MY PERSPECTIVE, Gary Damron
The Christmas story is filled with wonder - angels, shepherds, wise men bearing gifts. Yet the account quickly turns dark in Matthew 2:13-23, recounting the Holy Family’s desperate flight to Egypt and the horrific slaughter of innocent children in Bethlehem. The passage reveals human evil, and echoes a cosmic battle described in Revelation chapter 12. Forces of darkness sought to destroy the Child who would bring salvation to the world. But God provided unwavering protection over His Son, the promised Messiah.
Matthew tells us that after the Magi left to return home, they were warned in a dream not to report to Herod as he had asked. Then an angel appeared to Joseph in another dream. “‘Get up! Take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is going to search for the child to destroy him’” (Matthew 2:13). Joseph obeyed immediately, rising by night to lead Mary with her baby across the border into Egypt, a journey of several hundred miles through desert terrain.
Herod’s angry response was swift and brutal. Realizing that the Magi had outmaneuvered him, he ordered the massacre of all male children age two and under around Bethlehem. In making his decree, Herod took into account the geographical area surrounding Jesus’ birthplace and the time the star had first appeared (Matthew 2:16). A prophecy in Jeremiah 31:15 was thus tragically fulfilled: “A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be comforted, because they are no more.” Jacob’s wife, buried near Bethlehem, symbolized the grief of many mothers in Israel.
The actions of Herod were nothing new; the historian Josephus recorded the king’s paranoia and his orders that family members and rivals be murdered to preserve power. The Bethlehem atrocity, localized and perhaps relatively small, might not have registered in historical records, yet Matthew included it to highlight the clash between earthly tyranny and divine purpose. Opposing God’s plan results in the loss of innocent lives in an attempt to thwart the redemption of Jesus.
Mary and Joseph remained safe in Egypt until Herod’s death, fulfilling the prophetic words from Hosea 11:1: “‘Out of Egypt I called my son.’” In its original context, the prophet Hosea was referring to the people of Israel as God’s “son” whom He lovingly delivered from slavery in Egypt during the Exodus. Matthew saw Jesus’ family repeating Israel’s story: just as God called His people out of Egypt, He now was leading the baby, the true Israel, out of Egypt to eventual ministry.
This drama, early in Jesus’ life on earth, finds its cosmic parallel in Revelation chapter 12, and portrays the same conflict Matthew described. Satan worked through human agents to try to eliminate the Savior at birth. Yet God intervened, protecting the child, nourishing the woman in the wilderness, and ultimately defeating the dragon through heavenly war led by the archangel Michael.
The visionary work depicts a pregnant woman clothed with the sun, moon under her feet, and crowned with twelve stars. She gives birth to a male child destined to “rule all the nations with a rod of iron”, but a great red dragon - identified as that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan - stands ready to devour the child as soon as he is born (Revelation 12:4–5). The child is caught up to God’s throne (symbolizing Jesus’ ascension), while the woman flees to the wilderness for protection.
Many interpret the woman as representing Israel (with twelve stars suggesting the tribes) - the faithful people of God from whom the Messiah emerges - or in broader terms, the Church with its twelve apostles. The dragon’s attempt to devour the child directly recalls Herod’s pursuit and slaughter. Matthew in his gospel grounds this apocalyptic vision in historical events: the flight to Egypt, the massacre, and the family’s eventual settlement in a small village.
After time in Egypt, Joseph was informed by God that Herod had died (about 4BC). “But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Then after being warned by God in a dream, he left for the regions of Galilee, and came and lived in a city called Nazareth. This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophets: ‘He shall be called a Nazarene’” (Matthew 2:13-22-23). In Isaiah 11:1 begins a prophecy which refers to a “branch” or “netzer” from Jesse’s stump, signifying Jesus’ humble origins, safe and undetected, in the despised town of Nazareth.
From the beginning, Jesus faced opposition, but God’s plan was unstoppable. The Father’s love and protection for His Son assure believers that the same care extends to us. The ending of the Revelation passage reveals the dragon turning his fury on believers, “the rest of her offspring - those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus” (Revelation 12:17). Persecution continues, but so does divine deliverance. In a world still marked by evil and suffering, we find hope in Matthew chapter 2 and Revelation chapter 12. The Child who escaped destruction grew to conquer it, and He offers and ultimate victory to all who trust Him.
