Tag Archives: Matthew

Matthew 5- The Beatitudes

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And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him: And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying, Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:1-10

The Beatitudes also known famously as the “Sermon on the Mount” considered by many not only to be one of the greatest teachings by Christ, but one of the greatest teachings in the entire world. The word “Beatitudes” means Blessings, however also as you examine these “Blessings” given by Christ they line up with the Ten Commandments, God’s Moral Law. While The Law reveals our sinful nature, its only function is to condemn. Jesus is providing His blessings of the New Covenant, as Christ has fulfilled The Law (Matthew 5:17)

While the Old Covenant had physical and financial blessings, the New Covenant has spiritual blessings for God’s Kingdom. For example, when Jesus is talking about the “Poor in Spirit” He’s not talking about a physical wealth of money, He’s talking about a spiritual poorness, those who mourn over their sinful nature, those who are facing trials and tribulations, those who are persecuted for God, they are blessed through Jesus Christ. I’m not going to break down every blessing as I’ve done this previously on my page Beatitudes, but you get the idea Jesus is providing a New Covenant with an Eternal Kingdom that is greater than the Old Covenant

While we look down this list, our natural minds wonder how can any of these people be blessed? The hungry, the poor, and the mourning, but our victory is through Jesus Christ. This whole teaching was a radical shift from the Old Covenant, where you were blessed by your health and possessions. Christ has provided a Better Covenant built on better and eternal promises (Hebrews 8:6)

Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you. Matthew 5:11-12

Now comes the even more radical part, Jesus said “Blessed are you when people insult and persecute you” What? How can we be blessed or happy when people hate us? Again this goes back to what Jesus just taught us “Blessed are the poor in spirit” ect, we are in a spiritual warfare(Ephesians 6), this calling on your life is not going to be easy but the victory is already yours through Christ. You need to keep an eternal perspective in a temporary world, this is hard to do. But as Jesus said “Great is your reward in Heaven” not in this world as false teachers are telling people. 

We need to reflect more upon these blessings by Christ. In a fallen world, its easy to get discouraged or defeated but remember the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, you are Blessed and Victorious already through Him (John 16:33) Amen!

Matthew 4- The New Covenant

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And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people. And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatick, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them. And there followed him great multitudes of people from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem, and from Judaea, and from beyond Jordan. Matthew 4:23-25

The beginning of the New Covenant has now arrived through Jesus Christ. It’s important to note that before Christ, there was never an exorcism performed. Why? Because Jesus Christ has all power and authority over Satan and the demons. Remember in the Wilderness, Jesus already defeated Satan by staying obedient to the will of The Father. And at the cross, Satan will be crushed forever (Genesis 3:15) This is a display of the New Covenant, a more better and powerful covenant (Hebrews 8:6)

Jesus is preaching the gospel in all the synagogues, Christ wasn’t just sitting around waiting for The Kingdom to come, Jesus was bringing the Kingdom to the people. Christ demonstrated the power of God’s Kingdom by healing people and casting out demons. It was apparent that this was a New and Better Covenant, and the fame of Christ spread rapidly like wildfire. Remember Jesus told his disciples “I will make you Fishers of Men” and that’s what they were doing, leading multitudes of people to salvation through Jesus Christ

But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises. For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second. Hebrews 8:6-7

As the author of Hebrews tell us “Christ is the mediator of a new and better covenant” How do we know this? Well because the Word of God tells us but also Christ has demonstrated this in his ministry. Jesus didn’t heal people or cast out demons to give himself praise, Christ performed these miracles to announce the Kingdom of God is here, the New Covenant has arrived!

Are you in the New Covenant with Christ? This is truly the only way to salvation and God, The hour has come for Christ to fulfill all the words of the prophets and fulfill The Law , so we can be declared righteous before God in Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21), Amen!

Matthew 4- Fisher Of Men

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And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. And they straightway left their nets, and followed him. Matthew 4:18-20

The ministry of Christ has begun and now it’s time to build his Church, and he’s going to start with Peter and Andrew. As Jesus says “Peter upon this rock I will build my Church and the gates of Hell will not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18) Now its interesting to note Simon Peter’s name means “Rock”. So Jesus is beginning to build His Church, because the Church means people, called out believers. Now the amazing thing is these fishermen left behind everything to follow Christ. It says “They straightway left their nets and followed him” There was no hesitation by Peter and Andrew, they were all in for serving The Lord, are you?

Jesus uses the fishing analogy to apply to evangelism. Jesus said “ I will make you fishers of men” Meaning they were now going to dedicate their lives to saving souls for God. Think of the symbolism here, when you preach the gospel your casting out a net, and some people who are drawn to Christ will answer, others will fall away out of the net. We all should be “Fishers of Men” fulfilling the Great Commision, doing The Lords work

And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them. And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him. Matthew 4:21-22

Imagine the reaction of the Zebedee brothers’ father, when his two sons walked off the job and followed Jesus. He was probably furious, he was probably thinking “What is wrong with these boys”? They responded to a higher calling , to follow Christ. The world won’t and can’t understand this, because truly the world hates Jesus. When you sit back and think about all the disciples who gave up to follow Jesus, you have to ask yourself, would you have done the same under the same circumstances?

So now Jesus is going to turn the world upside down, who does he recruit, four fishermen, what? You would think he would have recruited a couple of Pharisees and Sadducees, no Jesus was looking at the heart, he wanted some real workers on fire for The Lord

Its time to cast out our nets, its time to be “Fishers of Men” share the good news of Jesus Christ with everyone Amen!

Matthew 4- Jesus Ministry Begins

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Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, he departed into Galilee; And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles; The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up. Matthew 4:12-16

The hour has come now for Jesus to begin his Earthly ministry. Remember Jesus had just been baptized by the Holy Spirit, and gone 40 days and 40 nights fasting in the wilderness and overcame the temptations of Satan. Even though Jesus was fully God and fully Man, Satan couldn’t make Christ sin. The mission to the cross has begun, where finally Satan, sin, and death will all be defeated forever (Genesis 3:15, 1 Corinthians 15)

Again we see Matthew tying together the Old Testament prophecies and the fulfillment of Christ. Isaiah 9 is mostly popular for verse 6 about the incarnation of Christ “For unto us a child is born, a Son is given” but do we skip over the beginning of the prophecy? The Messiah will be the light of the Gentiles, the New Covenant is coming in Christ, even the accuracy of the details mentioning the Jordan river, where Jesus was baptized, and Galilee where Jesus ministry began.

From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Matthew 4:17

The message of Jesus’ ministry was pretty simple, “Repent (Turn away from your sins) for the Kingdom of Heaven is coming” Notice this is the same strong message that John the Baptist was preaching. Prepare yourself for the Kingdom of God, how? By repenting of your sin, and becoming Born Again! A message so simple yet so few actually follow. You can create all kinds of religious rules and practices, but until you do what Jesus says, its all meaningless

The hour has come now, for Jesus’ ministry to begin. What does that mean? It means he and his disciples are going to not only save the world, but turn the world upside down. The religious system as we know it will be fulfilled and Jesus will reveal God’s grace and righteousness. The display of the New Covenant will be demonstrated as having power and authority over demons and performing miracles. The introduction of the New Covenant will make a way for Gentiles and Jews to become Children of God through Christ

This is where it all began, just like the Mustard Seed that is planted with a tiny seed and grows into a mighty tree. The Kingdom of God began, with One Lord , Jesus Christ , and spread throughout the entire world building God’s Kingdom Amen!

Matthew 4- Jesus In The Wilderness

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Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred. And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. Matthew 4:1-6

The first thing we want to notice here, is the parallel similarities between Jesus being in the wilderness for 40 days and Moses leading the Israelites in the wilderness for 40 years. The number 40 in the Bible is typically symbolic for a time of testing or trial. However a common theme we see throughout Jesus ministry is Christ is the greater Moses. While Moses led the Israelties from slavery, Jesus freed us from slavery of sin and death. While Moses parted the Red Sea, Jesus walked on water, while Moses struck the rock in the wilderness for water, Jesus is the Living Water. All these things in the Old Testament are a foreshadow of Christ to come

Now we see a battle between Jesus and Satan, good vs evil, we have to remember Jesus was not only fully God but also fully human (Philippians 2) Satan knew this and decided to try and take advantage by tempting his flesh. Satan challenges Jesus to demonstrate his deity by turning the stones into bread. Jesus makes the statement “Man can’t live on bread alone” We could write a sermon just on this statement, but the point is there’s more to life than just our physical needs. We have to feed our souls with the bread of life, the living word of God. 

Then Satan challenged Jesus deity again by saying if you are the Son of God then let the angels save you. (Psalm 91) Notice how Satan will quote the Word of God to use against Jesus. Don’t be tricked, many false prophets and false teachers will try to use the Word of God to deceive you also! (Matthew 7)

Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him. Matthew 4:7-11

Satan tried to use his final temptation, “Worship me and I’ll give you the world” isn’t this the same blasphemous message Satan is still using today to get people to worship him? As Jesus said “Worship The Lord your God only” This is the Shema from the Old Testament, and should still be our motto for Christianity, Worship The Lord your God only and not anything of this world. As Jesus also said “What does it profit you to gain the whole world and lose your soul” (Mark 8:36)

Jesus defeated Satan that day in the wilderness, even though he was fully human and was vulnerable from fasting , he still overcame Satan. Jesus eventually finished his work at the cross (John 19:30) and defeated Satan, sin , and death forever Amen! 

Matthew 3- Baptism of Christ

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I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire: Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire. Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? Matthew 3:11-14

John was known as the “Baptizer” for a reason, as we talked about previously, John the Baptist came to “Prepare The Way of The Lord” the fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah. However as John baptized people with water, He spoke about another baptism that could only happen by The Lord, that is the baptism of the Holy Spirit. John said “He (Christ) shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit” 

Jesus then appeared and John declared “Behold The Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world “ (John 1:29) John the Baptist was affirming Jesus is The Christ, as Isaiah prophesied John is the Messenger of the Messiah. However what happens next is unexpected, Jesus asks John to baptize him also! At first John refused to baptize Jesus saying “ I need you to baptize me” , John understood that Jesus was the sinless Son of God, how can a sinner baptize The Lord?

So the question was Why did Jesus have John baptize him? Well there are several reason probably why this happened. First, we must remember Jesus was fully God and fully Human (Philippians 2), Jesus came to fulfill the law (Matthew 5:7) Jesus was performing all the requirements of fulfilling the law and righteousness. Secondly , John the Baptist was from the Levitical line of Aaron, by blood line John fulfilled the requirements of the High Priest. Part of the duties of the High Priest , were to offer the sacrifices to God, as we know Jesus was the last and perfect sacrifice to God for the sin of the world.

And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him. And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Matthew 3:15-17

As Jesus said “Let it be done to fulfill all righteousness” Christ came to Earth to save humanity because humanity was incapable of saving themselves. Now another reason probably why this event happened was to affirm the Triune nature of God.

When Jesus was lifted out of the water the Heavens opened up and the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus in the form of a dove, then God the Father affirmed “Jesus is my beloved Son” We see the Father, Son , and Holy Spirit all together working in unity. Also during this baptism John the Baptist affirmed the Jesus is the Christ, the Lamb of God

The Baptism of Christ one of the mysterious events of the Bible but also one of the most beautiful moments when we see the  blessed Trinity coming together for the salvation of the world, Amen!

Matthew 3- Prepare The Way

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In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. And the same John had his raiment of camel’s hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey. Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the region round about Jordan, And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins. Matthew 3:1-6

Again we are seeing more fulfillment of prophecy, John the Baptist was the fulfillment of the Messenger of The Messiah. “A voice of the one calling in the Wilderness, to prepare the way for The Lord” (Isaiah 40) John is the messenger for Jesus, to prepare Israel for the coming of the Christ. 

So how did John the Baptist prepare everyone for Jesus? By a strong message of repentance and baptism “Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand” John is telling Israel, get ready the Christ has come, turn away from your sins, confess your sins to God, and be cleansed. Of course preaching a strong message of repentance goes either way, either people are pricked to the heart to turn to God or people harden their hearts and reject God

But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance: And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Matthew 3:7-10

 The New Covenant is coming through Christ, John begins by calling out the false religious system and its leaders. “O generation of Vipers” , John addressed the religious leaders, “Who has warned you for the wrath to come”? Many believed they were saved just because they were descendants of Abraham, but salvation comes only through Jesus Christ alone!

The ax is laid at the root, meaning judgment is coming, those who don’t produce good fruit, those who are not Born Again, will be chopped down and thrown in the eternal Hell fire. Obviously John the Baptist never sugar coated his message, He was here for one reason , to announce the Messiah and lead people to Christ. 

Even today, the message must remain the same “Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand” , Jesus is coming back again soon, those who remain dead in their sin will not inherit eternal life, Amen!

Matthew 2- Jesus The Nazarene

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But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeareth in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, Saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel: for they are dead which sought the young child’s life. And he arose, and took the young child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus did reign in Judaea in the room of his father Herod, he was afraid to go thither: notwithstanding, being warned of God in a dream, he turned aside into the parts of Galilee: And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene. Matthew 2:19-23

God works in mysterious ways, we heard this phrase a million times, but when you read the Bible you see how God works in ways we can’t even comprehend. Just when you think the fight is lost, God shows you He is in complete control. While Jesus time in Egypt was temporary and a fulfillment of prophecy, the time has come for Christ to come back home

Notice how accurate the Messianic prophecies are, the Christ would be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2), The Messiah would then go to Egypt (Hosea 11:1) , however when we reflect about the Christ being a Nazarene, its more of a cumulative case. This is why many were probably confused about the Messiah

And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: Isaiah 11:1

The word “Nazarene” in Hebrew means “Branch” , as we know Isaiah 11:1 is a prophecy of the Messiah, as the stem of Jesse is the line of David. The Messiah will come from the Line of David, as we see the genealogy of Christ  at the beginning of Matthew 1:6 “And Jesse begat David the king; and David the king begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Urias;”

Jesus the Nazarene is the Branch of Jesse. Again you can use the words Nazarene and Branch interchangeably. 

I verily thought with myself, that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth. Acts 26:9

It’s clear that the Apostles and early Chistians, identified the Messiah as Jesus of Nazareth. As we learned earlier Nazarene is actually a Messianic title. As we also remember Jesus was rejected in his hometown of Nazareth (Luke 4:16-24) Just as the name Bethlehem had significant meaning , also the name Nazareth has significant meaning also

So as the disciple asked “Can anything good come out of Nazareth”? The answer is Yes, the Christ, Son of God came out of Nazareth to save us from our sins Amen!

Matthew 2- Rachels Weeping

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Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men. Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying,In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not. Matthew 2:16-18

As we just went over Jesus’ flight to Egypt, this was the event that God was protecting him from. One of the most horrific events in the entire Bible, King Herod ordered the killing of all Jewish males 2 years old and under. This can only begin to show you how insane and dangerous King Herod was. This also shows you that Satan was not only defeated but was totally confused on how to stop the Messiah. Often we give Satan too much credit, when Satan knew all the prophecies yet still couldn’t figure out how to defeat God

Speaking of prophecies, this event is yet again another fulfillment of prophecy. Again Matthew continually demonstrates how Jesus fulfills all the Messianic prophecies of the Old Testament. Over 300 hundred prophecies fulfilled by Christ, the mathematical probabilities are astronomical, yet Jesus fulfilled them all. How can anyone doubt that Jesus is The Messiah?

Thus saith the LORD; A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping; Rahel weeping for her children refused to be comforted for her children, because they were not. Jeremiah 31:15

When you analyze this prophecy by Jeremiah, at first glance it appears to make any sense, however when you break it down it’s very precise. The slaughter of the children is known as “Rachel’s Weeping” . Rachel is obviously the wife of Jacob, mother of Joseph. Rachel was buried near Bethlehem, hence the reference of location by the prophet Jeremiah. If that wasn’t enough for you , the Hebrew meaning of the name Rachel means “ewe” which is a baby lamb. Bethlehem is the city of the Passover Lamb and the slaughter was of children, it’s amazing the precise accuracy of this prophecy

And the king of Egypt spake to the Hebrew midwives, of which the name of the one was Shiphrah, and the name of the other Puah: And he said, When ye do the office of a midwife to the Hebrew women, and see them upon the stools; if it be a son, then ye shall kill him: but if it be a daughter, then she shall live. Exodus 1:15-16

It’s also interesting to reference the foreshadow of this event with Moses. The King of Egypt, ordered all the male Hebrew children to be murdered. Again Satan failed again to kill the Messiah. Satan knew Christ would come from Israel, but he didn’t know who or how. Many events in Moses’ life were a foreshadow of Jesus to come. This is an event that draws alot of similarities to Rachels Weeping

God is in complete control, even with all the evil in this world, Satan couldn’t kill the Messiah. Trust in the Lord and not in our own understanding Amen!

Matthew 2- Out of Egypt

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And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him. When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt: And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son. Matthew 2:13-15

When you study the entire Bible, its amazing all the shadows of Christ that are in the Old Testament. When we think about Egypt, of course we think about the Israelites being delivered from over 400 years of slavery in the Exodus. And then Jesus symbolically uses Egypt to demonstrate how Christ delivered us from the slavery of sin and death. (John 8) 

It’s interesting that Egypt became an intrical part of Jesus’ life here on Earth. As King Herod began looking to kill the newborn King, God warned Mary and Joseph to take Jesus to Egypt and hide out. The Apostle Matthew declares that his act fulfills the prophecy foretold by Hosea in the Old Testament

When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt.  Hosea 11:1

It’s amazing when you read this prophecy and realize that Jesus was being foretold about hundred of years before the Incarnation of Christ. Did Israel understand this prophecy was given to them? Probably not, much like when Isaiah foretold the Sign would be a Virgin would have a Son (Isaiah 7:14) How could anyone during that time period even comprehend these prophecies? Even today with all the knowledge, manuscripts, and commentaries we have today, many still ponder the exact meaning of these phrases.

The Apostle Matthew does an excellent job of tying together the Messianic Prophecies of the Old Testament with the fulfillment in the New Testament. Matthew clearly states that this event of Jesus going to Egypt was the fulfillment of Hosea 11:1. Same as he states the Incarnation of Christ is the fulfillment of Isaiah 7:14, you either believe the Bible or you don’t

But think of Jesus Christ as the greater Joseph, the greater Moses. Joseph went to Egypt as a slave and became King, Moses beacame the mediator between God and Israel and led them out of slavery of Egypt. But Christ is the greater Joseph or Moses, these men were just shadows of Jesus to come. 

For God so loved the world that He gave his Only Begotten Son! (John 3:16) Salvation is now possible through Christ Amen!