Introduction: We are going to take a look at the angel that ______ Christmas! At an Angel that visited Joseph and Mary, and warned them to flee to Egypt to protect Jesus from the terror of Herod and his minions.

I. ______ with the Child – v. 1313 Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, "Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him."

This angel came to tell him that he needed to take the young Child and His mother, and ______ to Egypt, and that he was to stay there until he brought word to him that it would be safe to return.

Herod was a cruel and a _______ man. He had his own _____ and brother killed. It would be nothing for him to try and oust Jesus.

The ______ of the wise men (the Gold, the Frankincense, and the Myrrh) made it financially possible for Joseph to get Jesus and Mary safely to Egypt.

Note: Where God ________, God provides!

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I have read that there was a sizeable _______ population residing in Egypt, so Joseph, Mary, and Jesus would have blended in quite well.

II. ________ with the Child – v. 14-1514 When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt, 15 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."

Once again, we find Joseph ___________, and he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him.

Note: Joseph went in the cover of ________ (night), so as not to be seen by any of Herold’s soldiers.

Joseph, Mary, and Jesus stayed in Egypt until the death of Herod. History tells us that Herod died around ____ BC of an incurable disease. I’ll speak more on Herod’s death as we make our way through these verses.

Being in Egypt was no an _________, or a misfortune. No, it too was the fulfilment of Biblical prophecy. These words were spoken through the Prophet Hosea. In Hosea 11:1 we read,

"When Israel was a child, I loved him, And out of Egypt I called My son.

III. ____________ of the Child – v. 16-1816 Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men. 17 Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet,

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saying: 18 "A voice was heard in Ramah, Lamentation, weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, Refusing to be comforted, Because they are no more."

Do you remember that the Wise Men were _______ by an angel in a dream NOT to go and report to Herod when they had found the Child? Instead they departed to their own country another way.

When Herod realized that he had been __________ (outwitted, mocked) by the wise men, he was furious. The NKJV reads, “exceedingly angry” and in the Greek, it means, “to be enraged.”

This ___________ rampage of Herod was also prophesized. The Prophet Jeremiah spoke of this some 600 years before it actually occurred. We read Jeremiah 31:15,

“Thus says the LORD: "A voice was heard in Ramah, Lamentation and bitter weeping, Rachel weeping for her children, Refusing to be comforted for her children, Because they are no more."

Why Rachael weeping?

IV. _________ with the child – v. 19-2119 But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, 20 saying, "Arise, take the young Child and His mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the young Child's life are dead." 21 Then he arose, took the young Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel.

We have got to ________ the words, “But when Herod was dead,”

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In his Antiquities Josephus reports that Herod "died of this, __________ entrails, putrified and _________-filled organs, constant convulsions, foul breath, and neither physicians nor warm baths led to recovery." A rather fitting end, it seems, for such a man. 1

V. __________ with the Child – v. 22-2322 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea instead of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And being warned by God in a dream, he turned aside into the region of Galilee. 23 And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, "He shall be called a Nazarene."

When Joseph arrived back in Israel…

Archelaus, started his reign by killing more than _______ people, many who were only in Jerusalem for the Passover.

The city of ___________ sat at the crossroads of great caravan trade. The prophets (plural) foretold that Jesus would be called a __________.

Conclusion: Five Important Spiritual Truths:

1. _________ is an important element in hearing a message from God. 2. ________ may be hard, but it is necessary. 3. Jesus was protected so that He could be our ____________. 4. Move _________ only after you hear directly from God. 5. Go where God _______ you to go.

1 MacArthur New Testament Commentary, The - MacArthur New Testament Commentary – Matthew 1-7.

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Jesus was born in a humble city, Bethlehem. Raised in a despised city, Nazareth, and promises a New Heavenly City to all who will surrender to Him as Savior and Lord.

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