There are no accidents

Matthew 2:19-23

We all have our opinions about those events we call accidents. The Bible gives us many examples of occurrences that we could call accidents or bad choices. Our attitude towards this subject is an indicator of just how deeply we believe in the sovereignty of God. If God is Sovereign then everything is under His control and according to His plan [Colossians 1:17].

During our Christmas season, we traditionally look back at a series of events, occurring around Jesus’ birth that may appear on the surface as fortuitous or accidental events only to find in a closer examination that they were all planned before time began and orchestrated by God at the right time in history [2 Timothy 1:9]. If God is sovereign in such details as these then it seems to follow He is sovereign in all things [Romans 8:28].

¹⁹After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt

This verse gives the impression that Joseph actually saw the angel during both the first [verse 13] and second visit, in a dream. The use of the word “appeared” is a rendering of the Greek word, idou (id-oo’), for seeing or perceiving. It seemed very real. The Greek word for a “dream” is onar (on’-ar) in Greek, which is a vague manifestation, as in a trance, usually less defined than a vision, and usually implying that this occurrence was during his normal sleep.

In contrast, a “visions” in the Greek is optasia (op-tas-ee’-ah) which emphasizes seeing something substantial, an appearance, without distinguishing being asleep or awake. From this context, we can interpret that Joseph’s experience occurred during a sleep but it was very realistic. The difference between dreams and vision are often difficult to discern.

Dreams have been recorded throughout the Bible and they are an important means God uses to communicate with individuals about His directions and initiatives for human reaction. Abimelech in a dream was told about Sarah’s true identity [Genesis 20:3, 6]. Jacob receives a sign in a dream instructing him to return to his native land [Genesis 31:10, 11]. Laban had a dream giving him an instruction about keeping his mouth shut [Genesis 31:24]. Joseph had a dream that initiated the historic transition of the sons of Jacob from Canaan to Egypt [Genesis 37:5, 6, 9, 10]. Dreams played an important role in Joseph’s life [Genesis 40:16, 41:7, 8, 11, 12, 15, 17, 22, 25, 26, and 32]. Gideon [Judges 7:13, 15] and later Solomon [1 Kings 3:5, 15] both received instructions through dreams. During the Babylonian captivity, as recorded in the book of Daniel, dreams were significantly a part of the prophetic messages God gave to Daniel and the kings, particularly king Nebuchadnezzar [Daniel 2:3-45, 4:5-19, 7:1].

There is a common tendency to extrapolate some of these dreams into prophetic predictions. We need to be careful and always remember to follow the context and The Spirit because these so called prophesies are sometimes messages about life’s lessons and not about future events.

Much later, God communicated to the Magi to avoid disclosing to King Herod the location of the baby Jesus [Matthew 2:12]. In contrast, the wife of Pilate was warned in a dream to have no part in the crucifixion [Matthew 27:19]. We are also told about Peter and Paul’s visions giving them special instructions [Acts 10:9-16 and Acts 16:6-10, respectively]. Similarly, an angel spoke to Joseph, Mary’s husband, in a dream instructing him to “get up” and “take” baby Jesus and His mother to Egypt for protection [Matthew 2:13].

It is prophesied that in the last days there will be those, who through the guidance of God’s Spirit, will have dreams and see visions [Joel 2:20, Acts 2:17]. There is no indication in the scriptures that dreams and visions have stopped during the past two millenniums. These dreams occur before the actual event.

It should be understood, however, that God makes a clear distinction between receiving information from dreams and the form of communication that relate to receiving information from His living word [Numbers 12:6-8]. Any one may have dreams or visions foretelling the future, but only God’s children receive His word --- Spirit to spirit [2 Timothy 3:14-17]. When God is giving a dream, it never is contradictory to His written word.

Herod’s life and death had a purpose, to display God’s power [Romans 9:17]. Herod I, or known as the Great, was the Roman client king of Judea, born in 74 BC and ruled from about 43 BC until his death in 4 BC, 70 years old at time of his death. During his life, he rebuilt the third Jerusalem Temple (the previous ones are known as Solomon’s, the first, and Nehemiah’s, the second) in an effort to appease the Jews.

Although Herod was of Arabian descent, Ebomite, he tried to identify himself as a Jew and even required all his compatriots, who were called Idumaeans (Edomites), to convert to the Jewish faith, and he maneuvered the Roman Senate into electing him as “King of the Jews” in 37 BC. He was a self-centered insecure tyrant who constantly feared that a legitimate Jewish king would rise up and claim “his” throne. In today’s parlance, clinically he could be called a paranoid schizophrenic, who had an obsession about losing his throne and insecure jealousy about not being Jewish. He honored the temple worship and maintained the temple priests in the performance of their duties. He called on these priests for advice [Matthew 2:4]. He knew enough of Hebrew prophesy to believe that the Messiah would come first as a child [Isaiah 7:14, 9:7, Matthew 2:1-6] and then claim the throne of David. Knowing and using the scriptures, as some of our TV preachers do today, is not the criterion that God provides for salvation [Ephesians 2:4-9] --- It is by God’s grace, which gives us life.

²⁰and (the angel) said, "Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child's life are dead."

The angel, or messenger, is not identified, but the message is clear yet it does lack detail. At this time in history, Israel encompassed the general area known as the Northern Kingdom (called Samaria) and the Southern Kingdom (called Judea), containing Jerusalem and Bethlehem. The specific geographical location of their destinations or the route to use on the return trip is not mentioned. The fact that the angel lacked specificity in the pronouncement indicates the broadness in the message with symbolic significance.

Often we receive messages that lack much specificity because there is a general lesson we are supposed to be learning. Allowing the context to broaden our view will give us a truer interpretation of God’s word. Being open to the figurative meaning as opposed to being stuck in the literal words is also important in the development of our appreciation of God’s word.

The term “get up,” in the Greek translation (egeiro, eg-i’-ro), is much more interesting than the literal English version. It means to cause to rise, to be born, to appear. From such a perception, we can see a broader meaning in this angelic message when we consider the central subject involved, Jesus. Egypt, scripturally, is symbolically associated with slavery, death, and sin. Being sent to Egypt is no arbitrary accident. God had a purpose then and a message we can now enjoy. God’s word is full of significant messages that are available to us when we break free from our traditional legacies of children stories.

Interestingly, this message could be interpreted figuratively --- God is bringing out of Egypt the promise of the new covenant into His Promised Land. A new Moses is leading the salvation of His people from the slavery of this world, giving a new freedom to His people. Then coupling this thought with the next word “take,” in Greek is paralambano (par-al-am-ban’-o), which means to join with this little boy and His mother, as if taking them in your arms. From this, we can see a principle developing. God is developing a personal relationship with His people [Luke 2:28-32]. Mary’s husband, Joseph, is playing a role in the new Exodus and in the new creation [2 Corinthians 5:17].

Considering that Jacob was given his new name Israel after he proved that he could persevere and overcome trials without cheating [Genesis 32:9-32], as his original name implies. Under the name of Israel (meaning soldier of God), the new man, Jesus, came to be the model and definition of humility, because he knew that his own strength was limited and he needed God’s help [John 5:19]. Here, the humility of Jesus represents the planned obedience of His people. In this name Israel, and the subsequent designated land, represents some figurative clues about God’s plan for His family. God’s children must learn that God is sovereign and God’s will is more important than our will. The message --- trust and obey --- is the figurative background for such humility and this story.

The transition from Herod to the new king began with the death of a tyrant. The end of a life represents the beginning of new life. The contrast between the end of Herod’s reign and the beginning of Jesus’ life in Israel is a significant development.

A despot, who was known for his killings, is replaced by God’s Son, who is known as the giver of life. Herod’s claim for fame was the building of the Temple, which was destroyed in a hundred years. Jesus is known for building God’s eternal family. Herod was known for his selfishness and cruelty, while Jesus is known for His goodness and mercy. Herod who was the world’s king of the Jews, and Jesus is God’s King of the Jews.

The contrasts found here are striking and certainly are not by accident or coincidence.

²¹So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. ²²But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee,

The son of Herod, Archelaus, (means “ruler of the people”) ruled for about 11 years (4 BC to 6 AD). He did manage to suppress a revolt coming from the Pharisees with such cruelty that Rome awarded him with additional land to rule including some of the Northern Kingdom as well as Judea.

The extent of his cruelty and his flaunting of the Mosaic Law, however, caused him to receive many complaints directed to the Caesar Augustus, who fired him form his job and exiled him to France, where he later died, according to tradition in 18 AD at the age of about 40. His rule over Judea could hardly be called his kingdom; he was more of an ethnarch or civilian leader, never rising to the level of a king. He was replaced by a Roman governor. Thereby, Jesus is the only legitimate King of the Jews.

It seems reasonable and natural for Jesus’ family to stay away from Jerusalem and the area of Caesura, the centers of politics and Roman influence, and they returned to their home in Nazareth. The district of Galilee was currently under the rule of Herod Antipas, a brother of Archelaus and known as being less cruel.

King Antipas was the one who beheaded John the Baptist [Matthew 14:1-12] only after he was manipulated by his wife and her daughter, Herodias.

The province of Judea, once ruled by King Herod I, remained under civilian governors until 48 AD when King Agrippa was named the “King of the Jews.” This of course was an illegitimate title because the risen Jesus, at this time, was the legitimate King of the Jews through His inheritance of King David’s throne. Jesus was the only living King after Herod and since He is living today, He is the only legitimate King of the Jews. None of this was by accident.

²³and he (Jesus) went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets: "He will be called a Nazarene."

Jesus is about four years old when He returned to Nazareth; this was approximately 2 BC. The time of Jesus’ birth can be roughly estimated from the information given to us in the Gospel of Luke [Luke 1:8-10, 2:1, 2], at about 6 B.C. Jesus spends most of His life, nearly 40 years, in this town and the Galilee region, which included the majority of the time in His three-year ministry. He traveled to Jerusalem frequently, but stayed for only a short period before returning to the area around Galilee.

The prophetic reference here, of being a Nazarene, is not directly found in our Scriptures. The closest we come to this reference is an indirect passage stating, “A shoot (or twig) will come from the stump of Jesse” [Isaiah 11:1-3], an allusion to the Messiah.

The inference here is that this was the most insignificant place in all the lands of Israel and Judea. It was like a twig, a netzer, among a forest. A “Nazarene” is a twig! Can anything good come from there?” [John 1:46]. God chose a place of symbolic low esteem to raise His Son in perilous times and among corruptible people. This too is no accident.

But we don't see it yet, don't see everything under human jurisdiction. What we do see is Jesus, made "not quite as high as angels," and then, through the experience of death, crowned so much higher than any angel, with a glory "bright with Eden's dawn light.” In that death, by God's grace, he fully experienced death in every person's place. [Message -- Hebrews 2:9]

Relevance to Our Lives:

GOD’S COMMUNICATION SYSTEM VARIES

GOD’S PLAN INCLUDES EVIL TO CONTRAST GOOD

GOD’S USE OF SYMBOLS TELL HIS STORY

GOD’S MODEL IS HUMBLE