PLEASE READ THIS FIRST: Matthew 2

What do you sense the Lord saying to you in this passage?

“So was fulfilled… ‘Out of Egypt I called my son. [Hosea 11:1]’… So was fulfilled… that he would be called a Nazarene.” (Matthew 2:15,23)
These two prophecies seem to point to Jesus’s low status.
‘Out of Egypt’ is Hosea describing how God rescued the slaves in Egypt.
There is no prophecy about Jesus being a Nazarene.
But Nazareth had a reputation in Jesus’s day (John 1:46).
People from there were scorned, despised and rejected.
And this is how the Messiah was expected to be (Psalm 22:6-7, Isaiah 53:3).
Jesus is identified with the enslaved and despised, the dregs of society.
The blessing of God through Abraham and David is for all people.
Through his short life, Jesus continues to identify with such people.
And after his resurrection, he sends his disciples to the nations.
He sends us into Egypt, to stand with Nazarenes of all kinds.
Like Paul, Jesus of scorned sends us to all people (Acts 22:6-16).
Jesus identifies with the scorned and despised… do I?
PRAYER
Lord Jesus, your grace came to me in my Egypt bondage, and saw past my Nazarene shame. Use me to show the same grace to others, that they may be rescued from their bondage and shame.