Matthew 2:21

And he arose, and took the young child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel. AND HE AROSE, AND TOOK THE YOUNG CHILD AND HIS MOTHER, AND CAME INTO THE LAND OF ISRAEL - intending, as is plain from what follows, to return to Bethlehem of Judea, there, no doubt, to rear the Infant King, as at His own royal city, until the time should come when they would expect Him to occupy Jerusalem, "the city of the Great King....

19-23 Egypt may serve to sojourn in, or take shelter in, for awhile, but not to abide in. Christ was sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, to them he must return. Did we but look upon the world as our Egypt, the place of our bondage and banishment, and heaven only as our Canaan, our home, our rest, we should as readily arise and depart thither, when we are called for, as Joseph did out of Egypt. The family must settle in Galilee. Nazareth was a place held in bad esteem, and Christ was crucified with this accusation, Jesus the Nazarene. Wherever Providence allots the bounds of our habitation, we must expect to share the reproach of Christ; yet we may glory in being called by his name, sure that if we suffer with him, we shall also be glorified with him....

EXPOSITION JESUS THE CHRIST BY HIS EARLY HISTORY answering to the word of God by the prophets. This is shown by four particulars, for each of which a corresponding prophecy is adduced. (1) The place of his birth; where, further, he receives homage of Gentiles, though neglected by his own people (Matthew 2:1). (2) His stay in Egypt (Matthew 2:13). (3) The slaughter of the innocents (Matthew 2:16). (4) His dwelling at Nazareth, and consequent appellation ...

AND HE AROSE AND TOOK THE YOUNG CHILD AND HIS MOTHER,.... He exactly conformed in every circumstance to the orders given him, with respect to the persons he took, the place he went to, and the expeditiousness of doing it; and is an example of ready and cheerful obedience to the commands of God, worthy of imitation. We may learn from hence, as well as from some other instances already met with, a reason among others, why, though Mary was a virgin, and even if she was to continue so, yet she must be espoused to Joseph as her husband; that she might have one to take care of her and her young child, and be a means, under God, of preserving, protecting, and providing for them....

Matthew 2:1. _Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,_ Probably from that Assyria which is joined with Israel and Egypt in the remarkable prophecy in Isaiah 19:24: «In that day shall Israel be the third with Egypt and with Assyria even a blessing in the midst of the land: Whom the Lord of hosts shall bless, saying, Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel mine inheritance. «Behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,» Matthew 2:2. Saying, Where is he that is, born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. When Herod the

2. THE KING WORSHIPPED BY GENTILES; Jerusalem in Ignorance of Him; the Child Persecuted. _ 1. The Visit of the Wise Men.(Matthew 2:1 .) 2. The Flight into Egypt. (Matthew 2:13 .) 3. The Return from Egypt. (Matthew 2:19 .)_ CHAPTER 2 The second chapter in Matthew relates events which are nowhere else recorded in the Gospels. For this reason, and this is the only reason, the authenticity of the chapter has been doubted more than once. All that which the second chapter contains belongs properly into the Jewish, dispensational Gospel, and would indeed be entirely out of place in the other three Gospels, therefore the Holy Spirit has seen fit to put it only in the first Gospel. The chapter

THE SETTLEMENT AT NAZARETH. By Herod's will Archelaus (p. 609) held the title of King till the Emperor Augustus forbade it. In Galilee, another of Herod's sons, Antipas (p. 609), was tetrarch. There is here no thought that Nazareth (p. 29) was Joseph's previous home. He goes there because (_a)_ Judæ a might be dangerous, (_b)_ prophecy must be fulfilled. For Mt. the question of the Messiah's birthplace does not arise; Joseph and Mary live in Bethlehem, and it would be there. Lk.'s knowledge of Nazareth is better than Mt.'s. The closest OT connexion with Matthew 2:23 is that Is., Jer., and Zeph. refer to Messiah as the branch (_Nezer)_ of the house of David. Nazarenes was a contemptuous name given to the early Christians; Mt., to consecrate it, snatches at the faintest prophetic allusion (_cf._ Acts

AND AROSE AND TOOK THE YOUNG CHILD. He obeyed as promptly as before, waiting obediently upon the Divine will. Come into the land of Israel. This included not only Judea, but Samaria, Galilee, and the country beyond the Jordan. The part first reached by Joseph on his return would be Judea....

THE BIRTHPLACE OF THE KING (Matthew 2:1-2)...

THE RETURN FROM EGYPT...