We know Jesus was from Nazareth, but what do we know about Nazareth? How do Bethlehem and Jerusalem figure into the story? This devotion looks at how Matthew 2 and Luke 2 mesh.
Nuggets
- Nazareth was in the region of Galilee.
- Mary and Joseph were both from Nazareth.
- Nazareth must have had a bad reputation.
- Jesus had to be born in Bethlehem.
- They had to go to Jerusalem for the baby ceremony.
I am a country girl living in a city world. I loved the farm. If I would have been born Vernon Leroy, I probably never would have left it.
With a name like that, I probably would have been in hiding. Vernon is okay. Leroy is okay. Together — not so much, in my opinion.
But I am Elaine, and I moved to the “big” city. Now, I try to help you grow instead of grow crops and animals.
I wonder what Jesus thought about His upbringing. I mean, He is the King of kings. What is He doing in Nazareth?
What do we know about Nazareth?
Geographical Location
“The crowds were saying, ‘This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee’” (Mt. 21: 11 CSB)
Nazareth was in the region of Galilee. That is why Jesus is sometimes called the Nazarene and the Galilean. The town was southwest of the Sea of Galilee.
Nazareth was snuggled in the hills. The paths getting there were difficult to navigate. It is said to have been very picturesque.
Rall said, “It has been a common mistake to think of Nazareth as a quiet spot far from the life of the great world, where Jesus was nurtured in seclusion. That is far from the truth.” The population was several thousand people.
Resource
Rall, H. F. (1941). New Testament history: A study of the beginning of Christianity. Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press.
It sounds like a nice place in which to grow up. What if Mary and Joseph would have lived in Jerusalem? Yes, Jesus would have been near the temple.
But Jesus and the Pharisees didn’t really see eye to eye. The Pharisees were all about the religion, and Jesus was all about the relationship.
Can you see the Rabbis trying to teach Jesus and Him trying to correct them?
Luckily for the Rabbis, that wasn’t the case.
Mary and Joseph Both Lived There
“Then he went and settled in a town called Nazareth to fulfill what was spoken through the prophets, that he would be called a Nazarene” (Mt. 2: 23 CSB)
There were no social media sites in those days to facilitate meeting people. There weren’t planes, trains, or automobiles to shorten the distance.
You picked a mate from the people you knew.
So, Mary and Joseph, both being from Nazareth, were betrothed to be married. That is a little more binding than the present-day engagement, but not to the level of a marriage.
What Was Wrong with Nazareth?
“‘Can anything good come out of Nazareth?’ Nathanael asked him …” (Jn. 1: 46 CSB)
Still, Nazareth must have had a bad reputation. Nathaniel didn’t think it was a great place to live.
Maybe Nathaniel was a big-city guy. Most people used to the big cities down know what to do in a small town. Maybe he knew someone who was not a positive representative for the town.
Jesus Did Go Home
“When he came to the village of Nazareth, his boyhood home, he went as usual to the synagogue on the Sabbath and stood up to read the Scriptures” (Lk. 4: 16 NLT)
Jesus was totally off about His upbringing. He did go home once. Luke recorded it, so we know there was at least one.
We talked about it once. It didn’t go so well.
But Jesus went. He cared enough about the people He grew up with to witness to them.
Yes, sometimes it is harder witnessing to knowns rather than unknowns. They do have those preconceived notions about who we are — even if we no longer are.
Making the Connections
But Jesus had to be born in Bethlehem.
I had never really thought too much about Nazareth to Bethlehem to Jerusalem. How did the timeline actually go?
To me, it looks like the road trip went Nazareth to Bethlehem (100 miles) to Jerusalem (5.5 miles) to Nazareth (64 miles) to Egypt to Nazareth.
We don’t know how long Mary and Joseph were in Bethlehem prior to the birth. “While they were there, the time came for her to give birth” (Lk. 2: 6 CSB). Maybe she gave birth the day they got there, but maybe it was a couple of days later.
You would think that Joseph, being the caring man that he is, would take a couple of days to rest before they headed back to Nazareth. It was about a long way. So, they would have stayed in Bethlehem before going to Jerusalem for the baby ceremony.
But then I think they went back to Nazareth. Why do I say that? Luke 2: 39 says, “When they had completed everything [that they do with new babies] according to the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth” (CSB).
I know. How does this sync with Matthew? Let’s look at a couple of verses there.
“So he [King Herod] assembled all the chief priests and scribes of the people and asked them where the Christ would be born. ‘In Bethlehem of Judea,’ they told him, ‘because this is what was written by the prophet’ …” (Mt. 2: 4-5 CSB).
“After hearing the king, they [the wise men] went on their way. And there it was — the star they had seen at its rising. It led them until it came and stopped above the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overwhelmed with joy. Entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and falling to their knees, they worshiped him” (Mt. 2: 9-11 CSB emphasis added).
“After they were gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Get up! Take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you. For Herod is about to search for the child to kill him” (Mt. 2: 13 CSB).
If you are like me, we always assumed the wise men came to Bethlehem. I got they were living in a house. (Who would want to live in a stable for two years?)
But why wouldn’t Mary and Joseph go home after Jerusalem? Why would they go back to Bethlehem? How long does it take Joseph to say, “Present and accounted for” for the census (Lk. 2: 1)?
They wouldn’t have relocated their home just for a count. So, even if Bethlehem was closer, it wasn’t home.
But if Jesus was in Nazareth, why would He have to leave if Herod was killing babies in Bethlehem? “Then Herod, when he realized that he had been outwitted by the wise men, flew into a rage. He gave orders to massacre all the boys in and around Bethlehem who were two years old and under, in keeping with the time he had learned from the wise men” (Mt. 2: 16 CSB). It never says Herod went to Nazareth looking for the Boy.
How Do We Apply This?
I have a feeling Joseph took his family wherever God told him to go. “So he got up, took the child and his mother, and entered the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was ruling over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And being warned in a dream, he withdrew to the region of Galilee. Then he went and settled in a town called Nazareth to fulfill what was spoken through the prophets, that he would be called a Nazareth” (Mt. 2: 21-23 CSB). God was going to keep His Son safe.
This was the third recorded dream Joseph had. 1) Marry Mary. 2) Go to Egypt. 3) Go home.
Is it really important to know exactly how it all went down? No. We do need to figure out how to defend our beliefs.
The last thing we would want is someone who is searching to hit us with a seemingly contradictory part of the Bible, and we not know what to say.
Hopefully, we are as good as Joseph was in following God’s instructions. Unfortunately, most of us do not get a divine revelation in a dream, but we do get prompted by the Holy Spirit. We need to listen and obey.
The most important thing in the Christmas story is Jesus, who was God’s Son, was born on earth so He could pay the price for our sins. In Nazareth, in Bethlehem, in Jerusalem — everything Jesus did was to fulfill the prophecy regarding the Messiah.
Jesus succeeded in His mission and became our Savior and Redeemer.
Loving Father. Thank You so much for Jesus. Thank You that He willingly came down and gave His life so that our relationship with You could be restored. Lord, we don’t need to know how everything happened. We just need to be like Joseph — we need to be obedient. Help us to always do Your Will. Amen.
What do you think?
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