Settling in Nazareth

1. The Fear About the Settling (Matthew 2:22, 23)

     Joseph did not hear good news when he got back to Palestine. The joy of leaving Egypt was dampened by the alarming news which he heard when he reached the land of Palestine.
     The sureness of the fear. “When he heard” (Matthew 2:22). Though Joseph had obeyed the command of God to move from Egypt, yet he ran into a severe trial when he got to Israel. The path of obedience is not exempt trials. In fact, you can count on them; for “many are the afflictions of the righteous” (Psalm 34:19) and “all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution” (II Timothy 3:12).
     The situation for the fear. “Archelaus did reign in Judea in the room of his father Herod” (Matthew 2:22). Archelaus was also evil like his father, so Joseph’s fear was justified, and the angel did not rebuke him for the fear.
     The seeking in the fear. “Being warned of God” (Matthew 2:22). The word translated “being warned of God” here is the same word which is translated, “being warned of God” in Matthew 2:12. As we noted in our comments on that text, the meaning of the word is “to give a response to one who asks or consults; hence, in the passive … to receive an answer” (Vincent). Here, as in the case of the magi, it implies that Joseph wisely sought counsel of God concerning the peril.
     The solace for the fear. “Being warned of God in a dream, he turned aside into the parts of Galilee; and he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth” (Matthew 2:22, 23). God answered Joseph and warned Joseph not to go into Judea (back to Bethlehem) because of Archelaus. The will of God is often learned a step at a time. Seeking to know the will of God (as Joseph did) and obeying what you already know is the will of God (as Joseph did) are both vital to learning more about the will of God.

2. The Fulfillment in the Settling (Matthew 2:22, 23)
     This is the third time in this chapter that a fulfillment of Scripture occurs. The three events following the visit of the magi all end with a reference to a fulfillment of Scripture.
     The city in the fulfillment. “Nazareth” (Matthew 2:23). This was the home city of both Joseph and Mary. They came to Bethlehem because they were of the lineage of David and had to register according to the command of the ruler of Rome (Luke 2:1–5). Now Joseph and Mary end up back in Nazareth where Joseph can once again engage in his carpentry business to provide for the household that is caring for Jesus Christ.
     The cause of the fulfillment. “Archelaus” (Matthew 2:22). Once again God uses the wrath of man to praise Him (Psalm 76:10). He used the cruelty of Archelaus (which created the fear in Joseph) to send Christ and Joseph and Mary to Nazareth where Christ will live until He is thirty. Many times evil thinks it has God cornered and defeated, but it will never happen. God simply uses the evil plans of man to bring about the will of God.
     The character of the fulfillment. “He shall be called a Nazarene” (Matthew 2:23). There is no Old Testament Scripture which literally predicts this. But the fulfillment is not in the literal calling of Christ a “Nazarene,” but in the fact that living in Nazareth resulted in Christ being despised. Those who lived in Nazareth were despised as is attested by Nathaniel’s comment, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” (John 1:46). Part of the despising of Christ is seen in the fact that Christ bore the stigma all His life of being called “Jesus of Nazareth” (John 1:45). Isaiah spoke of Christ being despised when he spoke prophetically about Christ and said, “He was despised” (Isaiah 53:3). No one has ever been more despised than Jesus Christ. This is the fulfillment spoken of in our text. Associating Christ with Nazareth associates Him with being despised.