Three Different Places Christ Was to Come From

4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born.

5 And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judæa: for thus it is written by the prophet,

6 And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel. (Matthew 2:4-6, emphasis added)

And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son. (Matthew 2:15, emphasis added)

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. (Matthew 2:23, emphasis added)

In these verses are recorded three different prophecies about where Christ was to come from: born in Bethlehem, called out of Egypt, called a Nazarene.  If we didn’t know the circumstances of Christ’s birth and youngest years, we might be inclined to say these were seriously contradictory and mutually exclusive. But Matthew’s record shows how all of them were fulfilled in their way: by movements because of universal taxation, by threat requiring flight, and by strategic settlement ostensibly out of reach of a different danger.

This shows us that the Lord knows the unusual circumstances that will occur, even hundreds of years in the future. (I wonder if the Lord decided to give those prophecies in such a way as to make them sound mutually exclusive so that He could underline His ability to carry His plans out.)

This is another one of those things that shows we can trust the Lord will do His own work and fulfill His covenants.