Matthew 2:14-15

Matthew 2:14-15

[14] When  he arose,  he took  the young child  and  his  mother  by night,  and  departed  into  Egypt:  [15] And  there  until  the death  of Herod:  that  it might be fulfilled  which  of  the Lord  by  the prophet,  saying,  Out of  Egypt  have I called  son. 

What does Matthew 2:14-15 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

Herod died in4 B.C. [1] Josephus recorded that he died a horrible death, his body rotting away and consumed by worms. [2] His grandson, Herod Agrippa, later suffered a similar fate ( Acts 12:23).
As noted, Matthew frequently used the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies to show that Jesus was the Christ. Matthew 2:15 contains another fulfillment. This one is difficult to understand, however, because in Hosea 11:1 the prophet did not predict anything. He simply described the Israelites" Exodus from Egypt as the departure of God"s son (cf. Exodus 4:22). Old Testament writers frequently used the term "son" to describe Israel in its relationship to God. What did Matthew mean when he wrote that Jesus" departure from Egypt fulfilled Hosea"s words ( Hosea 11:1)? Matthew"s quotation is from the Hebrew text.
Matthew did not say that Jesus was fulfilling a prophecy. Another significant factor is the meaning of the word "fulfill" (Gr. pleroo). It has a broader meaning than simply "to make complete." It essentially means "to establish completely." [3] In the case of predictive prophecy, the complete establishment of what the prophet predicted occurred when what he predicted happened. In the case of prophetic utterances that dealt with the past or present, the complete establishment of what the prophet said took place when another event that was similar happened. This is the sense in which Jesus" departure from Egypt fulfilled Hosea"s prophecy (cf. James 2:21-23). Jesus was the Son of God ( Matthew 2:15; Matthew 3:17; Matthew 4:3; Matthew 4:6; Matthew 8:29; Matthew 11:27; Matthew 14:33; Matthew 16:16; Matthew 17:5; Matthew 26:63; Matthew 27:40; Matthew 27:43; Matthew 27:54). The history of Israel, the son of God in a different sense, anticipated the life of Messiah. [4] To state the same thing another way, Jesus was the "typological recapitulation of Israel " [5] Another writer called this "literal [6] plus typical [7]." [8] Still another referred to it as "literal prophecy plus a typical import." [9]
"There were similarities between the nation and the Son. Israel was God"s chosen "son" by adoption ( Exodus 4:22), and Jesus is the Messiah, God"s Son. In both cases the descent into Egypt was to escape danger, and the return was important to the nation"s providential history." [10]
". . . Matthew looked back and carefully drew analogies between the events of the nation"s history and the historical incidents in the life of Jesus." [11]