Chizuk Emunah (Pt 2) Under the Microscope: Chapter 4

 Troki continues his assault on Matthew:

Matthew 2:14 and 15, "When he [Joseph] arose, he took the young child and his mother by night and departed into Egypt. And was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son."

The misapplication of the evidence taken from Hosea 11:1, is perfectly obvious. He speaks of the chosen people delivered from bondage. He says, "When Israel was young I did love it and out of Egypt I called my son." This allusion to the pristine state of Israel fully agrees with the message Moses gave to Pharaoh. Exodus 4:22 and 23, "Thus saith the Lord, Israel is my first-born son, and I have said unto thee, send away my son that he may serve me."

It is hard to understand why Troki has an issue with Matthew's interpretation. In order to get out of Egypt, you have to first go into Egypt. Fulfillment has a wide variety of biblical meanings. In some cases, it means that God brought into fruition something that he had promised. It does not always mean that. Luke states: "They will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive among all nations, and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled." This use of fulfillment is not referring to a prophecy, but simply to an end of some state. There are other uses of fulfillment that do not indicate prediction:

“Now when forty years had passed [lit. were fulfilled], an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in a flame of fire in a bush. (Acts 7:30) And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem when they had completed [lit. fulfilled] their service, bringing with them John, whose other name was Mark. (Acts 12:25) in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. (Romans 8:4) Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. (Romans 13:8) by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God—so that from Jerusalem and all the way around to Illyricum I have fulfilled the ministry of the gospel of Christ; (Romans 15:19) For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Galatians 5:14) Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God. (James 2:21-23)  James is especially noteworthy, since it speaks of a fulfillment of a past event. No future prediction was made, yet James said it was fulfilled. Matthew also did not say that Hosea had Jesus in mind when he made that proclamation. He only said that Hosea's statement was made complete in Jesus. A. Lukyn Williams writes: "St. Matthew did not want to prove anything, as, for example, that Jesus of Nazareth was the Messiah because He went down to Egypt as Hosea said He would, but he desired to illustrate the history of Jesus from the history of the Jews." Most of his audience believed in Jesus. They did not need to have the Messiahship of Jesus proven to them by prooftexting. Instead, Matthew is writing a Greco-Roman biography on the life of Jesus. The main theme of this biography is that Jesus is the embodiment of True Israel.