Jesus of Nazareth

Matthew 2:19-23

Last week we saw that Joseph and Mary, while she was pregnant, traveled from Nazareth in Galilee to Bethlehem in Judaea. Jospeh was going to Bethlehem to pay taxes. Bethlehem is called the city of David in the Gospel of Luke.

Luke 2:4-5
And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)  5 To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.

The Scriptures in the Old Testament tell us that the Savior would be born in Bethlehem. King Herod, the evil murderer of children, asked the chief priests and the scribes. Where will the Christ be born?

The Christ is Born in Bethlehem

Matthew 2:5-6
And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet,  6 And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.

Jesus was born in Bethlehem but then Herod is seeking to kill Jesus. So the Lord warns Joseph and Joseph takes Mary and Jesus and flees to Egypt. Herod kills all the children in Bethlehem and around Bethlehem from 2 years old and under.

Herod dies. The angel of the Lord appears to Joseph again and tells Joseph to go into the land of Israel.

Matthew 2:19-20
But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeareth in a dream to Joseph in Egypt,  20 Saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel: for they are dead which sought the young child’s life.

Matthew 2:21-23
And he arose, and took the young child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel.  22 But when he heard that Archelaus did reign in Judaea in the room of his father Herod, he was afraid to go thither: notwithstanding, being warned of God in a dream, he turned aside into the parts of Galilee:  23 And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene.

So, where has Jesus been since he was born in Bethlehem?

He was born in Bethlehem of Judaea. He was taken to Egypt. And now Jesus comes to Nazareth of Galilee. That’s what we get from reading the Gospel of Matthew.

The Birth of Jesus is in Matthew and Luke

Remember that the birth of Jesus Christ is only discussed in Matthew and Luke. Matthew gives us the generation of Jesus Christ from the line of Joseph. We also see the angel of the Lord speaking directly to Joseph in dreams several times in Matthew.

In Luke, we see something different. We see the generation of Jesus Christ through Mary. And we see the angel of the Lord speaking to Mary. The angel of the Lord tells Joseph in Matthew that they shall call his name Jesus. We see the angel of the Lord speaking to Mary in Luke telling her to call his name Jesus.

But we see another detail in Luke that isn’t in Matthew. This is why you need to read all the Gospels and compare them so you don’t miss the details. Matthew doesn’t mention what I’m going to show you here in Luke.

Luke 2:21-22
And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called JESUS, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb.  22 And when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished, they brought him to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord;

The Bible says his name is Jesus as determined by the angel of the Lord before he was conceived in the womb. Notice, in English, his name is Jesus. We speak English. There it is written in English. Jesus is his name. It’s not Yeshua. It’s not Yahweh. That’s a different language. It’s not anything else in English. It’s Jesus just as the Bible says.

Notice there that Jesus was taken to Jerusalem after the days of Mary’s purification were finished. Joseph and Mary followed the laws of God. Please hear this. We go all the way back to Leviticus.

Mary is Unclean and Goes Through Purification

Leviticus 12:1-2
And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,  2 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If a woman have conceived seed, and born a man child: then she shall be unclean seven days; according to the days of the separation for her infirmity shall she be unclean.

Leviticus 12:3-4
And in the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised.  4 And she shall then continue in the blood of her purifying three and thirty days; she shall touch no hallowed thing, nor come into the sanctuary, until the days of her purifying be fulfilled.

This is exactly what we see after the birth of Jesus Christ. Mary was unclean seven days. One the eighth day we see Jesus being circumcised. Then we see Mary being purified 33 days. When the days of her purification were complete, they took Jesus to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord.

7 days plus 33 days is 40 days. After 40 days, Jesus was taken to Jerusalem. We only see that in Luke.

So, again, Jesus is born in Bethlehem of Judaea. Taken to Jerusalem. Taken to Egypt. And then he comes to Nazareth in Galilee. And this is very important to know. Joseph, Mary, and Jesus settle in Nazareth. Jesus grows up there.

Matthew 2:23
And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene.

Jesus is Called a Nazarene

Now, I want to focus on Jesus being called a Nazarene. A Nazarene simply means that Jesus was known to be from the city of Nazareth. He wasn’t born there, but he grew up there and is called a Nazarene. It’s important to know Jesus was born in Bethlehem because that’s where the Scriptures say the Christ will be born. But Jesus was called a Nazarene.

In the Gospel of John, John Chapter 7, there was a division among the people in believing that Jesus was the Christ because they didn’t think he came from Bethlehem.

John 7:37-39
In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.  38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.  39 (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)

John 7:40-43
Many of the people therefore, when they heard this saying, said, Of a truth this is the Prophet.  41 Others said, This is the Christ. But some said, Shall Christ come out of Galilee?  42 Hath not the scripture said, That Christ cometh of the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem, where David was?  43 So there was a division among the people because of him.

A division was caused because they didn’t know Jesus came from the seed of David and was born in Bethlehem the city of David. They thought Jesus came out of Nazareth in Galilee. He was known as Jesus of Nazareth. He was called a Nazarene.

And just so you know, Nazareth wasn’t a place that the Jew respected at all. I want you to see this in John Chapter 7.

John 7:1
After these things Jesus walked in Galilee: for he would not walk in Jewry, because the Jews sought to kill him.

Just like at his birth, Joseph went into Galilee and not into Judaea because they wanted Jesus dead. Same thing here.

A Map Showing Galilee vs. Judaea

Judaea is there in the South. Galilee is there in the North. Jesus is born in Bethlehem but grows up in Nazareth.

There is Division Over Jesus of Nazareth

John 7:45-48
Then came the officers to the chief priests and Pharisees; and they said unto them, Why have ye not brought him?  46 The officers answered, Never man spake like this man.  47 Then answered them the Pharisees, Are ye also deceived?  48 Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed on him?

Again, there is a division among the people over Jesus of Nazareth. The leaders are saying that none of us have believed in Jesus.

John 7:49
But this people who knoweth not the law are cursed.

They thought they knew everything. They thought they knew the law. They thought following the law would save their souls. They thought they were good. Nicodemus, from John Chapter 3, speaks next.

John 7:50-52
Nicodemus saith unto them, (he that came to Jesus by night, being one of them,)  51 Doth our law judge any man, before it hear him, and know what he doeth?  52 They answered and said unto him, Art thou also of Galilee? Search, and look: for out of Galilee ariseth no prophet.

The rulers of the Jews tell the people that no prophet is coming from Galilee. Salvation is of the Jews. They didn’t know Joseph was from the line of the kings of Judah. They didn’t know Mary came from Nathan the son of Solomon the king of Israel. They didn’t know Joseph and Mary were of the tribe of Judah.

Jesus Was Born in Bethlehem But Grew Up In Nazareth

They didn’t know Jesus was born in Bethlehem. And they didn’t care to find out. Jesus was known as Jesus of Nazareth.

John 1:45-46
Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.  46 And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see.

Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Nazareth didn’t have a great reputation as you can see in the Scriptures. No one thought the Savior would be coming from Nazareth.

Matthew 2:23
And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene.

Now, I can’t find anywhere in the Old Testament Scriptures where the Christ will be called a Nazarene. I can’t find a direct quote. “That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene.”

Well, a Nazarene as you can see didn’t have a great reputation. “Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth?”

They weren’t expecting the Prophet, the Christ, to come from Nazareth. Today, the Jews are still looking for a Savior. But they missed him because He already came. They killed Jesus. He was born in Bethlehem. He is the lion from the tribe of Judah. He is the King of the Jews. But the physical Jews missed it all.

Matthew Says “Which Was Spoken of the Prophets” Plural

Matthew, right there in verse 23, doesn’t say spoken by the prophet. He says, “prophets.” So the prophets, the Scriptures, are saying that Jesus would come from somewhere that isn’t respected. And Nazareth fits that prophecy perfectly.

Psalm 22:6-8
But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people.  7 All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying,  8 He trusted on the LORD that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him.

The perfect Jesus Christ was hated by man. This speaks directly of Jesus. He is a reproach of men. He was despised of the people. “All they that see me laugh me to scorn. They shoot out the lip. They shake the head.”

For example, a woman out on Hale Ave a couple of weeks ago started laughing when I tried to preach Jesus Christ to her. She told me he isn’t real. She said there is no heaven. She said there is no hell. She started mocking Jesus Christ. The Bible tells us people hate Jesus. It’s common. Jesus is hated more than anyone that has ever existed.

And Jesus being from Nazareth is proof of that. Can anything good come out of Nazareth?

Isaiah 53:3
He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

Despised and rejected of men. We will not despise Jesus here. We will not reject Jesus here.

Isaiah 49:7
Thus saith the LORD, the Redeemer of Israel, and his Holy One, to him whom man despiseth, to him whom the nation abhorreth, to a servant of rulers, Kings shall see and arise, princes also shall worship, because of the LORD that is faithful, and the Holy One of Israel, and he shall choose thee.

Jesus Was Despised and Nazareth Was a Part of That

Man despised Jesus. His own nation of Judah abhorred him or greatly hated him. And they still do.

Isaiah 50:6
I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting.

They hit Jesus. They beat Jesus. They plucked the hair of his cheeks meaning Jesus had a beard. People say, “Why did you grow a beard?” Jesus had a beard, Aaron had a beard, David had a beard. David’s men had beards. Ezekiel and Ezra had beards. Many of the men in the Bible had beards.

But Jesus says right there in Isaiah Chapter 50, “I hid not my face from shame and spitting.” They spit on the Lord Jesus Christ the King of kings and the Lord of lords.

The phrase “Jesus of Nazareth” is in the New Testament in Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and Acts 17 different times. They thought Jesus was nothing because he was from Nazareth. Many people, in my life, thought I was nothing because I was from Kentucky. People think people from Kentucky are stupid.

People think that if you’re from West Louisville that you’re nothing. Well, God knows West Louisville. I know West Louisville. God knows Kentucky. I know Kentucky. And God loves us here.

God knows Jesus of Nazareth. When you hear Jesus of Nazareth, I want you to know that was a knock to the name of Jesus. They were trying to say he wasn’t anything special.

People Will Despise You and Hate You But Remember Jesus

People will say that about you. People will say that about us. Just know that Jesus was first. He took it all. We’ll take it all. We’ll be strong through Jesus Christ. Understand that you are something.

Revelation 1:5-6
And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,  6 And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

Jesus is King. And because of Jesus, he took us from nothing. Jesus took us from the dirt. And look closely there at verse 6. Jesus of Nazareth hath made us kings and priests unto God. We are kings and priests to God.

Revelation 5:10
And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.

So, when someone tells you that you’re nothing just remember that they said the same thing about Jesus of Nazareth. Hey, don’t let this world get you down. Jesus brought you up from death and hell and saved you forever. You are special to the Lord Jesus Christ. And because of Jesus, you will reign on the earth. “AND WE SHALL REIGN ON THE EARTH.”

Remember that it’s all because of Jesus of Nazareth.

Let’s pray.