“‘Out of Egypt have I called my son.’” Matthew 2:15
Jesus is God’s only begotten son (John 1:14).
Israel is God’s firstborn son (Exodus 4:22).
As we have seen during the course of this year, the older must serve the younger. The firstborn son is scripturally superseded by the younger son. With Jesus’ birth it is no different. He supersedes the firstborn – Israel – as the One to Whom all the rights and privileges of that position must come.
Just as the nation of Israel was called out of Egypt in Moses’ day, so now Jesus is called out of Egypt by God; a more glorious calling out because it is Jesus’ commission that must take precedent. Israel is already called out; the Jews are established as God’s chosen people. Jesus’ entry into the human realm signifies further growth; His death, towards which His every moment of earthly life now takes Him, will open the way for Gentiles to be grafted into God’s Kingdom.
Jesus is born to redeem us from our sin, set us free from sickness and captivity, and release us from bondage and spiritual death. But the good news doesn’t stop there: He has come to give us life; life in all its fullness and splendour, walked in unity of purpose and spirit with Him. He has come to release us from our respective ‘Egypts’, whatever the nature and duration of them.
Just as Moses, and later the entire nation of Israel, were delivered as babies into God’s promise for their lives, so now Jesus is born as a helpless infant with a huge and certain destiny, into God’s promise for His life. He is delivered physically by Mary, ushered into the earthly realm He has come to redeem. With every breath the tiny Saviour takes, hell starts to quake and heaven jubilates. Jesus is alive! He will fulfil God’s mandate on earth, take captivity captive, and open the way to eternal life. Hallelujah! Welcome, Lord Jesus!
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