WEEK 2
Day 5
SUNDAY
The story that must be told. Matthew 2:13-15 Focus verse: Matthew 2:13
Now after they had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.”
I f Matthew’s Gospel were published as breaking news, King Herod would dominate
the front page. A ruthless ruler, willing to do anything to preserve power, keeps his people in line through fear and violence. The world tends to tell the story of whoever holds the headlines. But Matthew tells a different story, one that runs quietly beneath the noise. When Joseph dreams of danger and flees with Mary and the infant Jesus into Egypt, Matthew connects this escape to Hosea’s prophecy: “Out of Egypt I called my son” (Hosea 11:1). In the Hebrew Scriptures, those words recalled the Exodus — God delivering Israel from bondage. Now, Matthew sees that same divine pattern unfolding again. The God who once brought Israel out of Egypt is at work in Jesus, shaping human history toward redemption. It’s a reminder that history is not only the story of kings and empires, but of God’s persistent grace. Even in the shadow of tyrants, God is writing a quieter, deeper narrative, one that bends toward deliverance and hope. Our news cycles are still filled with Herods — leaders who cling to power, stories driven by fear and outrage. Lent invites us to tune our hearts to a different frequency, to listen for God’s ongoing work of liberation. If people are to have hope in a world full of Herods, this is the story that must be told.
Reflection
Where do you see God’s quieter story unfolding beneath today’s headlines? How might your faith help you bear witness to that story of redemption?
Prayer
Redeeming God, when the world’s stories leave us anxious and afraid, remind us that you are still at work writing grace into human history. Help us trust your larger narrative of hope, and give us courage to tell it. Amen.
8 | 2026 Lent Devotional