Introduction
I have preached on a lot of different Scriptures over the 25 years of my ministry. I figure I have preached at least 1,000 sermons at this point in my life. But I have never preached on the passage I will speak about today. It is near the beginning of Matthew, but not the very beginning. During Advent, we studied to story of the Wisemen coming from the East to visit Jesus at His birth. They gave him gold, frankincense, and myrrh. But evil King Herod wanted to kill the newborn king of the Jews. So Mary and Joseph had to flee to Egypt with the baby Jesus. And then we come to Matthew 2:19-23.
Matthew 2:19-23
19 When
Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt. 20 “Get
up!” the angel said. “Take the child and his mother back to the land of Israel,
because those who were trying to kill the child are dead.”
21 So Joseph got up and returned to
the land of Israel with Jesus and his mother. 22 But
when he learned that the new ruler of Judea was Herod’s son Archelaus, he was
afraid to go there. Then, after being warned in a dream, he left for the region
of Galilee. 23 So the family went and lived in a
town called Nazareth. This fulfilled what the prophets had said: “He will be
called a Nazarene.”
Mary, Joseph, and Jesus Return to Nazareth
I’ve never preached on this passage. It falls between the story of Christ’s birth (which we study every Christmas) and the stories about John the Baptist and Jesus’ baptism. Those stories are so interesting and we focus on them again and again.
But, we just take this little section of Matthew in between for granted as a transitional passage.
Now, we know Jesus fled to Egypt and then he came back to Nazareth, so we just skim over these 4 verses that tell us the details how he got back to Nazareth. But one thing I’ve learned in 25 years of preaching the Word of God, every section, every verse, every word is important and packed with significance and meaning.
The Gospel
of Matthew intentionally connects Jesus with the story of the Israelites in the
OT. You will remember that another “Joseph” ended up in Israel. The Joseph of the Old Testament was a
dreamer. This was Jacob’s son, Joesph,
back in Genesis—the Joseph who wore the coat of many colors. That Joseph was sold into slavery in Egypt by
his brothers, but God was with that Joseph and gave him the power to interpret
dreams and he rose to power as second in command to Pharoah. And then Joseph’s father and his brothers and
all his family—the Israelites—escaped a terrible famine by moving to Egypt,
where they lived for 400 years.
And here in
Matthew, we have another Joseph—Mary’s husband, Jesus’ earthly father—who has
now had three important dreams. In the first
dream the Angel of the Lord told Joesph not to divorce Mary because Jesus was
God’s Son. In the second dream, the
Angel of the Lord told Joseph to flee to Egypt because Herod was trying to kill
Jesus. And now in this third dream, the
Angel of the Lord tells Joseph to take Mary and Jesus back to Israel.
This fulfills the Old Testament prophecy from Hosea 11:1 – “When Israel was a
child, I loved him, and I called my son out of Egypt.” This passage from the prophet Hosea speaks of
both Israel and God’s Son. God brought the
Israelites out of Egypt through Moses in the Exodus. And God also brought His Son, Jesus, out of
Egypt back to the land of Israel. But what does this have to do with us today?
First of all, Jesus is the fulfillment of prophecy.
You cannot separate the Old Testament from the New Testament. The OT & NT are intrinsically connected as one whole story of God’s salvation plan. And there are connections there you cannot even imagine. Even parts you think don’t matter, do. And the God of the Old Testament is the same God of the New Testament. Don’t ever forget. This grand plan stretching across thousands of years glorifies the power and wisdom of God.
Second, Jesus fulfilled everything the Israelites failed to do right in the OT.
And that might not
seem important to you personally, but it is.
You can probably think of some regrets you have in your life, things you
wish you’d done differently, mistakes you’ve made, sins you’ve committed. I want you to know that somehow through the mysterious
power of God, Jesus fulfilled everything you were supposed to do but didn’t. It’s not just that Jesus’ blood washes
away your sins; it does, but Jesus is also your righteousness. He completes you. In Christ, your broken past is made absolutely right so you can stand before
God fully vindicated.
Third, this passage shows God's ongoing guidance and protection in our lives.
Just as God guided
Joseph to protect His family, God is actively involved in our affairs. When we walk with God daily and seek to be in His will, He shows us the way. God’s Holy Spirit is there to guide you to avoid danger, to make good decisions, and to accomplish His plans for you. But
it is His plans, not your own selfish ambitions. Therefore, give yourself to God. Let Him
be in charge and listen to His voice guiding you.
Fourth, this passage shows God cares about the poor and the humble.
By settling in
Nazareth, a humble and obscure town, Jesus' life aligns with the lowly and humble.
God doesn’t just focus on the power centers of our world—Jerusalem & Rome in the ancient world or DC & Wall Street in our modern
one. No, God’s son was born in the small town of Bethlehem, lived as a refugee in
Egypt, and then returned to grow up a Nazarene from an unimportant, backwater
town in northern Israel, far from the centers of power and influence. This shaped His ministry among ordinary people rather than the elite.
Holy Communion
Jesus’ journey
back to Nazareth wasn’t just a transition or insignificant detail of
history. It is part of God’s great salvation plan. A small, seemingly unimportant town became the
place where the Savior of the world was raised. And that should be an encouragement to us.
Many of
you may feel like your life is far from the center of power or influence. Maybe
you think your work, your home, or even your struggles seem small in the grand
scheme of things. But this passage reminds us that God is at work in the
ordinary. Jesus didn’t grow up in a palace. He wasn’t raised in a wealthy
family. He lived among humble, hardworking people like you and me. And yet, He
was the fulfillment of God’s greatest promise.
That same
God is working in your life. He is guiding you. He is protecting you. He is
calling you to follow Him. Like Joseph, you may not always see the full
picture, but if you trust God, He will lead you where you need to go.
As we come
to the Lord’s Table today, remember that Jesus is our righteousness. He
fulfills everything we have failed to do. He washes away our sins and makes us
whole. And He invites us to follow Him—not to the great cities of power, but
into a life of humble obedience and deep faith.
Come to
the Table. Receive His grace. And trust that wherever you are, no matter how
small or ordinary it may seem, God is working in your life.