Jesus Christ: 2nd Journey
The Main Story of This Journey
Note: Prepare your own Bible and please read all of the Scriptures given on this page.
Scripture: Matthew 2:13-23 and Luke 2:39-40
The Angel of the LORD appears to Joseph in a dream, telling him to take Mary and Jesus with him and flee to Egypt, because Herod had ordered all innocent male children under age 2 to be put to death. This was because Herod relied on the Magi to give him the information, to which they said that Jesus was now between 1 and 2 years old.
There was the fleeing to Egypt, which Joseph, Mary, and Jesus had done safely. In the Herodian kingdom, news broke forth about Herod dying. Once Joseph and Mary heard this, they decided to return with Jesus to Palestine. However, once arriving, they found that a king named Archelaus has taken over in Judea, in which he was a wicked ruler similar to Herod. Therefore, Mary and Joseph decided to move to Nazareth, their original hometown.
Having lived in the hometown of Nazareth, Jesus developed well in all areas, and became more spiritually fit to serve. It is presumed that Jesus stayed in Nazareth until about 12 years old, but then again, with the Jewish festivals and other travels that were needed, Jesus likely traveled with Joseph and Mary to many different places. However, the details are uncertain at this time, for archaeology has only brought us a little bit, but there could be much more written documents from other people regarding Jesus' childhood.
Teaching and review
God can make the worst situations turn out best. This may have been a trial for Joseph and Mary; however, GOD protected them well, especially His Son, Jesus. Nonetheless, the justice of GOD stands against evil. Just as Egypt created bondage for people then, the risk had been clearly cryptic for them to asylum Joseph, Mary, and Jesus. The Promised Land for them was Nazareth and Jesus directed them there.
Admonitions to understand: Whenever someone is in bondage, the LORD will free him so that GOD may be more glorified. Whenever we are in need of help or feel that we're in bondage, we can call on the name of the LORD and be saved!
Other history
During the election of Archelaus by the Roman Caesar Augustus, the emperor belittled Archelaus, giving him a lower title than deserved. Archelaus was rumored to be also a tyrannical man similar to his father, Herod the Great. As usual, whenever something politically goes wrong, a riot breaks out, in which the Jerusalem Temple courtyard was filled with protestors and rioters. Archelaus sent troops to battle off the rioting and protests, in which 3,000 Jewish worshipers lost their lives.