Ten Minute Bible Talks Devotional Bible Study - Jesus's Escape to Egypt | Christmas | Matthew 2:13-15

Starting point is 00:00:00 Welcome to 10-minute Bible talks where we connect the Bible to your life in the time it takes to get to work. I'm Tanya Wilmuth. I'm Keith Simon. And I'm Patrick Miller. Right now, we're in our Christmas series. We're exploring the stories around Jesus' birth and the prophecies pointing forward to it. Doom scrolling is a fairly new term. I think even 10 years ago, if I heard that word, my mind would have formed some kind of Lord of the Rings image with a bearded man, unrolling, tattered heavy paper with some blotted ink message tucked away inside.

Starting point is 00:00:36 But as we know it today, doom scrolling is that deep, dark rabbit hole of Twitter threads or news story comments where you just keep going because reading about other people being attacked or other people's horror stories is somehow oddly satisfying. There's a certain part of the story of Jesus' birth that I think I've approached with more of a doom scroll mindset than with awe and wonder. You see, after Jesus was born, there was a very jealous king named Herod. And Herod had heard from the Magi that the baby had been born, who would be the new king of Israel. And as we've experienced that story, Herod was so jealous that he ordered all the baby boys to be killed as a blanket cover to make sure the baby he heard about would not grow up to take over his throne.

Starting point is 00:01:27 And while all of that is true, it isn't necessarily the main truth of the past. The main truth isn't that Herod is evil or that babies were being killed, or at least I don't think so. Let me read you the passage so we can look at it together. Matthew chapter 2 verses 12 to 15. When they had gone, by the way, they is referring to the magi. An angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. Get up, he said.

Starting point is 00:01:58 Take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. stay there until I tell you for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him so he got up took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt where he stayed until the death of Herod and so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet out of Egypt I have called my son now this isn't the first time the angels appeared to Joseph the first was when the angel Gabriel told Joseph that Mary was having a baby so this time Joseph would probably have been even more ready to take the angel very seriously when he warned him to leave Egypt because of Herod's evil plan. As most of us would, if something bad was going to happen to our children. I mean, this summer I threw away about seven and a half bottles of perfectly good sunscreen because someone told me there was a recall. Anyway, I don't think that's the main truth of the story either. I think the last line gives us a hint of where Matthew wants to draw our eyes. You see, Matthew in his gospel, continues to draw connections to reveal the intended full meaning of Old Testament scripture as it comes into its fullness in the birth and life of Jesus.

Starting point is 00:03:14 So in this passage, the angel appeared to Joseph to tell him to move to Egypt with his family to escape the evil plot of Herod, and Joseph obeyed. But all of that leads into the larger conclusion that Matthew draws. and so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet. Out of Egypt, I have called my son. Matthew wrote in a prophet and fulfillment cycle, where he would quote well-known passages of Old Testament scripture and connect them to Christ, showing that Jesus was the Messiah,

Starting point is 00:03:48 the fulfillment of all those passages that had been memorized by heart. Let me take you down a path for just a minute. I live in Columbia, Missouri. home of the Missouri Tigers. Our college mascot is this beloved, friendly tiger named Truman, with huge paws and a long tail that he spins around. Now, there are several different college students that try out for and play the prestigious role of Truman,

Starting point is 00:04:13 and they play his role at all sorts of campus events from football games and parades to ribbon cuttings and alumni gatherings. But the identity of the Truman's, or Truman, is kept a relatively safe secret. Now, imagine that you're in college and you have a roommate that's always busy on football Saturdays, and you don't know why. Your roommate is always going to campus events,

Starting point is 00:04:38 but never actually seen at campus events. But then you get to graduation, and your roommate walks out with cap and gown on, but instead of dress shoes, you see two giant black and gold-striped paws sticking out under their gown, as is the tradition to finally reveal their identity as Truman. Now, at that point, everything you've known and experienced for the last four years would start to make sense. And you would rewind and look at it all now from this perspective and see not just your

Starting point is 00:05:14 roommate, but your roommate as Truman as you replay everything you know about him or her. Matthew writes so his reader can have this kind of aha moment, seeing that everything they know about scripture and God's plans and promises has been done to the birth and life of this very real man who claimed to the Messiah, who was the Messiah, the one all of Scripture pointed to. So when he writes that all of this from King Herod threatening the Magi and then ordering to have babies killed, to the angel alerting Joseph and Joseph taking the family to Egypt, it was to fulfill what the prophet Josea wrote about when he said, out of Egypt, I have called my

Starting point is 00:06:00 son. Those words sent signals to the first Christians that Jesus was the one they'd spent their whole lives longing for. And what they knew from that verse in Josea was that out of Egypt referred to God bringing his nation, Israel, out of captivity to Pharaoh, and safely. across the Red Sea. Calling them out of Egypt, God saved Israel from slavery, from oppression, from an evil king, and brought them through the wilderness and into his promised land. So now when they hear these words, excuse the bad metaphor, but it would be like seeing the tiger feet and then having the much, much larger revelation that this child, who God will call forth out of Egypt is the son of God. Jesus is God's rightful.

Starting point is 00:06:48 and yet being called God's son like Israel had been also identified fully with his people. This kind of aha moment would have rocked their world because Jesus would be the better forever fulfillment of that promise to bring God's people out of slavery, out from under the weight of oppression, away from the evil and injustice that plagued their lives. And Jesus would establish a way through their current wilderness as God led and provided them through the wilderness before. Herod was an evil king with an evil heart. But God wasn't just orchestrating a plan for Joseph to save his child from Herod's sword.

Starting point is 00:07:29 In a much, much bigger way Jesus with his family would live in Egypt until Herod was dead. Then just as scripture foretold, Jesus would come out of Egypt to save God's people from all evil and to save us from the most evil thing of all. sin. The vastness of God's plans revealed in just these three verses is amazing. Now, we can get so hung up on what people are doing, but the Bible is hung up on what Jesus is doing. We can get really hung up on what people are doing to us, but the Bible is constantly showing us what Jesus is doing for them. I think we can choose to live like doom scrollers, or Bible scholars, and I don't mean people who have the entire Bible memorized,

Starting point is 00:08:23 but people who are always looking for evidence of Jesus. Who are you doom scrolling? Maybe waiting for the next bad thing to happen to them or waiting for them to make the next wrong move. Is it a generation, a person, a group that has a certain label or advocates for a certain cause? Why are you fixated on them? Is it keeping you from seeing God?

Starting point is 00:08:51 We get to the heart of this passage when we know that it's not about Heron necessarily or evil, but about the one who will save us from it. Out of Egypt, God has called His Son to lead us through the wilderness of our hearts and secure us to his life and his promise to one day make everything right and make everything new. King Jesus will be on the throne forever, but he sits on the throne forever. but he sits on the throne today. Will you let him be the king of your thoughts?

Starting point is 00:09:22 And will you partner with him to see people through the lens of his salvation? And to pray for him to do in your heart and their heart, the mighty work of restoration that we all need. Thanks for listening. If you've enjoyed this content, please subscribe and give us a rating. That helps others find this podcast more easily. Also ask yourself who, you could share this podcast with.

Starting point is 00:09:48 Texting an episode to a friend or family member is a great way to help them grow spiritually. If you want to go deeper, check out our show notes for book recommendations.

Ten Minute Bible Talks Devotional Bible Study - Jesus's Escape to Egypt | Christmas | Matthew 2:13-15

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