This passage provides some important lessons for Matthew's first audience and for us today.

God Protects Jesus and His Family (2:13) Matthew here narrates God's protection for Jesus (2:13-15) and Herod's brutal massacre of other children (2:16-18). Although the narrative rings with inspired grief and rage against Herod's act, God does not stop the injustice in this narrative any more than in most of the narratives we hear played on the evening news. Yet this narrative contains a kernel of good news that human reporters often cannot adequately discern until after the fact: the injustice of a world run by rebels against God cannot thwart his ultimate purposes for justice in that world.