“… This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, ‘Out of Egypt I called my son.’” (Matthew 2:15)
Matthew wants to convince his readers that Jesus really is the long-awaited Messiah, the Son of God. One of his means to do so, is by repeatedly observing that particular events in Jesus’ life were prophesied long before. In this chapter alone, we find four references to prophecies that were written down centuries before Jesus was born, and that have all come true in His early life: The Messiah would be born in Bethlehem (verse 5), He would be called out of Egypt (verse 15), there would be deep grief about children in Rama (verse 17), and the Messiah would be called a Nazarene (verse 23).
Not all of these prophecies were particularly clear predictions. Some were rather mystic references or had multiple layers of interpretation. But for Matthew it is clear: Jesus’ extraordinary life course is a fulfillment of God’s plans, and shows that He is the not just an ordinary human. He is the Redeemer promised by God. Do you believe that?