Knowing The Word in Matthew 2:19-23

The Return to Nazareth

19 But when Herod died [probably 4 BC], behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream [God is directing again!] to Joseph in Egypt [how many years were they there?], 20 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.” [These words are modeled on Exodus 4:19.] 21 And he rose and took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. [Exodus 4:20] 22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there, and being warned in a dream he withdrew to the district of Galilee. 23 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. [There is no Old Testament prophecy about the Messiah coming from Nazareth or that he would be called a Nazarene. When we look at the words Matthew uses, he changes his normal “then was fulfilled” or “this was to fulfill” to “that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled.” There is a change from the singular prophet to a plural of prophets. What Matthew seems to be doing is pointing out that the apparent embarrassment of the royal Messiah coming from Nazareth is actually unfounded because he seems to be pulling together Messianic passages such as Psalm 22, Isaiah 53, and Zechariah 9:9.]

[Archelaus was the son of Herod. He inherited the southern part of the kingdom and not Galilee. His character was as bad as his father’s. He was deposed for misrule in AD 6. Galilee was ruled by his half brother Herod Antipas. Jesus would see him face to face on the day of his crucifixion.]