Reason To Be Comforted

Islington Baptist Church December 10, 2000

Matthew 2:13-18 Scriptures: Revelations 12, Psalm 2

During the next 3 weeks we are going to consider a number of messianic prophecies that have found their fulfillment in the person of Jesus Christ.

A major reason to believe in Jesus as Lord and Savior is to note all of the prophecies that have been fulfilled in and by him.

Aside: Not only does fulfilled prophecy provide a reason to believe in Jesus but it also provides a solid base to believe that the Bible is what it claims to be: the word of God.

In case you are wondering “what are prophecies all about” let me briefly explain.

Prophecies/ Prophetic words have to do with future events and happenings.

God, through the mouths of various people, mostly the prophets, has spoken to us regarding a variety of future events.

In the OT scriptures, time and time again God spoke to his people regarding a coming Savior, ruler, and King. All sorts of detailed descriptions are given as to who this one would be, what he do, what he would be like, etc, etc. Sometimes people call these words from God regarding the future Savior—Messianic prophecies.

One of the goals of the NT scriptures is to show/ demonstrate that Jesus is the one of whom the OT prophets spoke and prophesied. Such a realization is grounds for ones putting their faith in Jesus as Savior and Lord.

TODAY we are going to consider Matthew 2:13-18 which portrays Jesus as fulfilling 2 messianic prophesies READ TEXT

One of the particular goals of Matthew chapter 1-2 is to show conclusively that Jesus is the promised Messiah. In these 2 chapters Matthew portrays Jesus as fulfilling no less than 4 messianic prophecies.

In v.13-18 one of Matthew’s points is this:

a. Jesus’ escape to and coming out of Egypt confirm his identity as Messiah and Savior. Here he refers to Hosea 11:1 as predicting this

b. The grief and sorrow that came to the many Israelite mothers in Bethlehem further confirmed Jesus’ identity as Messiah and Savior. Here he refers to Jeremiah 31:15 as speaking of this.

These 2 messianic texts that Matthew refers to are typological in nature. Hosea 11:1 and Jeremiah 31:15 are –what can be called “pointing to” passages. They both are viewed as pointing to something greater than what their immediate context was dealing with. There is the type and the fulfillment of the type to come.

For example: The garden of Eden points to and has its perfect fulfillment in Heaven (type and fulfillment of the type). The sacrificing of Bulls and goats daily pointed to and had its perfect fulfillment in the once for all sacrifice of Jesus for our sins upon the cross.

In Hosea 11:1 it says in part “Out of Egypt I called my son”

In the immediate context of Hosea 11:1 the people were being reminded of how God sent Joseph to Egypt and then how ultimately Israel/Jacob and his whole family settled there that they might escape starvation from the great famine. Initially Israel found shelter in Egypt and then came all those years of slavery. By the hand of God, Israel- his son, was called brought out of Egypt as a great nation and was brought to the promised land.

Hosea 11:1 does not say in these exact words as one may like “When the Son of God comes he will have to escape to Egypt and then at the proper time God will call him back to Israel”. Yet, in Jesus’ flight to Egypt, his time there, and eventual return, Matthew sees and would have us see Jesus as being spoken of by Hosea 11:1—because Jesus is ultimately the true Son of God.

In Jeremiah 32:15 it says “A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.”

In Jeremiah 32:15 Jeremiah was speaking to his Israelite brethren who as a people had just been overrun by the Babylonians. The place is Ramah, a huge internment camp from which those mass deportations of the Israelites occurred. Ramah was a place of weeping and wailing. Rachel’s weeping was symbolic of all the mothers of Israel weeping. Many sons and daughters had been killed. Babylon awaited as a place of slavery and deportation for the survivors.

Jeremiah was sent by God to console the people with great news, but instead all that was heard was weeping and those who heard his message refused to be comforted.

Do you know what the great news that God wanted his people to hear? I will bring you back to this place. In spite of your sin and rebellion against me and your kindling of my wrath against you, I will restore you. God in fact commanded them to refrain from weeping: and yet they refused to be comforted.