What parallels exist between Moses' escape and Jesus' early life in Matthew 2? Setting the Scene: Moses Flees Pharaoh “When Pharaoh heard about this, he tried to kill Moses. But Moses fled from Pharaoh and settled in the land of Midian, where he sat down beside a well.” (Exodus 2:15) Echoes in Bethlehem: Jesus Carried to Egypt “When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, ‘Get up! Take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt; stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the Child to kill Him.’ ” (Matthew 2:13) “So he got up, took the Child and His mother by night and withdrew to Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had spoken through the prophet: ‘Out of Egypt I called My Son.’ ” (Matthew 2:14-15; cf. Hosea 11:1) Parallel Threats, Parallel Escapes • A murderous monarch – Exodus 1:22: Pharaoh orders every Hebrew boy to be cast into the Nile. – Matthew 2:16: Herod orders the slaughter of Bethlehem’s boys two years and under. • A providential rescue – Moses is hidden (Exodus 2:2-3) and later flees. – Jesus is moved secretly by night. • Flight to a foreign land – Moses to Midian (desert refuge). – Jesus to Egypt (historical place of Israel’s earlier bondage). • Divine timing for return – “The LORD said to Moses in Midian, ‘Go back to Egypt, for all the men who wanted to kill you are dead.’ ” (Exodus 4:19) – “After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, ‘Get up, take the Child and His mother and go to the land of Israel, for those seeking the Child’s life are dead.’ ” (Matthew 2:19-20) Purposeful Wilderness Years • Moses spends forty years in Midian (Acts 7:29-30). • Jesus spends forty days in the wilderness after His baptism (Matthew 4:1-2). The number forty often signals preparation. Deliverers in God’s Plan • Moses leads Israel from physical slavery (Exodus 14). • Jesus leads all who believe from slavery to sin (John 8:34-36; Romans 6:6-7). Typology: Moses Foreshadows Christ • Both spared in infancy from tyrannical edicts. • Both called out of Egypt (Moses as infant nation, Jesus as individual Messiah). • Both mediate covenants—Moses the Law (Exodus 24:8), Jesus the New Covenant in His blood (Luke 22:20). • Both ascend a mountain to give God’s word—Sinai for Moses; the Mount for Jesus’ Sermon (Matthew 5 ff). God’s Faithfulness Across Generations The parallel rescues reveal the same covenant-keeping God. He protected the nation’s first deliverer and, in greater fullness, preserved the ultimate Deliverer, fulfilling every promise “Yes” and “Amen” in Christ (2 Corinthians 1:20). |
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