being

stripped of

their babies

and watching

them crushed

in front of

their eyes.

This is not

unlike Pharaoh's

interest in

eliminating the

Hebrew baby boys

back in

Exodus.

another

ruthless

tyrant

bent on

destroying

Hebrew sons.

And if we

trace the story

far back

enough,

we'll see

that Herod

and Nebuchadnezzar

and Pharaoh

are not new.

There was

someone at the

very beginning

who opposed

God's rule.

That was

Satan.

And now

Herod,

like the

serpent,

is bent

on crushing

the promised

son.

If there

is no

son,

then there's

no seed

of Abraham.

There's no

son of David.

There's no

hope for

God's people.

But while

Jesus escapes,

many sons

die.

And you can

hear the

scene in

Matthew's words.

A loud

voice,

weeping,

lamentation,

Rachel refusing

the comfort

of others.

The night

which was

once silent

by the

promised

birth is

now filled

with screaming

and crying

at the loss

of Hebrew

sons.

I wonder

what loss

you have

experienced

at the

hands of

evil.

Abuse

from a

family member,

someone who

should have

protected you,

and the

loss of your

dignity and

your worth.

At least

that's what it

feels like.

Neglect and

disinterest from

others because

of your age or

your stage of

life, and

the loss of

friendship, of

companionship.

Exclusion from

others because

of your gender

or your age or

your ethnicity,

and the loss

of opportunities.

Slander from

coworkers, and

the loss of

your reputation

in the

workplace, or

a bad

dismissal from

a boss, and

now the loss

of provision

for your

family.

A friend

shares personal

privileged information

with others, and

you feel like you've

lost trust and

relational security.

Or someone you're

discipling walks

away from Jesus,

and you've lost

that intimate

ministry.

loss is a part of

this world in

both small and

significant degrees.

And Matthew

cites Jeremiah to

picture another

time of loss, the

time of exile for

Israel.

It was from

Ramah that the

Babylonians sent

out the Hebrew

sons.

And as a mother

of the nation,

Rachel here is

symbolizing the

mourning of

mothers watching

their sons be

taken off into

exile.

But if we read

Jeremiah 31, 15

in context, we'll

soon learn that

Jeremiah, like

Hosea, isn't

making any kind of

prediction.

In fact, the event

itself again refers

to Israel and not

Jesus.

So what is Matthew

doing here again?

Why is he quoting

Jeremiah?

Well, similar to

the Exodus, Matthew

sees a pattern of

this in exile.

He's equating the

reign of Herod.

Notice this.

He's equating the

reign of Herod to

the Babylonian

exile.

And Pastor Mark

Deber puts it this

way.

Bethlehem in

Herod's day has

become a kind of

Ramah in

Jeremiah's day.

But this is not

all that Matthew

is doing.

If you keep reading

Jeremiah, you

learn that God

turns Rachel's

weeping into

hope.

Listen to verses

16 to 17.

This is in the

same chapter.

Thus says the

Lord, keep your