Out of Egypt...I called My Son

 "Now when they (the wise men) had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, '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.' And he rose and took the Child and His mother by night and departed to Egypt and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet (Hosea 11:1), 'Out of Egypt I called My Son.'"

The point in this story of Egyptian exile is about Jesus' identity; for later, once Herod was dead, Jesus would be brought out of Egypt, and thus fulfill Hosea 11:1...which reflects on the rescue of God's people - His "son" Israel - from slavery in Egypt. 

In Matthew's account of their escape to Egypt, "there are echoes of the story told in Genesis and Exodus. A family goes down into Egypt; a child is rescued from a wicked ruler; he grows up and leads his people out of their bondage; they pass through the waters of the sea; they are tested in the wilderness; eventually they reach the borders of the promised land. 

These events are like a shadow cast backwards into history from the life of the Lord. He is the reality. He is the true Son of God who was called out of Egypt; He would go through the waters in His baptism in the River Jordan (Matthew 3:1-17); He would be tested in the wilderness (4:1-11).

Matthew is telling us that in Jesus a greater exodus has begun. 30 years later, on the Mount of Transfiguration, Jesus would discuss with Moses and Elijah the 'departure' (literally the "exodus", Luke 9:31) that He was about to accomplish in Jerusalem. This true and final exodus would not be a physical deliverance from an earthly pharaoh. It would be deliverance from Satan, and from the guilt, and power, and shame of sin.

Jesus being taken into Egypt was not simply for His own safety. It was to fulfill a prophecy - to fill out and fill up a pattern that God had written into His own people's history to point them forward to the full and final exodus that would bring us eternal salvation. And brought it He has! Now there is no earthly danger, worldly power, or spiritual snare that His people need to fear. 

Everywhere we look into this story, we discover that it is all about salvation. That is its central message. That is the Christmas message. And it is our greatest need. If only we would see it!"

Taken from The Dawn of Redeeming Grace by Sinclair B. Ferguson