This material is unique to Matthew and reflects some of his theological themes. For example, Joseph is a key person as one who is alert to God’s call. Joseph does what he is told and goes to Egypt. The holy family goes to Egypt so that Jesus may be safe and that his life may also mirror God’s story of Israel. The sense Matthew has of Jesus as the true Israel emerges steadily as Jesus is the chosen one who remains faithful to the covenant calling.

The slaughter of the innocents is horrific. Fearful Herod attempts a final solution in the same way as Pharaoh killed those he saw as a threat. In Matthew’s theology, it is not that Herod acts to fulfil God’s word but that Jeremiah’s prophecy is fulfilled. The murder of the children is not God’s will but is a situation where the activity of God goes on quietly in spite of human arrogance and fear.

Again, Jesus is on a journey, from Egypt to Nazareth, as Matthew links his life to the pilgrimage of Israel. God is doing a new thing but it is the same God who acted in the past. The journey to Nazareth begins with the news that Herod, the one who sought the child’s life, is dead. But there is no political safety for the child or the man. There will always be those who seek his life.