The limited stories about Jesus the baby/child are found only in Mathew and Luke. There purpose is much more than biographical tidbits from the early life of the Savior. They are chock full of theological images and references which convey the full meaning of this Man. And the primary referent is the OT, because that is where God's plan for salvation is spelled out.
The typical Gospel proclamation about Jesus (we assume in earliest church preaching) begins with John the Baptist appearing, preaching and baptizing. He understood himself to be calling the Jews to repent before the Day of the Lord. He was influenced by the same apocalyptic understanding which we present in Judah the centuries surrounding his life. John looked expectantly for the kingdom to burst into the world. So he called people to repent, to be washed of their sins, and to lead a reformed life. John was confused by Jesus, Who did not act exactly how He expected. For example, when Jesus came to be baptized, Matthew says, John was reluctant, claiming roles should be reversed. But Jesus said that it was proper to "fulfill all righteousness." The idea of fully-filling is present here, but in a different context. I think it may help us to broaden our understanding of what fully-filling the Sacred Scriptures (SS) means.
Although Matthew does not say it, the temptation sequence is also a fully-filling of SS. Like ancient Israel Jesus is in the desert. One temptation, for bread, recalls the Israelites complaint in the desert for bread (manna). We also see echoes of Adam and Eve, who were tempted and failed. Israel's greatest sin, worshipping other gods, is also on display as Jesus rejects worldly power offered to Him if He worshipped the Satan. The use of the Bible is found throughout the debate/testing and Jesus' skill with SS is evident. We note that the story ends with Jesus being ministered to by angels, just like Satan's quote from Psalms indicates God has promised. Here is fulfillment and more fulfillment.
After the baptism and temptation, Jesus returns to Galilee (Mt 4:12-16). Located far north of Jerusalem, it is a remnant of the old nation of Israel and probably was inhabited by Zebulon and Naphtali in tribal times. When Assyrian conquered the area it brought in foreigners to stamp out the Jewish identity, hence the name "Galilee of the Gentiles." [The Assyrian province was known as Meggido, associated with har megido where we get the apocalyptic battle of Armageddon.] Isaiah's oracle of hope (Is 8&9) concerning the land over run by Assyria is seen in new light with the beginning of Jesus' minsitry here. This is such a wonderful example of the fulfillment of Scripture. Jesus is the fullness of that hope realized.
This is why, in Matthew 5:17ff Jesus says He has not come to abolish/destroy/overthrow the Law and prophets but to fulfill them. This includes almost all of what we call the Old Testament includes the Torah (first five books), our historical books and our written prophets (major and minor). We do not tend to think of Samuel or Kings as prophetic literature, but they are included as such in the Jewish Bible. This broadens our understanding of the word "prophecy" and helps illustrate why fully-fillling up the SS is Jesus' vocation. He is the summation, the purpose and souce, He is the ultimate meaning of all Bible revelation. In particular, His death and resurrection is the completion of the OT story. In Him all the stories make sense. The death of the first born (See Abraham and the sacrifice of Isaac, see the last plague of Pharaoh and Egypt) and the Jewish sacrificial system and Temple both find their fullest meaning in Jesus (He is the Lamb). The hopes and dreams of Israel and for Israel are realized in the fulfillmenf to King David's Promise (in what God promised to him and in what he could have become if he had been the kind of righteous king he should have been). And, somewhat ironically, as Jesus fulfills all He also creates new hopes and promises, hopes and promises which wait to be fulfilled in The Great Day. So we pray, Come Lord Jesus! and we hope it is not long to wait.
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