First Sunday of Christmas

 Joseph Takes Mary and Jesus to Safety in Egypt

Matthew 2: 13 - 23

The flight into Egypt is a true love story, where Joseph does everything he can to keep Mary and the baby Jesus safe.

Dreams are a big part of this story just as they were for the Old Testament Joseph, who this Joseph was named for.

This tiny family seemed surrounded by the huge Herod family on one side, and by a cloud of angels on the other. But God oversaw their journey to Egypt and brought them safely back to Palestine.

The gifts of the wise men probably provided enough money for the family to travel on.

When we draw pictures of the journey to Egypt, we always seat Mary on the donkey with Joseph walking beside her. In those days, most often the husbands rode on the donkeys while their wives walked beside them. Do we believe that Joseph was kind enough to have gone against custom for the sake of Mary and the baby?

The reference for verse 15, "Out of Egypt I have called my son, is from Hosea 11: 1, recalling us to rhe Exodus of Moses and the Israelites from Egypt.

The reference to Jeremiah 31:15 recalls the exile of the Israelites into Babylon as well as Rachel's grief at the loss of her son Joseph who was sold as a slave into Egypt.

We have no reference for verse 23.

1. Who told Joseph to take the child and his mother to Egypt?

[An angel appeared to Joseph in a dream to tell him to take the child and his mother to Egypt.]

2. How long did the family stay in Egypt?

[The family stayed in Egypt until Herod died.]

3.Where did the family go in Palestine?

[The family went to Nazareth, in Galilee.]

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