HE SHALL BE CALLED A NAZARENE

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The top picture is of the cliff that the people of Nazareth attempted to throw Jesus over when he said things that angered them. The bottom picture is one that was taken in old Nazareth. The present Nazareth is a city of about 65,000 people. In first century it was too insignificant to make Josephus' list of Galilean towns.

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"A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him" (Isaiah 11:1-2a).

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"Therefore he made his home in a town called Nazareth, so that what had been spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, 'He will be called a Nazarene" (Matthew 2:23).

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"'The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor'. . . Then he began to say to them, 'Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.'" (Luke 4:18,19&21).

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Matthew has been ridiculed because there is no mention of Nazareth in the Old Testament. So, how could Jesus fulfill a prophecy that was never prophesied? The name Nazareth is derived from the Hebrew root netser which means shoot. An insignificant shoot that grows out of dry ground, out of an old dead stump. The history of the town of Nazareth was like that. Archaeologists have found continuous occupation there from 900 to 600 BCE, then a break of about 300 years, and then reoccupation beginning about 300 BCE. The line of the "Davidic" kings was like that too. It seemed that the linage of the Davidic kings ended in the Babylonian captivity; it was an old dead stump! But out of "old-dead stumps" shoots can grow and Jesus was that shoot and to make sure the name was identified with him, he was raised in "Shootsville," Nazareth. Nazareth was so insignificant that is was said, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" The inscription placed above Jesus' head on the cross read, "Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews" (John 19:19). Jesus was an unlikely king, arising from a dead stump, and out of an unlikely town. The term "Nazarene" was a term of ridicule and was applied to all who gave allegiance to the "shoot."

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It seems to be a theological truth that God specializes in using impossible situations and the most unlikely people to bring about His purposes. That means there is hope for you and me! We are "Nazarenes!"

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Grace&Peace,

Tom