Online Bible Audio/Readings Links (ESV)
1/2 Reading Portions: Genesis 2; Matthew 2; Ezra 2; Acts 2
Matthew 2:15
This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt I called My Son.”
READY
Matthew quotes Hosea 11:1 as being fulfilled by Christ. The full quote from Hosea says,
When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called My Son.
As sure as God made little green apples, this prophecy from Hosea reflected Israel’s redemption by God through the leadership of Moses. Yet Israel is only the shadow of its truth, whereas Jesus Christ is the light. This prophecy could not have been manipulated by Joseph and Mary to bring it to pass. They must be sent to Egypt by the word sent from God (Matt 2:13); and they must return to Israel by another word from Him (Matt 2:19). They were actively obedient to God’s word, but it was still God who brought His word to pass. We also see from this verse that some of the most obscure passages are fulfilled in Christ. The whole creation exists to exalt the Lord Jesus. Spurgeon preached this in 1882 concerning our text:
“Remember one thing, that all the words of God in the Old Testament and the New refer to Christ; and what is more, that all the works of God have an opened window towards Christ. Yes, I say that in the creation of the world the central thought of God was his Son Jesus, and he made the world with a view to his death, resurrection, and glorious reign. From every midge that dances in the summer sunbeam up to the great leviathan in the sea, the whole design of the world worketh toward the seed in whom the earth is blessed.” ―Charles H. Spurgeon, Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Vol. 28, Sermon #1675
I certainly believe as Mr. Spurgeon concerning Christ in Scripture. Yet there are some preachers who will manipulate the text to show Christ. As a sinner, I am not immune to such; and my prayer is that, by God’s grace, I might not err in this latter way. There is another restraint the preacher should exercise, and I confess I’ve had to learn this the past five years― not to preach Christ from a text until the congregation is ready to receive it (and not write a devotion with such until you are ready to read it). Though I proclaim Jesus with my life, I sometimes bear a greater testimony of the Lord in my silence than by my many words. Just as we must not act upon truth until it is sent by God unto our renewed minds (else it is legalism), I must be as Joseph and Mary and not preach Christ from the Scripture until the time is right and ready for it.
