Matthew 2:21

Thursday, 22 August 2024

Then he arose, took the young Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel. Matthew 2:21

“And having arisen, he took the Child and His mother and came to the land of Israel” (CG).

In the previous verse, the messenger of the Lord spoke to Joseph in a dream. His words were, “Having arisen, take the Child and His mother, and go to the land of Israel.” Now, in exacting obedience to that word, it next says, “And having arisen, he took the Child and His mother.”

As in the previous verse, the verbs are in the singular. Joseph was given the instruction, and he followed through with it as spoken. Matthew continues to place the Child before His mother in the narrative as well.

From this point, Mary will not be mentioned again in Matthew until near the end of Chapter 12, when she is included in a general statement about “His mother and brothers.” She will not be mentioned by name until the end of Chapter 13 in another general statement, saying, “Is this not the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary?”

At the same time, Jesus will be mentioned by name over forty times by then. He will be indirectly or directly referred to many more times as well. Above all else, the entire biblical narrative, from Matthew 1:1 forward is completely focused on Jesus.

As for the minimal references to Mary, this is consistently the case throughout the four gospels. In Acts, she will be mentioned once along with other women. There is no additional importance placed on Mary. Rather the narrative is focused on Jesus. In fact, apart from the birth and infancy narratives, it may be that a comparable amount of detail is given concerning two other women named Mary in the gospels than Jesus’ mother.

With Joseph’s arising and gathering Jesus and His mother, it next says, “and came to the land of Israel.”

Just as he was instructed, so he accomplished. It can be inferred from the coming verses that he probably intended to go back to Bethlehem. However, that will not be where they will wind up.

Life application: Hebrews 12:2 has clear words for us. There, it says, “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus...” (BSB). There are many reasons for this that we could consider. Jesus is God incarnate. As such, He is our Creator (see Colossians 1:16, etc.). Jesus gave His life so that we could have restoration with God, forgiveness of sins, and so forth.

By looking to Jesus, we will not be looking elsewhere. Thus, we will avoid idolatry, immorality, etc. By looking to Jesus, we will be thinking about Jesus and all that He means to us. When actively looking, our mental attention is also actively directed at what we are looking at. Thus, we will be thinking about the Source of all goodness, righteousness, and so on.

When Scripture is rightly considered in its proper context, the admonition to keep our eyes on Jesus will keep us from theological error. For example, by considering Mary in relation to Jesus, right from Scripture, we can see the grossly exaggerated, unbiblical stand of the Roman Catholic Church, which places a high stress on Mary.

Because of this, their theology is flawed in relation to Jesus. The importance of the cross is diminished. The importance of prayer to and through Jesus is obliterated. The importance of the return of Christ is obfuscated. Even our understanding of Israel and its importance in the future is diminished.

Let us be wise and obedient to the word. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus!

Glorious Lord God, Your word has instructed us to fix our eyes on Jesus. How often has it been said that if our attention to Jesus is too great, we are not giving honor to You? And yet, if Jesus is God, how can we honor You if we do not fix our eyes on Him? Help us to think clearly and to understand that You are in the Son, and the Son is in You. There is no favoritism in the Godhead. But You are One. May we understand this and be obedient to Your word. Amen.