Matthew 2:21

21 So he roused himself and took the child and His mother and came into the land of Israel.

Matthew 2:21 Meaning and Commentary

Matthew 2:21

And he arose and took the young child and his mother
He exactly conformed in every circumstance to the orders given him, with respect to the persons he took, the place he went to, and the expeditiousness of doing it; and is an example of ready and cheerful obedience to the commands of God, worthy of imitation. We may learn from hence, as well as from some other instances already met with, a reason among others, why, though Mary was a virgin, and even if she was to continue so, yet she must be espoused to Joseph as her husband; that she might have one to take care of her and her young child, and be a means, under God, of preserving, protecting, and providing for them.

Matthew 2:21 In-Context

19 But after Herod's death an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, and said to him,

20 "Rise from sleep, and take the child and His mother, and go into the land of Israel, for those who were seeking the child's life are dead."

21 So he roused himself and took the child and His mother and came into the land of Israel.

22 But hearing that Archelaus had succeeded his father Herod on the throne of Judaea, he was afraid to go there; and being instructed by God in a dream he withdrew into Galilee,

23 and went and settled in a town called Nazareth, in order that these words spoken through the Prophets might be fulfilled, "He shall be called a Nazarene."