“Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy Him.”
Matthew 2:13b ESV
One of the things that jumps out at me concerning the narrative of the birth of Jesus Christ is how indirect it is. The Lord God has Joseph take Mary and Jesus all over the place! If I were to plan what the first few years of marriage with our first child would look like, it would look nothing like what is recorded in Luke 2 and Matthew 2. I want to help you see that the path of God for our lives is always indirect and requires us to walk by faith and in obedience.
In Luke 2:4 we are told Joseph and Mary begin in Nazareth in the district of Galilee. Mary is late in her pregnancy with Jesus when a governmental decree is issued that requires them to report to the city of the husband’s lineage to be ‘registered.’ Ah, the joy of government administration! So, they packed up and headed to Bethlehem with Mary nine months pregnant (nearly 100 miles by horse or donkey!). Upon arrival, there are no available rooms, so they take up lodging with the animals in a stable where Jesus is born into the world in the lowest humility.
After waiting the prescribed period of a little over a month (Leviticus 12) for ceremonial cleansing after birth, Joseph and Mary take Jesus to Jerusalem for proper dedication according to the law of God. The journey from Bethlehem to Jerusalem is another 100 miles. It is during this visit that they encounter Simeon and Anna.
Soon enough, Joseph finds lodging and magi (wise men) arrive from the east seeking to worship the newborn Savior. Following their visit and gifts, an angel of the Lord visits Joseph and directs him to immediately flee to escape the murderous wrath of King Herod. Matthew 2:14 records that Joseph got the family together, packed, and left immediately under the cover of night. Let’s remember that this does not mean a nice comfortable baby seat and car ride but packing the donkey again and heading out of the country! Depending on the route, Jerusalem, Israel to Cairo, Egypt is approximately 400 miles across rough desert!
Once in Egypt, the family remains there a few years until Herod dies. At this point Joseph is directed by the Lord (Matthew 2:19) to return to Israel with the family. He packs everyone up and makes the long trip back with mother and toddler Jesus. However, due to another adversarial leader, before their full return Joseph is redirected again by a dream from the Lord to divert and settle the family in Nazareth of Galilee – where the entire journey started years before!!
There’s a lot that could be said about this difficult roundtrip journey. Let me point out just a few important observations. First, many things along the way of this journey were fulfillment of prophecy. This means that this indirect journey was planned and purposed by God the Father from eternity past. God foretold through the prophets and purposed through His law that these things should come to pass. Our natural question is, “Why?” I can tell you plainly that many of your “Why” questions will never be answered. God has countless purposes that He is working out in the world at the same time to accomplish His glory and the salvation of sinners. Separating them out to understand how they all relate together is impossible in this life. We must walk by faith believing in the goodness and purposes of God.
Second, God was at work in the lives of Joseph, Mary, and Jesus to protect their lives from the wicked. The wickedness of this world is driven by our adversary Satan, and the ways of the devil are murderously opposed to all that God is accomplishing in the world. However, the Lord is our refuge and shield, ever protecting His people until His purposes are accomplished. This does not mean a life of ease, but one where our very lives are protected until God’s purposes are completed for each of us. As in this story, often this requires movement, serious inconvenience, and real struggle. We must walk by faith believing in the goodness and purposes of God.
Third, we see in this story that walking by faith requires obedience to the commands and calling of the Lord in our lives. We still have clear commands from the Lord that must hem in and direct our lives. Each Christian is indwelt by the Holy Spirit and led by the Spirit. Those who keep in step with the purposes of the Lord in their life obey the commands and leadings of the Lord, just like Joseph and Mary. In the same way that it was not easy for Joseph and Mary to make steps of obedience, it will not be easy for you to obey and follow after the Lord. Joseph and Mary were not told the end of their journey, and along the way Joseph died in faithfulness, never seeing the fulness of the ministry of Jesus. But this is part of the point. The purposes of God are bigger than any one of us. We each play a part. One string in the great tapestry picture of God’s work in the world. We must walk by faith believing in the goodness and purposes of God.
Lastly, by inference, I believe Joseph and Mary did not chaff and complain against the purposes of God in their lives. I’m certain that these twists and journeys were as difficult as you can imagine. It was definitely not all rainbows and sunshine, yet they carried on in hope and faithfulness! We have no indication of them complaining and questioning God’s purpose, but faithfully obeying as directed. May they stand as an inspiration and example for our faith and obedience today.
Let us walk by faith and in obedience,
Pastor Vic