1. Fulfillment in a Baby (1:18-25)
2. Fulfillment in Bethlehem (2:1-6)
3. Fulfillment in Belief (2:7-12)
4. Fulfillment in Boundaries (2:13-15)
5. Fulfillment in Bloodshed (2:16-18)
6. Fulfillment in Background (2:19-23)

For the past three weeks of this Christmas Advent season, we have been considering the Christmas story in light of the faithfulness of God.

Psalm 100:5 says, "For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations."

We have been thinking about God's faithfulness to all generations, through the lens of Matthew's Genealogy of Jesus, as recorded in Matthew, chapter 1.

Now, I have had several people ask me about "that verse somewhere" that tells us not to spend time in endless genealogies, asking me if that is what we have been doing. Well, if you read the verse, you will find that we haven't been doing this.

1 Timothy 1:3-4
As I urged you when I was going to Macedonia, remain at Ephesus so that you may charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine, nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculations rather than the stewardship from God that is by faith.

In looking at this genealogy of Jesus in Matthew, chapter 1, we have not been devoting ourselves to myths, nor have I been promoting speculation. We have simply used the genealogy to guide our discussion regarding the history of Israel and have seen the faithfulness of God throughout the genealogy.

Now, Matthew's genealogy is broken up into three sections: the section from Abraham to David, the section from David to the deportation to Babylon, and the section from the deportation to Babylon to Jesus. Each week, we have taken a section, looking at God's faithfulness to every generation. We have realized that Christmas didn't merely begin when Jesus was born.
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Actually, Christmas began some 2,000 years before, when God promised to Abraham (in Genesis 12:1-3) to give him a land, to make of him a great nation (meaning lots of offspring), and to bring through him worldwide blessing. We traced this promise through the genealogy in Matthew, chapter 1, and saw how God was faithful to Abraham (Matthew 1:1-6a) in that God was faithful in barrenness (Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel).

If you will be the father of a great nation, you must have a bunch of children. But when your wife is old and barren, you need God to work miraculously, which he did, in providing Sarah with a child at age 90. Also, in Abraham's family were Rebekah and Rachel, who were also barren, yet God gave them children.

God was faithful in barrenness. God was also faithful in brokenness (Judah and Tamar). The story of Judah and Tamar is a story of a broken family, who was explicitly identified in Matthew as a part of the genealogy of Jesus (Matthew 1:3).

God was faithful in betrayal (Joseph). The sons of Jacob betrayed their youngest brother, Joseph, by selling him as a slave. But God was faithful to raise Joseph up to be second in command in Egypt and in charge of the storing up of food, so that when Jacob's family needed food, they were saved by Joseph welcoming them into Egypt.

In Egypt, the descendants of Abraham multiplied, so much so that they were enslaved by the Egyptians. But God was faithful in bondage (Israel in Egypt), continuing to protect the people of Israel and multiply them, and eventually leading them out of Egypt by the hand of Moses. Moses affirmed God's faithfulness to the promise in Deuteronomy 10:22, "Your fathers went down to Egypt seventy persons, and now the LORD your God has made you as numerous as the stars of heaven."

God was also faithful in bitterness (Naomi and Ruth). The story of Naomi is a story of bitterness, a hard life, with a husband and two sons dying in Moab. Yet, God redeemed her through the life of Ruth (she is mentioned in Matthew's genealogy in verse 5).

But through it all, God was faithful to the promise to Abraham to create of him a great nation, which possessed their land. Matthew's genealogy is geared toward bringing us to Jesus, through whom all of the families of the earth are blessed.
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Then, in Matthew's genealogy, we come to David (in verse 6), and God was faithful to David as well. The promise to him came in 2 Samuel, chapter 7, in which God says to him, "Your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever" (2 Samuel 7:16).

The promise made to Abraham was a promise of many offspring. The promise to David was a promise that through his offspring would come a king, who would reign forever. The mere existence of David's genealogy is a testimony of God's faithfulness to the promise to David.

In the genealogy, we learn that God was faithful in disgrace (David's sin with Bathsheba). We see this in verse 6 in the way that God identifies his son of promise: "And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah" (Matthew 1:6b). This brings up the dark period in David's life, when he sinned with Bathsheba in the coverup. He was disgraced in these things. Matthew could have covered it up easily by saying, "And David was the father of Solomon," not mentioning Bathsheba or Uriah at all. But Matthew does so to show how faithful God was even in David's disgrace.

God was also faithful in division (Rehoboam's folly). Solomon's son was Rehoboam. It was through his folly that the kingdom split in two: Israel in the north, and Judah in the south. David's kingly line was in the southern kingdom.

God was also faithful in defection (Athaliah). Athaliah was the wicked queen of Judah, who tried to wipe out the Davidic line by killing all of the royal offspring. But God was faithful to have baby Joash hidden from her through the courage of Jehosheba. He became king at age 7. He was a good king.

God was also faithful in deportation (Jehoiachin). The last king mentioned in Matthew's genealogy is Jeconiah, who was also known as Jehoiachin. Rather than being killed by Babylon when they sacked Jerusalem, he was kept alive, so he could have children, so the Davidic line could continue on.
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Then, verse 12 of Matthew's genealogy mentions the "deportation to Babylon." This has reference to the time when Judah was taken captive by Babylon and exiled to Judah. During this time, God was faithful to the "remnant," that is, to the few who remained alive.

God was faithful in defeat (collapse of Judah, 2 Kings 25). When Babylon defeated Judah, they didn't destroy Judah. Some of them were kept alive, being deported to Babylon. In Babylon's victory, they destroyed the city of Jerusalem and the temple. Yet, God was faithful in destruction (Jerusalem and the temple, Lamentations 3). Jeremiah said this in Lamentations 3:22-23, "The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness." Jeremiah's hope in the destruction of Jerusalem was the hope of God's faithfulness.

God was also faithful in deportation (Daniel). The best and the brightest of the Jews were trained in the ways of Babylon, with the hope that they would influence others to depart from their Jewish culture and embrace the Babylonian culture. But the Jews never did. God protected Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the fiery furnace, when they defied the orders of Nebuchadnezzar to bow to his image. God protected Daniel in the lion's den when he prayed to God as he always did.

God was also faithful in displacement (plans to prosper, Jeremiah 29). When Judah was displaced to Babylon, God told them to build houses and plant gardens and take husbands and wives to multiply there. He said, "Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare" (Jeremiah 29:7). That is, God blessed the remnant in their exile.

God was faithful in duration (seventy years, Jeremiah 29:10). God had said that their exile would last for 70 years, and it did, exactly. Seventy years after they went into exile, they were given a chance to return.

God was faithful in difficulty (rebuilding Jerusalem, Ezra-Nehemiah). They returned to Judah in full support of Cyrus, the king of Persia. 50,000 of them returned to rebuild the temple and the city. They faced a bunch of opposition from those who lived in the land during those days. But God protected them and prospered them in their hardships.

God was faithful in desecration (Judas Maccabeus, Hanukkah). Hanukkah is the Jewish holiday that celebrates the restoration of the temple after Antiochus IV Epiphanes entered the temple, erected an altar to Zeus, and sacrificed a pig upon that altar. Judas Maccabeus led the revolt that consecrated the temple once again, enabling the Jews to once again offer up sacrifices in the temple. This all took place during the days of the later parts of Matthew's genealogy.

Finally, we saw last week that God was faithful in delay (400 years of silence, Galatians 4:4-5). After 400 years of silence, "when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons" (Galatians 4:4-5).

This is what we celebrate at Christmas, the coming of Jesus, at the right time, to redeem us from our sins. This fulfilled the promise to Abraham, in that all of the families of the earth are blessed in Jesus, so that all who believe in him are forgiven of our sins and made righteous in his sight. This fulfilled the promise to David, providing a king who will reign forever! This fulfilled the promise to the remnant, that they would return to the land, rebuild the temple and the city of Jerusalem.
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Which brings us to today.

In keeping with the theme, my message today is entitled, "Faithful to Fulfill." We are going to look at all of the stories from Matthew, chapter 1 through the end of Matthew, chapter 2. These tell the story of the faithfulness of God to fulfill promises that he made in the Old Testament about the coming Messiah. My message is entitled, "Faithful to Fulfill," because Matthew often mentions how God fulfilled his promises during the coming and early life of Jesus.

1. Fulfillment in a Baby (1:18-25)

Here's my first point that shows the faithfulness of God. I'm calling it, "Fulfillment in a Baby." This is the essence of Christmas: that God came to dwell among us as a man, coming as all men do, as a baby. Listen to the familiar story.

Matthew 1:18-25
Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:

"Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
    and they shall call his name Immanuel"

(which means, God with us). When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.

Did you see the fulfillment? It comes in verse 22, "All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: 'Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel.'"

What all took place? Mary and Joseph were "betrothed." "Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph." This is a little bit like our engagement, when a man gets on his knee and presents a ring to his girlfriend and asks her if she would marry him. When she says, "Yes," the ball starts rolling. Marriage plans begin to take place.

But in the Jewish culture of the day, betrothal was stronger than our engagement. In Biblical times once a couple was betrothed, they were legally bound to each other, and any separation would be considered to be a divorce. Not so in our days. A man and a woman are not legally bound in marriage until the ceremony where they take their vows. Either can walk away until the marriage ceremony. Not so in Biblical times. Walking away would require a divorce (which we see in verse 19).

That's one thing that "took place." The betrothal. What else took place? Mary became pregnant. We see this in the end of verse 18, "before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit."

This was miraculous. We know this as the "hypostatic union," when Jesus is one person with two complete natures. Jesus was truly God. Jesus was truly man. Joined together in one person. Not half God and half human. Not two persons in the same body. Not a human who later became God. Not God pretending to be a human. But one person, truly God and truly man. The God-man, Jesus Christ.

It's a mystery to us how it all worked together. If it's a mystery to us, it was certainly a mystery to Joseph. So, another thing took place. An angel appeared to Joseph to explain the situation. "And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, 'Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.'"

Surely such news would have been difficult for Joseph to hear. The easy way out would have been a divorce on the grounds of infidelity. The more difficult way would have been to continue with the marriage, facing shame throughout their lives, as Mary would have been looked down upon as being unfaithful, and Jesus would have been considered an illegitimate child (John 8:41, "We were not born of sexual immorality").

But Joseph, being a God-fearing man, was willing to submit himself to the will of God, as communicated through the angel. Perhaps verse 21 was the turning point. "She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." In other words, Jesus would be a great man—yes, even the Messiah—who would come and save God's people from their sins!

Of course, this is the message of Christ, not merely that a baby was born, but a miracle baby, the God-man, who would come to save all who believe in him!

Now, certainly, Joseph didn't understand how Jesus would come to save, by dying for our sins upon the cross, by becoming our substitutionary atonement. Yes, he believed what he heard, and he went through with the marriage, and the baby was born.

We see that in verses 24 and 25. "When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus." In calling his name Jesus, Joseph affirmed his belief in the angelic message—that Jesus, indeed, would save his people from their sins.

Now all of this took place, so that the Scripture might be fulfilled. Verse 22, "All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: 'Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel' (which means, God with us)."

This is an Old Testament quote from Isaiah 7:14. In the original context, the sign of a virgin born child was a sign of military victory. Here in Isaiah 7:14, the virgin birth was a theological necessity. If God became a man by birth of a human mother, he could not have a biological human father. It must be a miraculous conception. Isaiah prophesied of a virgin! God fulfilled his promise of a virgin birth.

But that wasn't the only thing of the Christmas story that was fulfilled.

2. Fulfillment in Bethlehem (2:1-6)

We also see fulfillment in Bethlehem.

Matthew 2:1-6
Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, "Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him." When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. They told him, "In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet:

"'And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
    are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for from you shall come a ruler
    who will shepherd my people Israel.'"

Did you see the fulfillment? The word is not mentioned, but the concept is there. When these wise men came to inquire about the king of the Jews coming and they asked about where he was to be born, Herod summoned the experts in the law, who knew that the Christ would be born in Bethlehem. That's what Micah 5:2 had prophesied—that the ruler who would come to shepherd Israel would be born in Bethlehem. "'And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.'"

This certainly makes sense if you remember my message two weeks ago, when we considered God's promise to David: "Your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever" (2 Samuel 7:16). The throne of the Messiah would come from David, and David's city was Bethlehem.

If you remember your Old Testament history, you remember that Samuel was the one who anointed David, and he did so in Bethlehem, because that's where Jesse, the father of David, lived, and Bethlehem is where David was born and lived. With the Messiah coming from the line of David, of course, the child had to be born in Bethlehem.

If you remember Luke's account of the birth of Jesus, you know that Mary and Joseph lived in Nazareth, way north in the region of Galilee. God, in his sovereignty, stirred the heart of Caesar Augustus to have a census. "In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all went to be registered, each to his own town. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child" (Luke 2:1-5).

This all took place to fulfill the promise that the Christ, the Messiah, would be born in Bethlehem, so that the prophecy of Micah 5:2 would be fulfilled.

But that's not the only thing that was fulfilled in the birth of Jesus.

3. Fulfillment in Belief (2:7-12)

We also see fulfillment in belief. This is what I'm calling the experience of the wise men when they finally saw Jesus. It was the fulfillment (the experience) of their belief in the Messiah. We read about it in verse 7,

Matthew 2:7-12
Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, "Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him." After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.

Now, in these verses, there is a strong emphasis about "the star." It's mentioned in verse 7 and verse 9 and verse 10. This is what the wise men had been talking about since the day they set foot in Jerusalem. "Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him."

When you read "star," don't think of something that's way up in the sky, because we read in verse 9 that this star "came to rest over the place where the child was." There's no star in the sky that will come and rest upon a house. Further, in verse 10 it seems as if this star came and went, because these wise men happened to see the star again, which caused them to rejoice!

So think of this star as a sort of bright appearance that led these men from the east to come in search of the Jewish Messiah.

Now, certainly, these "wise men from the east" (2:1) had something more than a star. They also had an interpretation of the meaning of the star as well. In verse 2, they said, "For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him." In other words, they had something else to interpret what this star might mean.

I believe that they had the book of Daniel. Daniel wrote his book to those in the east, to a people filled with wisdom and knowledge, who were always seeking deeper things of heaven and earth. I believe that these wise men were reading and studying the book of Daniel, which, in Daniel, chapter 9, prophesied of the time of the coming of the Messiah.

I believe that they were reading in Daniel 9:25, "Know therefore and understand that from the going out of the word to restore and build Jerusalem to the coming of an anointed one, a prince, there shall be seven weeks. Then for sixty-two weeks, it shall be built again with squares and moat, but in a troubled time."

I believe that they knew of the decrees of the Persian kings to restore and rebuild Jerusalem. I believe that they knew that Artaxerxes gave a decree to Nehemiah in 444 B.C. that best fits this description. I believe that they knew that these "sevens" spoken of in this verse are "sevens" of years. I believe that they did some calculation to figure out that the time was near. So, when the miraculous light (called a "star") appeared to them in the east, I believe they interpreted it as a divine sign to lead them to this prince.

They traveled for months, following this star, and then they came to Jerusalem and announced, "We are looking for the king of the Jews! Where is he to be born?" When they finally saw him, we see their reaction in verse 11, "And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way."

This was the fulfillment of their belief! It all came to fruition! They saw the child! They fell and worshiped the child! They gave gifts to the child! They believed in the child!

Do you? Do you worship the child with anything close to the passion of these wise men, who searched the Scriptures and were convinced of the reality of this child that would come, who left their home and traveled for months in search of this child, who rejoiced when they saw the star leading them to the child, and who bowed low to worship the child? It's because their faith had become sight at that moment!

OK, let's move on. We have seen the faithfulness of God in fulfilling his promises. We have seen fulfillment in a baby, fulfillment in Bethlehem, fulfillment in belief.

4. Fulfillment in Boundaries (2:13-15)

Now we see fulfillment in boundaries. Look at verse 13,

Matthew 2:13-15
Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, "Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him." And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, "Out of Egypt I called my son."

The fulfillment language here is explicit. Verse 15, "and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, 'Out of Egypt I called my son.'" This was a prophecy written by Hosea.

I'm calling this "Faithful in Boundaries," because God was faithful in guiding where the Messiah would live. After the birth of Jesus, after the wise men came to worship Jesus, the Lord saw fit to protect his son, Jesus, by sending an angel to Joseph, telling him to flee to Egypt, so that he could stay there until the danger had passed. The Lord knew that Jesus would be in danger in Bethlehem. So, the Lord sent him south and west, down to Egypt, that is, across the boundary of Israel.

This all took place that Hosea 11:1 might be fulfilled. Now, in the original context, this is clearly talking about Israel. Listen to the entire verse: "When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son" (Hosea 11:1). Hosea is talking about the time when Moses led Israel out of Egypt through the power of God's plagues upon Egypt.

Yet, here in Matthew, Matthew ascribes it to Jesus and says that this verse was fulfilled in Jesus going (and coming back out of) Egypt. In seeking to explain this, Leon Morris says that "what could be said of the old Israel could on occasion have its application to Jesus."^[1] Just like Israel came out of Egypt, so also Jesus, God's son, came out of Egypt.

Our point is that God shows his faithfulness in his fulfillment in boundaries.

5. Fulfillment in Bloodshed (2:16-18)

OK, we have two more points, as we work our way through the end of Matthew 2. Here's my fifth point: fulfillment in bloodshed. This is the sad part of the Christmas story. Look at verse 16,

Matthew 2:16-18
Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men. Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah:

"A voice was heard in Ramah,
    weeping and loud lamentation,
Rachel weeping for her children;
    she refused to be comforted, because they are no more."

Again, we see this idea of fulfillment in verse 17, "Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah."

Herod's evil action upon all of the male children under 2 years of age shows the danger that Jesus would have been in had he remained in Bethlehem. God sent Jesus to Egypt to protect him from the rage of Herod, who was paranoid of this baby king who had been born in Bethlehem.

Now, this again happened to fulfill a prophecy in the Old Testament. In this case, it comes from Jeremiah 31:15, in which Jeremiah is anticipating the weeping that will come during the days when Babylon would come and destroy Judah and Jerusalem.

But in the context of Jeremiah, there is hope. The next verse in Jeremiah says, "Thus says the LORD: 'Keep your voice from weeping, and your eyes from tears, for there is a reward for your work, declares the LORD, and they shall come back from the land of the enemy. There is hope for your future,' declares the LORD" (Jeremiah 31:16-17).

Jeremiah 31 continues with the new covenant that God will make with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, writing his law in their hearts. This is the trajectory of the life of Christ. Weeping and hardship and toil, eventually ending in the crucifixion of Jesus, yet ending with joy, as Jesus is raised from the dead, giving life to all who believe in him!

So, in the bloodshed, God was also faithfully fulfilling his promises.

6. Fulfillment in Background (2:19-23)

OK, my final point this morning: We have seen fulfillment in a baby, fulfillment in Bethlehem, fulfillment in belief, fulfillment in boundaries, fulfillment in bloodshed. Now we see fulfillment in background. By this, I mean that God saw to it where Jesus would grow up.

People are often asked, "What's your background? Where did you grow up?" That's what Matthew shows of Jesus. He would show where he grew up. Jesus would grow up in Nazareth, being known as "Jesus, the Nazarene," not "Jesus, the Bethlehemite." With Nazareth comes a certain "background." Nazareth didn't have a fine reputation among the Jews.

Do you remember what Nathanael said when Andrew summoned him, saying, "We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph"? "Nathanael said to him, 'Can anything good come out of Nazareth?'" (John 1:45-46).

Such is the reputation of Nazareth. It was a city of little reputation in Israel. Again, this is all by God's plan to fulfill. It was no accident that Jesus was from Nazareth. Let's read in verse 19. Again, we see Joseph being directed by an angel in a dream.

Matthew 2:19-23
But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, "Rise, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the child's life are dead." And he rose and took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there, and being warned in a dream he withdrew to the district of Galilee. And he went and lived in a city called Nazareth, so that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled, that he would be called a Nazarene.

When Herod died, it was safe for Jesus to return to Bethlehem, until it wasn't safe. So, Joseph was directed in a dream to head north to Nazareth. All of this was according to God's plan.

You can see the "fulfillment" language in verse 23. "And he went and lived in a city called Nazareth, so that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled, that he would be called a Nazarene."

Again, this fulfillment is filled with all sorts of difficulty for us to understand, because we will seek in vain an Old Testament passage where it says that the Messiah would be called a "Nazarene." Many have tried to explain this. In D. A. Carson's commentary, he says, "The interpretation of this verse has such a long history that it is not possible to list here all the major options."^[2]

Carson would continue on to hold that the best understanding of this is that this "fulfillment" comes in the reputation of Nazareth, a despised and rejected place, as we saw earlier in the response of Nathanael. The prophets constantly talk about how despised Jesus was. Isaiah 53:3 describes the Messiah as one who "was despised and rejected by men." Psalm 22:6 describes the Messiah as one who was "scorned by mankind and despised by the people." Psalm 118:22 describes the Messiah as a rejected stone.

So to say that Jesus was from Nazareth was to fulfill the background of the Messiah, that he was from a place of ill reputation. Yet, right here is the hope of Christmas, that Jesus was despised and rejected before men, that we might not be despised and rejected before God.

Well, there is the faithfulness of God to all generations. May we remember this during the Christmas season. God has been faithful to his people for 4,000 years. He will be faithful to us.

This sermon was delivered to Rock Valley Bible Church on December 21, 2025 by Steve Brandon.
For more information see www.rockvalleybiblechurch.org.

[1] Leon Morris, The Gospel According to Matthew (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1992), 43-44.

[2] D. A. Carson, The Expositor's Bible Commentary: volume 8 (Grand Rapids, Zondervan, 1984), 97.