God’s Protection and a New Home: The Escape to Egypt and Return to Nazareth (Matthew 2:13–23)
After the wise men visited baby Jesus and gave Him gifts, the story takes a serious turn. Danger was close, but God made sure Jesus and His family were safe. Matthew 2:13–23 shows us how God protected Jesus through dreams, and how the family ended up living in Nazareth.
A Warning in the Night
Soon after the wise men left, Joseph had another dream. An angel warned him that King Herod wanted to kill Jesus. The angel told Joseph to get up right away and take Mary and Jesus to Egypt to escape the danger.
Joseph didn’t wait. In the middle of the night, he took his family and left for Egypt. This showed how much Joseph trusted God and was willing to act quickly to protect Jesus.
Herod’s Terrible Order
Herod was very angry when he realized the wise men weren’t coming back to tell him where Jesus was. He ordered a terrible act: to kill all baby boys in Bethlehem who were two years old and younger. It was a heartbreaking time for many families.
Matthew says this fulfilled an old prophecy from the book of Jeremiah about mothers crying for their children. It shows how deeply sin and fear can hurt people—but also reminds us that God was still working out His bigger plan.
Time to Return Home
After some time passed, Herod died. Once again, an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream. This time, the angel said it was safe to go back to Israel. Joseph obeyed, and the family left Egypt.
A New Home in Nazareth
When Joseph heard that Herod’s son was now the ruler, he became worried. God warned him again in a dream, so Joseph took his family to the region of Galilee. They settled in a town called Nazareth.
This also fulfilled what the prophets had said: that Jesus would be called a Nazarene. Even the place Jesus grew up had been part of God’s plan.
What We Can Learn
This passage teaches us a lot:
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God watches over us. He protected Jesus, even when evil was close.
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God guides those who listen. Joseph followed God’s instructions right away, and it kept his family safe.
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God’s plan is bigger than any problem. Even Herod’s actions couldn’t stop what God was doing.
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Jesus understands hardship. From the beginning, His life wasn’t easy. He experienced danger and had to live as a refugee in another country.
Jesus came into a world that was full of trouble, but God was always with Him. That gives us comfort today. No matter what we’re facing, God is near, guiding and protecting just like He did then.
Matthew 2:13-23 (WEB)
2:13 Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Arise and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and stay there until I tell you, for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.”14 He arose and took the young child and his mother by night and departed into Egypt, 15 and was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, “Out of Egypt I called my son.”16 Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked by the wise men, was exceedingly angry, and sent out and killed all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all the surrounding countryside, from two years old and under, according to the exact time which he had learned from the wise men. 17 Then that which was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled, saying,18 “A voice was heard in Ramah,lamentation, weeping and great mourning,Rachel weeping for her children;she wouldn’t be comforted,because they are no more.”19 But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, 20 “Arise and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel, for those who sought the young child’s life are dead.”21 He arose and took the young child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in the place of his father, Herod, he was afraid to go there. Being warned in a dream, he withdrew into the region of Galilee, 23 and came and lived in a city called Nazareth; that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through the prophets that he will be called a Nazarene.