Bird's-eye view
In this brief but crucial passage, Matthew concludes his account of the Lord's infancy by narrating the Holy Family's return from their Egyptian exile. This is not simply a travel update. Every step of this journey is freighted with theological significance, orchestrated by the sovereign hand of God to fulfill His ancient promises. The death of the tyrant Herod serves as the catalyst, demonstrating that the thrones of men are temporary and their occupants disposable in the grand sweep of God's redemptive plan. Joseph, a model of quiet, faithful obedience, is guided at every turn by divine revelation in dreams, ensuring the safety of the Christ child. The narrative pivots on a political calculation involving Herod's even more brutish son, Archelaus, which providentially steers the family to the obscure region of Galilee. This relocation culminates in Jesus being raised in Nazareth, a town of no reputation, thereby fulfilling a thematic prophecy that the Messiah would be despised and rejected. In short, these verses show us the King of kings being brought home, not to a palace in the capital, but to a dusty backwater, all according to the script written by God Himself.
This is God's providence in action. He uses the death of kings, the fear of tyrants, and angelic messages in dreams to place His Son exactly where He needs to be. The return from Egypt is a recapitulation of Israel's own history, positioning Jesus as the true Israel who succeeds where the old Israel failed. The move to Nazareth is a deliberate act of condescension, identifying the Savior with the lowly and the overlooked. The whole account is a testimony to the fact that God's kingdom advances not through earthly power and prestige, but through faithfulness in the midst of danger and humility in the face of worldly expectations.
Outline
- 1. The Providential Return from Exile (Matt 2:19-23)
- a. The Angelic Summons (Matt 2:19-20)
- b. The Obedient Response (Matt 2:21)
- c. The Prudent Diversion (Matt 2:22)
- d. The Prophetic Settlement (Matt 2:23)
Context In Matthew
This passage directly follows the account of the flight to Egypt (Matt 2:13-15) and Herod's subsequent slaughter of the innocents in Bethlehem (Matt 2:16-18). It forms the final panel in Matthew's introductory diptych contrasting the reception of the King. On one hand, you have pagan Magi from the East who travel hundreds of miles to worship Him. On the other, you have the king of the Jews who tries to murder Him. Chapter 2 is a microcosm of the whole gospel: Jesus is the true King, yet He is rejected by the established powers of His own people and finds His life characterized by exile and threat from the very beginning. This section, detailing the return, resolves the immediate crisis of Herod's persecution and sets the stage for Jesus' hidden years in Nazareth, from which He will emerge to begin His public ministry. It is the bridge from the tumultuous events of His birth to the quiet obscurity of His upbringing, all while continuing Matthew's central theme of Jesus as the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy.
Key Issues
- God's Sovereignty Over Rulers
- Divine Guidance Through Dreams
- Jesus as the True Israel
- The Fulfillment of Prophecy
- The Identity of Archelaus
- The Meaning of "He shall be called a Nazarene"
The Geography of God's Will
One of the striking things about the nativity accounts, and this passage in particular, is how much geography is involved. Bethlehem, Jerusalem, Egypt, Judea, Galilee, Nazareth. The Son of God is constantly on the move. But this is not random wandering; it is a divinely choreographed dance across the map of the ancient Near East. God is the ultimate cartographer, and He draws the lines of His Son's early life to fulfill His word and to establish His character. The journey to Egypt and back is a deliberate echo of the Exodus, casting Jesus as the new and better Moses who will lead a new and better exodus from sin. The detour to Galilee is a strategic move to place the King among the common people, far from the corrupt center of religious and political power in Jerusalem. The final destination of Nazareth, a town so insignificant it was proverbial for its worthlessness, is the perfect place to raise a king whose kingdom is not of this world.
We often think of God's will in abstract terms, but here we see it worked out in miles and borders and dusty roads. God is concerned with the particulars. He knows who is ruling in Judea, and He knows the best route to take to avoid him. This should be a profound encouragement to us. The God who guided Joseph with such precision is the same God who guides us. He is sovereign over the political landscape we inhabit, and He knows how to navigate us through dangers, both seen and unseen, to bring us to the place He has appointed for us.
Verse by Verse Commentary
19 But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying,
The narrative resumes with a pivotal event: the death of the king. "But when Herod died." This is the hinge upon which the action turns. Herod the Great, the paranoid tyrant who sought to destroy the Christ child, is removed from the scene by the hand of God. Men who set themselves against God have an expiration date. God's purposes, however, are eternal. Notice the simple, matter-of-fact way Matthew states it. There is no gloating, just the calm declaration that the obstacle has been removed. God's angel, the same divine messenger who has been guiding Joseph all along, once again appears in a dream. This is the fourth of Joseph's dreams recorded by Matthew, highlighting his unique role as the silent, obedient guardian of the Messiah, receiving his instructions directly from heaven.
20 “Get up, take the Child and His mother, and go into the land of Israel; for those who sought the Child’s life are dead.”
The angel's command mirrors the instruction to flee to Egypt, but now in reverse. "Get up, take the Child and His mother." The urgency is still there, but now it is the urgency of restoration, not of escape. The reason given is stark and sufficient: "for those who sought the Child's life are dead." The plural "those" likely refers to Herod as the principal actor and any of his key lieutenants who were in on the plot. The language here is a direct and intentional echo of Exodus 4:19, where the Lord tells Moses in Midian, "Go, return to Egypt, for all the men who were seeking your life are dead." This parallel is unmistakable. Just as Moses, the deliverer of the old covenant, was called back from exile to save his people, so Jesus, the deliverer of the new covenant, is called back from His exile. Matthew is painting Jesus as the new and greater Israel, the true Son called out of Egypt.
21 So Joseph got up, took the Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel.
Joseph's response is exactly what we have come to expect from him: immediate, unquestioning obedience. He doesn't ask for a second opinion. He doesn't do a cost-benefit analysis. The word of the Lord comes, and he acts. "So Joseph got up." He is a righteous man, not because he has visions, but because he obeys the visions he is given. He takes the Child and His mother and begins the long journey back to their homeland. This simple verse is a testament to the quiet faith that undergirds the entire story of redemption. God's grand plan is worked out through the simple faithfulness of ordinary people like Joseph.
22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Then after being warned by God in a dream, he departed for the district of Galilee,
Here, divine providence intersects with political reality. Joseph's original intent was likely to return to Bethlehem in Judea, the city of David where Jesus was born. But news reaches him that Herod's son, Archelaus, is now the ruler of that region. This was bad news indeed. History tells us that Archelaus was a chip off the old block, and a brutish and tyrannical one at that. He began his reign by slaughtering 3,000 Jews in the temple courts during Passover. Joseph's fear was not paranoia; it was sanctified common sense. And this prudent fear is then confirmed by God in yet another dream, the fifth one. God does not override Joseph's reason but rather affirms it. The divine warning directs him away from the danger, rerouting him north to the "district of Galilee." God's protection is not a promise of a life free from threats, but a promise of guidance through them.
23 and came and lived in a city called Nazareth, so that what was spoken through the prophets would be fulfilled: “He shall be called a Nazarene.”
The journey ends in Nazareth, a town with no Old Testament pedigree and a generally poor reputation. As Nathanael would later ask, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" (John 1:46). And this, Matthew says, is precisely the point. The settlement in this despised town was a fulfillment of prophecy. But which prophecy? There is no specific Old Testament verse that says, "He shall be called a Nazarene." Matthew uses the plural, "prophets," indicating that he is not quoting a single text but summarizing a consistent theme. The prophets spoke of the Messiah as one who would be despised and rejected (Psalm 22:6), a man of sorrows (Isaiah 53:3), and a humble shoot, or netzer in Hebrew, from the stump of Jesse (Isaiah 11:1). The word netzer has a similar sound to Nazareth. So, by living in Nazareth, Jesus was identified with a place of scorn, marking Him from His youth as the humble, rejected servant-king that the prophets foretold. His very address became a fulfillment of prophecy, a sign of His lowliness.
Application
This passage is a master class in the providence of God. It teaches us that God is sovereign over the Herods and Archelauses of our world. He raises them up, and He puts them down, all in service of His ultimate purpose. We are often tempted to despair over the state of our political leadership, but we must remember that the most wicked rulers are on a leash, and God holds the end of it. Our duty is not to fret, but to be faithful, just as Joseph was.
Joseph's example is one of quiet, sturdy obedience. He was entrusted with the most important task in human history, protecting the Son of God, and he did it without fanfare, simply by listening to God and doing the next right thing. Our lives may not involve angelic visitations, but God still speaks through His Word and guides us by His Spirit. The call is the same: get up and do what He has commanded. True faith is not measured in spectacular displays, but in steady, consistent obedience in the ordinary course of life.
Finally, we are reminded that God's path to glory is often through humility and obscurity. Jesus, the King of the universe, was deliberately placed in Nazareth, the town nobody respected. This was to fulfill the prophecies that He would be despised. We should not be surprised, then, if the path God lays for us leads through places of lowliness or disrespect. The world honors power, prestige, and prominence. The kingdom of God is built on the foundation of a carpenter from a backwater town. If we want to follow this King, we must be willing to be known as Nazarenes, people identified with a rejected Lord, finding our honor not in the world's esteem, but in His "well done, good and faithful servant."