The King Who Was Born A Fugitive (Matthew 1:18-2:23)

Joseph and Mary were betrothed to one another. It involved a marriage arranged by both sets of parents and the details were negotiated by the signing of marriage contracts. This time of betrothal was as binding and serious as the marriage itself, which would not take place until a year later. The couple stayed with their parents for the time. The groom would be busy building a home for himself and his soon-to-be bride while she underwent a time of testing and personal preparation to see if she would remain faithful to him. Infidelity was grounds for divorce or worse. After the year had passed, the groom would go to the bride's home, accompanied by a group of friends and family. The marriage ceremony would take place. He would then bring the bride to their new home, followed by the same procession. There would be a time of celebration, then a time of privacy where the marriage would be consummated. it was during this period of betrothal when Mary became pregnant by the work of the Holy Spirit. The news of her pregnancy gave Joseph cause to consider divorcing her and put her away somewhere safe.

One of the foundations of the Christain faith is the affirmation that the Lord Jesus was born of a virgin as the Scriptures foretold (Isaiah 7:14; Luke 1:34-35). Isaiah had made this prophecy seven hundred years before this time and was now fulfilled in the birth of Jesus. While He had a human mother, His true Father was God. He was both Divine and human, and if He had been born like anyone else, He would have inherited the same sin nature as we have, and would not have been able to carry out His mission of redeeming us and bearing our sins upon the cross and rising from the dead as proof that His work had been sufficient to reconcile us to God and secure the promise of salvation and eternal life (Genesis 3:15; Isaiah 53:1-12; John 3:16, 19:30; Acts 4:12; Romans 5:6-11, 6:23, 8:31-39, 10:9-10; 1 Corinthians 15: 1-18, 12-19; Hebrews 7:25; 1 John 2:1-2; Revelation 1:17-18).

Joseph's mission (vv.20-28) was to marry Mary and not be afraid of what occurred. He was told by the angelic messenger that the baby was of Divine origin, along with the purpose and mission of the Child. The Child would be named JESUS (Yashua - Aramaic), given the mission of redeeming His people Israel (Luke 19:10; John 3:16-17; Acts 13:23; 1 Corinthians 15:3). All these things were done in order that the prophecy given by Isaiah would be fulfilled. Without hesitation, Joseph arose and did as he was told. While he does not speak in the Scriptures, we see that from Joseph's actions and nature that he was an example of devotion, love, grace, mercy, and obedience to God. He is to be commended for what he did in spite of the circumstances.

Chapter 2 gives the account of Jesus' birth in Bethlehem ("house of bread"), the city where a thousand years before, David the king had been born. Joseph had also been born there and had returned with Mary to be registered for the census ordered by the Emperor Caesar Augustus (Luke 2:1-2). One of Caesar's vassal "kings" was Herod the Great, who had been put in charge of the region of Judea forty years earlier by Marc Antony, a contemporary of Julius Caesar. Augustus had faced Antony and his paramour, Queen Cleopatra of Egypt in the battle of Actium in 31 B.C. Augustus, whose real name was Octavian, had been adopted by Julius Caesar, ended up being the first emperor of the Roman Empire in 27 B.C. and would rule until his death in 14 AD. Herod had made his peace with Augustus and allowed to remain on the "throne" of Judea. Herod was not a pure-blooded Jew, but instead was from the region of Idumea, He was seen as a usurper to the throne of David by his Jewish subjects. He was never accepted or liked by them despite his attempts to win them over by rebuilding the Temple in Jerusalem along with other public works projects that strengthened the region economically and culturally.

As Herod grew older, he became more paranoid and suspected everyone around him of conspiring to overthrow him. This turned him into a cruel and bloodthirsty tyrant. He had his own sons and favorite wife put to death due to his suspicions, something he deeply regretted later. When the Magi ('Wise men") arrived in Jerusalem, they began asking where the new king had been born (Numbers 24:17, 19). Their question had been based upon the study of the stars and began searching through the prophecies of respective nations, concluding that the star in the east was unmistakable in its signification that a royal birth had occurred. News of these visitors and their inquiry reached Herod's palace and caused a major disturbance both there and in the streets of Jerusalem. The old, paranoid monarch saw this as yet another threat to his rule. The people's fears arose because they knew that Herod's madness would inevitably lead to bloodshed and terror.