Jesus the Egyptian

For a time, was Jesus an Egyptian?

Matthew 2:14-15 briefly describes a part of Jesus' childhood. Our attention should naturally go to the quote from Hosea 11:1-2, 4, "When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. But the more they were called, the more they went away from me... I led them with cords of human kindness, with ties of love. To them I was like one who lifts a little child to the cheek, and I bent down to feed them."

Not only is this referring to Israel while they were in Egyptian bondage… but to Christ and His rescue of the souls of people!

Why is that important to recognize this from the original Exodus story? By seeing the past, it becomes a guide to the future.

As the Israelites left Egypt, they quickly complained and doubted. We read in Hebrews 3:7-10, 12-13, 19, "So, as the Holy Spirit says: 'Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion, during the time of testing in the wilderness, where your ancestors tested and tried Me, though for forty years they saw what I did'. That is why I was angry with that generation; I said, ‘Their hearts are always going astray, and they have not known My ways.’ See to it…that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness… [because we know] that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief."

Egypt would always have a bitter taste in the mouths of the Jews, because of what it represented to them, but that was part of their embarrassing past. We've all got something in our past we wish would be forever forgotten, but Jesus went there (to their past) to change the future of all people.

Isaiah 19:21, "So the Lord will make himself known to the Egyptians, and in that day they will acknowledge the Lord…"

Like the prodigal son who went off to a foreign land to enjoy his wealth, he remembered that his father wanted him to come home. It's within that story in Luke 15, that we see the truest picture of Exodus… deliverance from our own stupidity.

The Mother of All Life

As we begin our study of the Life of Christ, we pay special attention to those who wrote it all down, those who would piece together the eternal mystery that “angels longed to look into” (1 Peter 1:12). It doesn’t take much to realize that He is the center of everything, as John writes in his prologue, a kind of poetic introduction to his Gospel, in John 1:3-4, “Through Him, all things were made; without Him, nothing was made that has been made. In Him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.”

Through Jesus, true, eternal life would be made possible. Acts 4:12, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” Because Jesus is “the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through [Him]” (John 14:6).

But consider another person who “all life” would come from—Eve. In Genesis 3:20, “Adam named his wife Eve because she would become the mother of all the living.” Eve was not a deity, and she wasn’t the Messiah; she was a human being that would help the “other” human being on the planet–Adam. They would work together to bring life to the entire world, but she was how that “fruit” would multiply. 

Paul said in Romans 5:12-14, “Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way, death came to all people because all sinned… death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who is a pattern of the one to come.” (Also read 1 Corinthians 15:45-49 for more comparison of Adam to Christ.)

Although, in reality, we know that it was Eve who caused the first sin to enter the world. What if that scene could be redone? What if there was another chance for “the mother of all life” to simply trust God, praise Him for what He was doing, and acknowledge His will? In contrast, Mary did praise God and glorified Him for using her to play a part in bringing true life to the world. Just ponder that as you read these words of Paul concerning Jesus as the source of all life: 

Colossians 1:16-18, “For in Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him, all things hold together. And He is the head of the body, the church; He is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead so that in everything He might have the supremacy.”

The Faith of Priests

After crossing the Red Sea and setting up camp at the base of Mt. Sinai, God gives the “law” to the Israelites. The law included instructions for a priesthood to offer ceremonies designed to reflect blessings from God or repentance towards God; but as time went on, the priesthood didn’t function like they were supposed to very often. From the very beginning with Nadab and Abihu, who didn’t respect the responsibilities of the priests (Leviticus 10), to the prophetic words of Malachi, “For the lips of a priest ought to preserve knowledge, because he is the messenger of the Lord Almighty and people seek instruction from his mouth. But you have turned from the way and by your teaching have caused many to stumble…” (Malachi 2:7-8).

The priests had abused their position of intercessory between God and the Israelites. It is believed that the sects of the Pharisees and Sadducees were established during the time after Malachi as an effort to establish more order in their service. Whether that worked or not could be debated. Just because there was “order” didn’t translate to faith.

Zechariah served as a priest when the Messiah arrived. We’re told in Luke 1:8-9 that “Zechariah’s division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense.”

Jesus often rebuked the religious leaders and teachers of the law because they “do not practice what they preach,” and “everything they do is done for people to see…” (Matthew 23:1-7). Even at Jesus’ trial, we get a glimpse of the blindness because they were so “zealous for their traditions” that they couldn’t see how the prophecies about Jesus were being fulfilled right in front of them. (Mark 14:55-63, Galatians 1:14).

There’s no indication Zechariah was doing a half-hearted job, but we see pretty clearly that his faith didn’t match up with what the ceremonies he was performing were pointing at. As a result of his lack of faith, he became a mute. But it makes sense that, even prior to that instance, he still wanted to receive blessings from God and had hope for God to redeem Israel.

Sometimes, like the priests, our actions may not match up with our hopes. If we hope to be smarter, fitter, richer, better in some way, can we expect to reach that goal if we just go through the motions? Following Jesus takes faith. Jesus reminded Thomas of this after His resurrection, when He said in John 20:29, “Because you have seen Me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” What we do in faith, matters!

Something New

Having new things is exciting. From new life when we were born into this world as a baby, to new hope of an occupation, a marriage, a family, goals, and dreams, to everything in between. But is there a way to find something new even in the old? 

When I was a kid, I thought it would be cool to restore a car. In reality that car would still be just as old, but it would have newer paint, or interior, or newer motor. Years later, I would find something satisfying in remodeling homes. Although it can be a lot of work and can be expensive, I’m usually pleased with the transformation. The idea of old things having a new look is something that has made HGTV a household name. 

We usually recognize the hard work that goes into restoration and see how expensive it can be, but people who like to do it appreciate the beauty of the end result. When it comes to our spiritual lives, we can easily recognize that “we all have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory” (Galatians 3:23) by how people tend to treat one another. This becomes the base reason for the need to be restored. Our sinful choices continue to corrode our lives until our thinking is completely out of character with God. It doesn’t take much to end up with a warped view of the world or others within the world. 

Jesus showed up to give us an example to follow in His steps (1 Peter 2:21, Phillipians 2:5). But His life was more than just a good example to follow; what He did on the cross gave us a way into new life—just like those who got on the Ark had a new future because they got on a boat that could rise above the washing away of the old (Genesis 6- 9). Therefore, Jesus is the source of a new beginning, like the Ark was the vessel that allowed Noah to have a new beginning. 

This new life is best seen in how we live, what we say, how we think. Ephesians 2:12-13, “Remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus, you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” 

As new citizens of God’s kingdom, we no longer hold to our old ways. Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” Like the old car, we may still have the original bones deep inside, but everything about how we look, smell, run is completely new. 

2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”