Matthew 2:13‭-‬23 Humble Origins

Now when they had gone, behold, 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 going to search for the Child to destroy Him."  So Joseph got up and took the Child and His mother while it was still night, and left for Egypt. He remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: "Out of Egypt I called my son."  Then when Herod saw that he had been tricked by the magi, he became very enraged, and sent and slew all the male children who were in Bethlehem and all its vicinity, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the magi....But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, and said, "Get up, take the Child and His mother, and go into the land of Israel; for those who sought the Child's life are dead." So Joseph got up, took the Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Then after being warned by God in a dream, he left for the regions of Galilee, and came and lived in a city called Nazareth. This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophets: "He shall be called a Nazarene." [Matthew 2:13-23]

When the magi had left, an angel of the Lord warned Joseph in a dream to take refuge in Egypt. Egypt was an ideally suited hideaway. As a Roman province, it was easy to travel there from Israel, but it was not within Herod's jurisdiction. Also, there was a large population of Jews living in Egypt at the time (about 1 million), so it was easy to get lost in the crowd. It's not known how long they stayed in Egypt, whether it was a few months or a few years, before Herod died.

Herod, known as Herod the Great, was a brilliant architect. He expanded the temple, so that it was commonly referred to as Herod's temple. He built Masada. His stables in Jerusalem were world renowned.

But he was also both paranoid and cruel. Afraid that they were plotting against him, he had his own children killed. So, for him to order the death of every boy two years and younger born in Bethlehem was in character. Since Bethlehem is a small community, this probably amounted to about a dozen children that were killed. As tragic as that is, it didn't even create a blip in the course of world history.

Herod's death was slow and painful. Although we can't be certain, symptomology suggests that he died of chronic kidney disease, complicated by gangrene. Aware of his unpopularity, Herod ordered that a large number of prominent men be killed at the time of his death. Since they would be mourned, he would thereby guaranty that there would be mourning at his own death. After his death, these men were not killed because Herod was no longer around to enforce it.

God told Joseph in a dream that Herod had died, and that he should return to Israel. The Bible acknowledges that Joseph was afraid to return to Bethlehem on account of Herod's son Archelaus. Even so, it was God's warning in a dream that led him to Nazareth in Galilee.

Nazareth wouldn't have been an easy choice to make. Since Mary was from Galilee, the people there would have known that she was pregnant before she and Joseph were married, so she would have carried the stigma of being thought of as an adulteress. Even if they assumed Joseph was the natural father, Jesus was still conceived before the marriage, which would be shameful.

Also, having left Nazareth, It is unlikely they would want to return because Nazareth had an unsavory reputation. To be called a Nazarene was to labeled "low class". When the apostle Nathaniel first heard of Jesus, he said, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" [John 1:46 NET]

Thus we see the humble origins of Jesus. A refugee, the firstborn of a despised family, living in a despised town. The King of kings became the lowest of the low that He might save all of humanity.