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• Matt 2:13-15
• Everybody wants to belong. People that say they don’t typically have just been rejected and are being self preservating. We were made to be in community. We were made to belong
•  1 Corinthians 12:27 Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually.
• Ephesians 4:16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.
• Colossians 1:18  And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.
• Today we are talking little nugget of scripture today-  a prophecy- but has deep meaning
• I’ve been a part of a lot of things- sports teams, army, but the most important thing to me is the church. Nothing more cosmically important than being a member of a local church
• When I was a kid- at nordstroms- trying to share gospel with old man- he says- nothing matters more to me than my church
• At the time I thought- why didn’t you say Jesus? He’s most important- but Church is his body. And from this scripture- we see- the Church is the nation of God- an Israel.

1. Matthew continues to draw to prophecy
2. Matthew, more than any gospel writer, wants to show that Jesus’ birth, life, and death, are rooted firmly in the Old Testament.
3. Jesus was born of a virgin (fulfilling Isaiah 7:14). He was born in Bethlehem (fulfilling Micah 5:1-2). He was sought out to be killed by Herod (fulfilling Jeremiah 31:15). He was preceded by John preparing the way (fulfilling Isaiah 40:3). He healed diseases (fulfilling Isaiah 53:4). He spoke through parables (fulfilling Psalm 78:2). He came to Jerusalem riding on a donkey (fulfilling Zechariah 9:9).
4. Therefore- His using and quoting of Hosea 11 is more than just a simple reference to Egypt
5. This is an important distinction and understanding of scripture that will help us robustly understand the meaning of “out of Egypt I called my son”

• Jesus is Israel and God’s son
• Remember- Matthew is speaking to Jewish audience- Chapter one starts with the genealogy of Jesus. The very first words, in Greek, are “biblos geneseos Iesou Christou”– The book of the Genesis of Jesus
• Same parallel to Genesis being the beginning of Gods work on this earth with Israel
• Jesus is the new Exodus- Jewish people celebrate Passover- remembering the exodus of Israel
• Soon after his birth he Goes back into Israel to “come out of Egypt” in the same was as Israel
• Right after the exodus Jesus is baptized in the same way that Israel was baptized in the Red Sea after their exodus  1 cor 10:1-5 READ (Drawing OT and NT together)
•  Israel comes through Red Sea Baptism, 40 years in desert, after Jesus baptism 40 days in desert
• Which brings us to the Hosea 11 passage READ Hosea 11:1-4
• God’s redemptive plan began soon after Adam and Eve’s failure- Promises to Abraham in Genesis, Isaac, Jacob. David etc. God will redeem. There will be a king. Israel will reign.
• This idea is rooted in son-ship offspring- Chosen people and nation of Israel connectedness
• From the beginning- God had a redemptive plan that would be executed through Jesus- because Israel was not sinless, they could never be the perfect means by which God could eradicate sin- it was inevitable that a Savior would come- to Save from sin and death
• Jesus is the seed of Abraham- Galatians 3:16 Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as of many, but as of one, “And to your Seed,” who is Christ.
• But God would call a Israel a “son” Exodus 422 Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Israel is My son, My firstborn. 23 So I say to you, let My son go that he may serve Me. But if you refuse to let him go, indeed I will kill your son, your firstborn.” ’ ”
• “Israel is my Son”  is directly connected to Hosea 11:1“When Israel was a child, I loved him, And out of Egypt I called My son.
• Matthew 3:17 And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
• For God so loved the world that he gave his only- begotten son-
• Israel was God’s son. Jesus is God’s son. Jesus is the new Israel

• What it means that Jesus is Israel
• Jesus is everything- True Israel, Last adam, son of David, ultimate prophet, final priest, reigning king. Alpha and Omega beginning and the end first and the last
• He is the full embodiment of what Faithful Israel should have been as God’s son as outline in Hosea- fully obedient- fully submitted. Committed and sinless.
• Unlike Israel- he committed no sin Isa 53:9, 1 Pet 2:22 And he didn’t fail like Israel did – they failed God repeatedly.
• He experienced divine judgement for sin on the cross, Went through exile 3 days in the grave
• Restored humanity through resurrection
• Is the foundation of a new Israel. He is the focus of hope for God’s people in a new kingdom of Israel for all people both Jew and Gentile alike.  Jews belonged to the nation- we should belong
• Christ is Israel and God at the same time- so his power to give the kingdom and its governance rests on him alone- The only way God could save humanity was to become human
• And the promises of the NT Scriptures affirm the fact that the inheritance of the NT Believer is the inheritance of Israel and the kingdom of God. (Remember kingdom is huge theme)
• Luke 12:32  “Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
• Luke 22:30  that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”
• How could Jesus tell his disciples this unless he was Israel and they would become Israel
• Matthew 19:28  So Jesus said to them, “Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
• If Jesus wasn’t God in the flesh and wasn’t Israel, he wouldn’t give his disciples the power to rule over Israel and become a spiritual Israel- that’s who we are
• And if that’s who we are, what kingdom are we in, what nation are we and how do we live?
• God’s redemptive plan is intricate and weaving- are you a sentence? Is it that simple?

• 4. The church is viewed as the new Israel in Scriptures
• God was nation building with Israel. When he called Abraham it was to build a nation, he told him that many would be blessed through him- now Jesus, line of Abraham is blessing many
• And in the same way that God’s focus was on Israel- God’s focus is on the church.
• Exodus 19:6 ⁶ And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.”
• God wanted a holy nation that would show the world what following God looked like
• As the fulfillment of Ex 19:6 1 Peter 2:9 ⁹ But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;
• That’s the calling of the NT Church- In the NT, people came to faith- they joined a church
• Galatians 6:16 ⁶ And as many as walk according to this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God.
• The church is the Israel of God- Called out- ekklessia, holy body, a nation of God’s people
• Viewed as the 12 tribes- James 1:1  James, a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad: Greetings.
• Therefore:
• The church is an Israel the nation of God we should commit to her. Not treat her with contempt
• The flippant nature in which people treat the church must stop- Its always the same rhetoric- “the church is not a building” “I don’t need to go to church to be a Christian” “The Church is deployed” “wherever 2 or 3 are gathered”- Worst exegesis ever- that’s about judgment
• Firstly- you cannot ‘be the church’ by yourself in the same way you can not ‘be a congress’ or ‘be a team’ or ‘Be a family’ by yourself. Its not logical. A church is a gathering- a group- the eklessia- called out group of people.
• Obviously the church is not a building. Seriously. That’s like saying the president is the white house, or congress is the capital, or Education is not a School. Families are not a house .
• Obviously. But you can’t ‘go to school’ from home. You can do online learning from home, but you are not ‘going to school’ going to school entails gathering of
• Secondly.  the reality of this rhetoric is that is just a veiled or overt statement to minimize the importance of gathering, individualistic rebellion, and contempt for what is clearly a high value that God places on the gathering of the saints in public to be a visible entity to the world.
• No where in the Bible is a person who is not connected to Israel called the nation of Israel. And no where in the Bible is a person who is not connected to a local church called a church. Never.
• I’ve said it before- no one ever had to convince me to go to Church when I got saved at 15
• 1 Peter 2:9 ⁹ But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;
• I preached 2 sermons last year- A glorious Church and 7 churches 5 crowns. Please listen
• This is a theme that I want in our church- that we would know the value and defend it
•  1 Timothy 3:15 but if I am delayed, I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.
• Can someone explain to me how that is an individualistic admonition against being a part of a church? Because I don’t see it.
• A church has elders, pastors, prophets, teachers, evangelists, deacons. It has baptisms and communion and discipleship and discipline. It has worship serving fellowship giving.
• Who do you serve when you’re by yourself, do you give to yourself, disciple yourself and call it an assembly? How are we the new Israel and the nation of God when we refuse to gather?
• And again- people don’t say this from exegesis they say it from selfishness
• When Matthew says “Out of egypt I called my son” it wasn’t to negate or demolish the idea of assembly, but to institute a new assembly, called the church under the banner of Jesus Christ- One for all nations, and all races, and all people, under his covenant, the NEW covenant.
• To come out of Egypt is to be the delivered nation of God- out of Pharaoah- out of the world!

• But its still the Nation of God! “The pillar and ground of the truth”
• Why did paul use the language of Romans 2:29 but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God.
• Its still the OT language of circumcision, adoption, engrafting, gathering, set apart, called out.
• To come to Jesus is to come to Israel- with all the benefits and demands of the relationship
• To join the nation of God and what he is doing on this earth- visible move of God-
• Its why it frustrates me so when people join a church and flippantly leave- they don’t understand the cosmic connection of  a local church- being bound to his body
• Not just merely joining a club until the drink prices increase- no sir.
• God holds his people in very high regard. He treats us as individuals, but sees us as a group
• Ephesians 5:22 I speak concerning a great mystery but this is Christ and his church.
• Jesus is coming back for his church- scripture declares it- not individuals.
• I was in the Army- but I was never an Army- I was only part of it-
• Why would you treat this as a common thing?
• You shouldn’t
• Matthew says, Out of Egypt I called my son
• Out of the bondage of the past
• Out of the desert of the wandering
• Through the baptism of the sea
• A GROUP of people- A holy nation- a priesthood. Called out together.
• Matthew says- You were Jews in Israel- Now you are Christians in Christ- the Church.
• The story of Jesus is a deliverance of Israel and a deliverance of you and me-
• We- together are Israel and walk in the same deliverance as Jesus as we submit to his lordship.

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