Christmas I: Matthew 2:13-15; 19-23: The flight into Egypt and return therefrom
I. It is not difficult to harmonize Matthew and Luke at this point. Luke tells us how it came about that Mary and Joseph came from Nazareth to Bethlehem and how they went to Jerusalem when Jesus was a week old. Obviously they returned to Bethlehem where the Magi sought Jesus. Adored one day, in flight the next. Very likely the gifts of the Magi supplied the wherewithal for the flight. Very likely Lk. 2:39 is parallel to Mt. 2:22ff.
2. Vs. 13: Very likely vs. 12 and 13 happened in the very same night. The Magi went east, the holy family west. Twice verb forms of avaxcoptco are used of the Magi. Note that it occurs again at vss. 14 and 22. Cf. Mt. 4:12; 9:24; 12:15; 14:13; 15:21; 27:5; Mk. 3:7; Jn. 6:15; Acts 23:19; 26:31. It denotes withdrawal from danger or withdrawal to be alone. An interesting word. ioou, as in 1:20 and 23 draws our attention to something unusual. Note LJvap again, found only in Mt. 1:20; 2:12.13.19.22; 27:19, with highest frequency in Mt. 2. The angel of the Lord actually appeared (
3. Vs. 14: Note how many of the words in this vs. correspond directly to the commands in vs. 13. It reminds us of the word o{Kmoc; in 1:19. He was a man of faith and faithfulness and tl1erefore always, when commanded, shouldered the responsibility of a legal and foster father without question. vuK1c)c;, gen. of time within which. Lenski remarks that people in Bethlehem must have been surprised the next morning when tl1ey discovered the absence of the holy family. aV£XWPll0'£V, as in 12 and 13, denotes flight from danger.
4. Vs. 15: The ~coc; phrase is adverbial denoting limit of time. Now comes the fulfillment of another prophecy. Cf. the form with 1:22, precisely the same. The Lord was the primary Speaker and the prophet (Hosea) the agent. Both spoke. Much has been written as to whether this prophecy was a type, and Christ the antitype or whether this prophecy was rectilinear, going straight as an arrow at Christ. For the following reasons we consider it purely as a prophecy of Christ and not merely as a typological fulfillment: a) Matthew quotes the Hebrew, not the LXX which makes the word ui6v the plural 1:tKVa to make it fit Israel. That in itself is amazing; b) The prophecy was not fulfilled in Israel because Israel had long left Egypt at Hosea's time; c) Bengel mentions that with reference to Israel God always said that He "led", not "called". d) If the prophecy were typological, Matthew would have used words such as are found at Hebrews 7:3 "made like to the Son of God". e) The words "out of Egypt" are prominent. Already in prophecy it was God's will that Jesus would go to Egypt and be called therefrom. Though Fabling, Ylvisaker and Lenski espouse the typological interpretation, we think that Kretzman,
16 Bengel and Stoeckhardt (apparently) are preferable. They consider it a direct prophecy concerning Christ. On this passage cf. pp. 270-271 in J. Barton Payne The Theology of the Older Testament. We quote in part: "In Mt. 2:15 the grammatical construction is that of a purpose clause: Christ stayed in Egypt, not parallel to, the BECAUSE OF, what Hosea had said, in other words, required His going to Egypt; and no interpretation short of this will be found adequate to the NT context." He grants, of course, that there are clear parallels between Israel and Christ but insists that the prophecy is fulfilled in the case of Christ, not first of Israel and then of Christ. The translations reflect the two interpretations: KJV, RSV, NIV, JB and NEB have "my son" (with small 's') but LB, TEV, NASB, AAT and NKJV read "my Son".
5. Vss. 16-18: Since the appointed reading skips these vss., we pass them by. The ILCW stresses the flight and return.
6. Space does not allow us to go into the history of the last days of Herod the Great. We learn all this from Josephus the historian. Fahling has an excellent summary of the account found in Josephus. It is recommended for background material at this point.
7. Vs. 19: Note how Matthew likes to begin sentences with the gen. abs. construction: 1:18.20; 2:1.13 and in this vs. By the way, in vss. 13.15.16 Herod has no article, but here one is found. That is called the anaphoric use of the article to make sure that we understand that it is the same person previously mentioned. He was buried in the Herodium, not far from Bethlehem, still there today. After a terrible death Herod was buried close to the place where he caused the death of baby boys. t8ou again. Like Gabriel. And $a{V£'tcxt again. Also l'lvap once more.
8. Vs. 20: Up to the second Kat the command is precisely the same as in vs. 13. What was said there applies here. But now we have 1top£uou, not $£Dye, denoting, evidently, a leisurely trip back. de; yf)v 'Icrpaf)tv (Hebr. eretz Israel), no specific place, but to distinguish it from Egypt. yap again gives the reason for the command. 1:£8Vl'\Kacrw, placed prominently forward, denotes a state "they are dead". Why plural? BD 141: "Herod and in him the entire class of mortal foes." Some consider it a general plural and compare it with Ex. 4:19. "Those who seek the life of the child" is euphemistic, not so strong as in vs. 13.
9. Vs. 21: Up the second Kat this vs. reads exactly as did vs. 14. Though it is not said tliat it was "during the night", Joseph acted promptly. Secrecy was not demanded this time, but prompt obedience was. Note that here we have £icnjtv8£v, not CXV£XWPT\CT€V.There was no flight from danger. This apparently means that Joseph had not yet heard about Caesar Augustus' distribution of Palestine among Herod's three sons. When danger lies ahead, very often God does not permit us to know about it until it is just around the corner. Thus He spares us from worry and anxiety. The text plainly indicates that Joseph entered the land of Israel before he heard about Archelaus.
10. Vs. 22: 8t is plainly "but". Cf. vss. 18-19. There, as here, Joseph is first confronted with a problem before he is given direction from the Lord. There it was a dilemma. Here it is a fear. In both cases remember that Joseph was 8{Kawc;, a true responsible believer whom God tested first. For Archelaus consult Fahling. ~am1ve'()£1 is present tense because Greek preserves the original tense in indirect discourse. This verb always takes the genitive as object. Joseph was evidently going to settle either in Bethlehem, the town of his lineage, or maybe he was thinking of settling in Jerusalem because he wanted his son to grow up in the capital. xpriµmtcr8etc;, the same word which was used of the Magi in vs. 12. CXV£XWPT\CT€Vmeaning again that he was avoiding danger.
17 11. Vs. 23: KO':C(})lCT)O"EV"he settled down". £le; is the static use, equivalent to tv. Lk. 1:26 and 2:4 tell us that Joseph and Mary had both lived in Nazareth. But that was not the primary reason for which they returned to this town. The reason for their return to Nazareth was, first and foremost, because of prophecy. Of course, it was the most natural place for them to go. But the concurrence of the providence (in this case prophecy) of God and the actions of Christians, though seemingly so natural, is truly a great mystery. t'Snroc;,like tva, introduces a purpose clause. Note that this time we read "prophets" not "prophet". t'S'tl surely means "that". Lenski makes it mean "because". Not recommended. All our translations read "a Nazarene" except AAT "a man from Nazareth" which is essentially the same thing. But, no specific words like this are found anywhere in the OT. A number of explanations have been offered over the centuries: a) Fabling: "Chrysostom, Theophylact, and others believe that Matthew quotes from a book in the OT which has been lost. But this supposition is not even plausible. The OT collection was at that time complete." b) Fabling: "Others contend that the prophecy is an unwritten one; but Matthew does not quote unwritten prophecies." c) Bengel: "nazar, a diadem, is the token of a king's head, and Nazareth, according to Hiller, is a town which crowns the summit of a mountain; the name, therefore, of Nazarene, may thus be expressed 'The crowned one hath dwelt on the summit of a hill'." That is truly over-subtle. d) Lenski: "Jesus lived in Nazareth in order to fulfill the prophets; and the evidential reason, by which we ourselves can see that his living in Nazareth fulfilled the prophets, is that afterward, due to his having lived there, he was called 'the Nazarene'. We may add that even his followers were called 'Nazarenes' ..... A Nazarene is one who hails from Nazareth. Matthew counts on the ordinary intelligence of his readers, who certainly know that the enemies of Jesus branded him the 'Nazarene', that this was the name that marked his Jewish rejection and would continue to do so among the Jews .... One and all (of the prophets) told how the Jews would despise the Messiah, Ps. 22:6; Is. 49:7; 53:3; Dan. 9:26; every prophecy of the suffering Messiah, and every reference to those who would not hear him, like Deut. 18:18." e) Most of the commentators espouse the explanation given by Kretzmann: "The most plausible explanation 'Nazarene' or 'man of Nazareth' contains the reference. For the name Nazareth is derived from a Hebrew root meaning a branch or tender offshoot. Thus the Messiah is called in Is. 11: 1. And this passage is analogous to the expressions used in Is. 53:2; 4:2; Jer. 23:5; 33:15; Zech. 3:8; 6:12 and to other descriptions of the humble appearance of the Messiah." f) Of these explanations only d) and e) are recommended. In any case, we must insist that the fact that Joseph and Mary settled in Nazareth and that Jesus was known as "the Nazarene" were because of prophecy. Jesus was later known as "the Nazarene", sometimes in derision, sometimes by way of compliment. Cf. Mt. 26:71; Jn. 18:5.7; 19:19; Acts 2:22; 3:6; 4:10; 6:14; 22:8; 24:5; 26:9. And it is truly remarkable that, in the providence of God, even Pilate used this name to identify Jesus in the superscription on the cross.
Christmas II: John 1:1-18, exactly the same as for Christmas II, Series C, last year (Luke)
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