Remember how Pharaoh had attempted to do away with male Hebrew children to secure his own power in the Old Testament? He had seen the Hebrews growing in number and grew concerned that they would take power. So Pharaoh instructed the midwives to do away with male Hebrew children as they were born. But in spite of Pharaoh's scheme Moses survived and when he had grown up Moses become the deliverer of his people. In time, a powerless infant overpowered the might of Egypt.

The parallels between Moses and Jesus become even more striking if we look a version of the story of Moses that was written down by Josephus, a first century Jewish historian. In his account it was a priestly scholar who told Pharaoh that a deliverer had been born. Later in the Josephus version of the story, Moses' father was warned in a dream to protect Moses.

In Matthew's Gospel, there was not one but three wise men who brought the news of the birth of a king and Herod was cast as the threatened monarch. Once again there was wholesale action against infants in an attempt to maintain power. In both Exodus and Matthew it was the father of the child who acted to protect him. In the gospel account it is Joseph that dreamed of danger and protected Jesus. Jesus then grew to become the deliverer of his followers.

The story in Matthew's Gospel uses references from Hosea, Jeremiah and other Old Testament prophets to conflate the life of Jesus with the experiences of the nation Israel.

Why would the author of Matthew's gospel tell a story none of the other gospel writers had told? And why was there such an emphasis on Moses and the prophets in this story of Jesus birth?

Timing is everything.

Matthew's Gospel is placed first in the bible but it is not the first to have been written. Mark's gospel was first and it was written down sometime prior to the crushing of the Jewish rebellion by the Romans and the fall of the temple in 70 AD.

Matthew's gospel was written around 85 AD, after the fall of the temple. Matthew's gospel had used the narrative framework of Mark but drew from other sources as well and contains more stories about the life and teachings of Jesus than any other gospel. The Matthean community needed to address external fears and internal quarrels and these needs effected the shape and content of the gospel according to Matthew.

After the fall of the temple in Jerusalem both the self-understanding of Judaism and that of those who followed Christ were in considerable transition. One scholar has said that Matthew "stood on the bridge between Judaism and Christianity as the bridge was being torn asunder."

Prior to the fall of the temple it was possible to follow the teachings of Jesus and still worship in the synagogue. After the fall of the temple the Pharisees became the predominate Jewish sect and the tensions between them and those who followed the teachings of Jesus escalated. The increasing number of Gentile Christians further heightened the differences between the two groups.

By the time Matthew's gospel was written the rift between the two communities was wide, the break nearly absolute. Matthew's gospel was organized and presented differently than Marks's because their audiences and their contexts were very different.

In the last years of the first century both Jews and the ever more distinct Christian community lay claim to the divine promises made to historical Israel as recorded in the Jewish scripture. Each community needed to solidify their identity and their claim. The author of Matthew's gospel went to great pains to show that in the person of Jesus was the fulfillment of the law and the prophets.

There was a transfer of authority being set up. When the prophet Hosea wrote of God's son being called out of Egypt he meant the people Israel, but Matthew transferred this title to Jesus as an individual. The way the words were used further emphasized the parallels between Moses and Jesus but also elevated Jesus. The first two chapters of Matthew expressed the uniqueness of Jesus: he was the descendant of David promised by God and also the fulfillment of the entire history of Israel since God's call to Abraham. Now Jesus is being portrayed as the savior of Israel who surpasses even Moses.

With this background understanding we can now look at the story itself and see what the author of Matthew is trying to transmit to his community that included both Jewish-Christians and gentile-Christians in a time of great tensions.

One could be either a Jew or a gentile by heritage and still be an heir to the promises of God to Israel through the person of Jesus. Moses, the law and the prophets were the foundation but Jesus had become the cornerstone in this new act of deliverance that brought freedom not just from the power of a pharaoh but ultimately from sin and death.

In Joseph we see a paragon of faithfulness and obedience. Joseph models how Christians in the Matthean community should conduct themselves. We see actions that are connected to the words of the prophets, and grounded in sacred history. We see that risk and faith, life and death, danger and salvation are all bound together. We see how salvation history builds to a crescendo in the birth of Christ even as it echoes the earlier pattern of God's actions in Moses.

Like Moses, Jesus would grow up to deliver his people to freedom.
Unlike Moses, Jesus was the Son of God.
Matthew's Gospel presents the parallels but also makes the distinction clear.

What does all of this say to us?

We are the heirs of the wisdom and revelation of those who have gone before us. We have the Old and the New Testaments from which to discern the nature and character of God. Matthew would have us trace a continuum that includes parallels and prophecies that enable us to recognize Jesus as the promised messiah, the Son of God incarnate.

We have four gospels that show us an evolving understanding of who Jesus was, and is, and is to be. From the bare bones of Mark, the first gospel, to the lofty theological heights of John, the last gospel written, there is a broad and varied portrayal of Jesus. Matthew's story of the flight from Egypt does not even occur in the other Gospels. They in turn have material that is not duplicated in Matthew. This does not make one gospel account right and the others wrong it simply shows that we need a larger framework of understanding than can be gleaned from looking for one to one correspondences.

Scripture is more than words on a page or one story in one section of the bible. There are stories behind the stories that influence how we perceive and understand them. As we come to know who wrote them, when and why, we will understand more deeply what is being presented. This illustrates the importance of study for Christian people.

In the letter to the Ephesians we heard a prayer that we might be given a spirit of wisdom and revelation. We indeed need understanding and faith; mind and heart; analysis and inspiration.

We can look to the faith and obedience of Joseph as he is portrayed in Matthew's story of the flight from Egypt and be inspired. These virtues are worth emulating.

By drawing back and looking at the historical context in which Matthew's Gospel was written we can realize that our understanding of God and scripture are also formed and conditioned by the times in which we live. If one reads biblical commentaries from different centuries it becomes clear that there is always some conflict faithful people face as they attempt to understand and be obedient to God's word and God's call to them. Our time is no different.

If step back one more step and survey all four Gospels and the whole New Testament witness we will see that the understanding of Christian people has changed and evolved over the time in which these books were written. If we are faithful and obedient it is likely our understanding will change and evolve as we study, pray and live out our own faith. This is the continuing Exodus into which Christ our redeemer invites us. AMEN