It is often claimed by unbelieving Bible critics that Matthew pulled Old Testament Scriptures out of context to make it appear that Jesus had fulfilled prophecy. Such perspectives can influence the way believers themselves approach Scripture. Some genuine believers have even suggested that the Holy Spirit Himself at times changes the meaning of Old Testament passages to suit His legitimate New Testament agenda.
If this were true, the implications would be catastrophic. It would destroy our confidence in the New Testament. If the Holy Spirit changed the meaning of Old Testament Scripture to fit a new divine agenda, then why should we not expect Him to one day do it again with the New Testament? Thankfully, in both the Old and New Testaments, God Himself promises that He does not do this (Num. 23:19; Ps. 119:89; Isa. 40:8; Matt. 5:18).1
This does, however, leave us with some honest questions. At first glance, it can look as though the critics are correct, that Matthew was just hunting for Old Testament Scriptures to “prooftext” what he wanted to be true. One of Matthew’s regularly cited “offenses” is Matthew 2:15.
Out of Egypt I Called My Son
After Matthew presented the genealogy of Jesus Christ and events associated with His divine virgin conception and birth, he tells us of the “wise men from the East” who came to worship the new King. Herod, the sitting king of Judea, along with “all Jerusalem” was troubled. He searched of the Scriptures and found that the Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem and he told the wise men. When these Gentile wise men found the Child, “they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy,” presented their gifts and departed for home (Matt. 2:1-12).
After the wise men left, an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream and told him to quickly flee to Egypt because Herod was planning to destroy the Child. “When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt, and was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, ‘Out of Egypt I called My Son’ ” (Matt. 2:14-15). Here, Matthew is quoting Hosea 11:1 which says, “When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called My son.” Skeptics rightly point out that Hosea is not making a prediction. He is likely not even talking about the coming Messiah.2 Based on this, the skeptics conclude that Matthew either misunderstands the Old Testament reference or is being dishonest with his readers. What the skeptics do not understand, however, is that far from misusing this reference, Matthew is actually counting on his readers to know the context of Hosea.
To begin with, when Matthew uses the word “fulfilled” here he is not claiming Hosea 11:1 is a prediction. Rather, He is drawing our attention to something God did in the past which He is now doing again at a higher level. This is the essence of typology, and there are many examples like this throughout the New Testament (e.g., John 19:36; Jam. 2:23).3
The timeframe of Hosea’s writing is approximately 700 years after the Exodus, and throughout his book, he warns that the northern kingdom is about to face judgment. Hosea 11:1 recalls how God, in the days leading up to the Exodus, called Israel “My son” (Ex. 4:23) and in the next verse Hosea says, “… They sacrificed to the Baals, and burned incense to carved images” (Hos. 11:2).
God had brought Israel out of Egypt for a purpose. They were to be His “treasured possession among all peoples” (Ex. 19:5 ESV) and an example to the entire Gentile world of who God truly is (Deut. 4:5-8). To this end, soon after leaving Egypt, God brought them into a covenant relationship with Himself (like a marriage which serves as the backdrop of Hosea). Eventually God led them through the Jordan and into the promised land. Sadly, it did not take long before Israel completely forsook that covenant and fell headlong into the most depraved forms of idolatry (Jer. 32:30-35). By the time of Hosea, judgment was inevitable for the northern kingdom. By quoting Hosea, Matthew is telling us things are different this time. God has once again called His Son out of Egypt, and unlike Israel, this Son will never fail.
A New Exodus
In his next “fulfill” statement (Matt. 2:16-18), Matthew draws our attention to another Old Testament context. He quotes Jeremiah 31:15 in connection with Herod’s slaughter of the children of Bethlehem, driven by his satanically inspired lust for power. Herod, as king, represents “all Jerusalem” and all Israel. Matthew is not pointing to a failing, idolatrous Israel of the distant past, but to the unfaithful Israel of his own day.
This quotation from Jeremiah comes just a few verses before the promise of a New Covenant, where God declares, “not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke …” (Jer. 31:32 ESV). It is important to note that it was God, through the angel’s instruction, who sent Jesus into Egypt. God Himself, is setting the stage for a new exodus and the establishment of the New Covenant through His faithful unique Son, “called out of Egypt.”
Furthermore, Matthew tells us that Jesus was “called a Nazarene,” something which was “spoken by the prophets” (Matt. 2:23); note here that the word prophets is plural. Matthew isn’t quoting a specific prophet. Through apparent wordplay, Matthew is indicating that Jesus fulfills the entirety of what the Old Testament foretold about the Messiah.4 In contrast to Herod, Jesus came from humble beginnings, fully devoted to God, and is the One whom Jeremiah, two chapters later, calls the “Branch of righteousness” who will “execute judgment and righteousness in the earth” (Jer. 33:15).
Next, Matthew presents Jesus at the Jordan, a reminder of Israel’s ancient journey from Egypt as they entered the promised land. Jesus, the “beloved Son” of God in whom God was “well pleased” (Matt. 3:17) was there to “fulfill all righteousness” (Matt. 3:15). Fulfilling righteousness stands in stark contrast to what is reflected in Israel’s history.
Now to demonstrate the reality of His righteousness, Matthew tells us of Jesus in direct confrontation with the devil. After the Exodus, God brought Israel to a “land flowing with milk and honey” (Ex. 3:8) and there, amidst the fullness of God’s blessings, they fell into serving and worshipping every pagan god they encountered. The Son of God, by contrast, in a barren wilderness and without food for 40 days, resists all temptations, refusing to “fall down and worship” Satan even in exchange for “all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.” Instead, He chooses the path He knows will take Him straight to the cross, saying, “You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve” (Matt. 4:1-11).
The final “fulfill” statement in this section of Matthew has Jesus bringing light to “Galilee of the Gentiles,” to “people who sat in darkness” (Matt. 4:12-16). In the end, by His sacrifice and resurrection, He won our salvation, becoming “the propitiation … for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 2:2 ESV).
The Son of God has proven to be everything Israel failed to be. He completely fulfills the meaning behind Hosea’s words, “Out of Egypt I called my Son.” Contrary to the claims of skeptics who accuse Matthew of misusing the Scriptures, and unlike the tendency of some well-meaning believers to reinterpret the Scriptures for new purposes, God’s Word remains consistent in every conceivable way. Although this consistency may not be immediately obvious, it challenges us to seek understanding through prayer and diligent study of both the New and Old Testaments in their full context. The more we undertake this, the more we will marvel at the wisdom of God and come to better learn who our Savior truly is (Matt. 11:28-30).
ENDNOTES
1. Obviously Scripture can be misunderstood. This has always been a danger. But whatever we understand, the Holy Spirit never makes the Word of God that He Himself inspired to mean something now that it never meant before.
2. Some believe there may be a prophetic Messianic link by way of the Septuagint translation of Numbers 24:7-8 but this is debatable and still would require an understanding of context. See Kaiser, W. C., Jr. (2001) The Uses of the Old Testament in the New. Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock Publishers, pp. 50–51.
3. Much has been written on the NT use of the word fulfilled. An excellent example: Gooding, D. (2013) The Riches of Divine Wisdom: The New Testament’s Use of the Old Testament. Coleraine, Northern Ireland: Myrtlefield House (Myrtlefield Expositions), pp. 102-115. https://www.myrtlefieldhouse.com/online-books/the-riches-of-divine-wisdom).
4. No doubt Matthew is playing on the sounds of some words like Nazirite for one who devotes himself in a special way to God (Num. 6) and the Hebrew word for “branch” [nêt-ser] (Isa. 11:1; Jer. 23:5; 33:15, etc.). See also Malcolm Horlock’s Monday Musings 171 from 04/22/2024 (https://voicesforchrist.org/writings/316).