"JESUS THE NAZARENE" (Mt 2:1-23)

Dec 29th, 2002

Int. Nazareth was unknown and unmentioned in the O. T. history. This is the first mention of this little town where our Lord grew up.

1. McClintock & Strong says: "As his forerunner, John the Baptist, "was in the desert," unnoticed and unknown, "till the day of his showing unto Israel," so the great Messiah himself, till his public ministry began, was hidden from the world among the Galilaean hills."

2. Nazareth was the home of Joseph and Mary (Luke 2:39)

a. (Luke 2:39) "And when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own city Nazareth." (Just a village at the time)

b. Pulpit Commentary says that at the turn the last century, it was about 5000 people.

c. Nazareth was sometimes called "branch" (Isa 11:1) because trees flourished there, and not much else;

3. Nazareth was about a three days journey from Jerusalem through Samaria or around it by foot.

4. Pulpit C. says: "Jesus spent 90 % of His life in Nazareth."

5. Nazareth was looked upon as a despicable place.

a. Nathanael asked: (Jn 1:46) "Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?"

b. (Acts 24:5) "For we have found this man a pestilent fellow, and a mover of sedition among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes:"

c. Spurgeon said: "Thus it appears that our Lord and Master is called a Nazarene, and his disciples are styled "the sect of the Nazarenes," while Christian doctrine was called by the Jews the heresy of the Nazarenes."

6. Spurgeon said: "Nazarene is not at all the same word as Nazarite. It is a different word in the Hebrew, and you must not confound the two. Never suppose that when You say, "He shall be called a Nazarene," that it signifies that he was called a Nazarite. Nazarite among the Jews would have been a title of honor, but Nazarene is simply a name of contempt."

7. The Blind man knew who He was from Nazareth.

a. (Mark 10:47) "And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me."

1. Gill remarks: " He did not call him Jesus of Nazareth, as the common people did, but Jesus, the son of David, a title of the Messiah; nor did he ask for money, but for mercy;"

b. (Luke 18:37) "And they told him(the blind man), that Jesus of Nazareth passeth by."

 

8. The apostate emperor Julian was wont always to call our Lord the Galilean; and when he died, in his agony of death, he cried, "O Galilean, thou hast vanquished me." (Nazareth was of Galilee)

I. NAZARETH IS WHERE OUR LORD GREW UP.

A. THIS IS A WONDER OF WONDERS WITHIN ITSELF.

1. Of all places in the universe for our Lord to make His appearance. This earth----A ball of dust...Why not Jerusalem? Why not Rome or someother great city? No, He would be raised up in the meanest, most despicable place on earth---Nazareth.

2. A. W. P. says: "Nazareth was the most despised place in that despised province of Galilee, and thus we see how early the Messiah took the place of the despised One, again foreshadowing His rejection by the Jews—but mention of "Nazareth" follows, be it observed, mention of "the land of Israel."

B. LITTLE OR NOTHING IS KNOWN ABOUT HIS EARLY YEARS.

1. Pulpit C. says: "Ancient biographies take no account whatever of child-life. We sometimes wonder that no records remain of the Child-life of Jesus, hut it is to be remembered that no records of the child-life of any ancient hero have been preserved."

II. NAZARETH WAS CHOSEN BY SIMON PETER TO INTRODUCE CHRIST AT PENTECOST.

A. HE REFERS TO OUR LORD AS "JESUS OF NAZARETH."

1. (Acts 2:22) "Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know:"

B. PETER REFERRED TO HIM AS JESUS OF NAZARETH WHEN HE HEALED THE CRIPPLE AT THE GATE.

1. (Acts 3:6) "Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk."

C. JESUS INTRODUCED HIMSELF TO SAUL OF TARSUS AS JESUS OF NAZARETH.

1. (Acts 22:8) "And I answered, Who art thou, Lord? And he said unto me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest."

a. It is strange that Paul’s first account leaves this reference out.

D. THE TWO MEN ON THE ROAD TO EMMAUS REMEMBER WHERE HE GREW UP.

1. (Luke 24:18-19) "And the one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answering said unto him, Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem, and hast not known the things which are come to pass there in these days? {19} And he said unto them, What things? And they said unto him, Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people:"

a. The phrase "Jesus of Nazareth" is found 17 times in the N. T.

b. The phrase "Jesus Christ of Nazareth" is found twice. (Acts 3:6; 4:10).

E. THE SOLDIERS WERE SEEKING JESUS OF NAZARETH.

1. (John 18:5-6) "They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus saith unto them, I am he. And Judas also, which betrayed him, stood with them. {6} As soon then as he had said unto them, I am he, they went backward, and fell to the ground."

F. IT WAS AT NAZARETH THAT JESUS QUOTED FROM ISAIAH CONCERNING THE MINISTRY OF THE MESSIAH.

1. (Lk 4:16-20) "And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read. And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. And he closed the book,------------------------."

a. (Isa 61:2) concludes: "and the day of vengeance of our God;"

D. THE INSCRIPTION AT THE CROSS REMINDED THE JEWS OF WHO JESUS WAS.

1. (Jn 19:19) "And Pilate wrote a title, and put it on the cross. And the writing was, JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS.

III. THIS JESUS OF NAZARETH IS THE ONLY WAY TO HEAVEN.

A. THAT TERM OF REPROACH ATTACHED TO HIS NAME IS THE ONLY NAME UNDER HEAVEN WHEREBY MEN MUST BE SAVED.

1. (Acts 4:10-12) " "Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved."

2. We read of "Simon the Leper", "Matthew the tax Collector", etc.

a. So we read of "Jesus of Nazareth."

B. THIS JESUS OF NAZARETH THAT HORRIBLE PLACE, WENT ABOUT DOING GOOD.

1. (Acts 10:38) "How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him."

2. Nathanael asked: (Jn 1:46) "Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?"

a. Yes Nathanael, it can and has, even "Jesus of Nazareth."

C. SAUL, AFTER HIS CONVERSION, CONFESSED.

1. (Acts 26:9) "I verily thought with myself, that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth."

2. Pilate on the day of the Cross, confessed: ""I find no fault in him; he is guilty of no crime."

IV. THIS NAME ‘JESUS OF NAZARETH’ HAS LIFE GIVING POWER IN IT.

A. IT IS THE NAME TO WHICH MEN MUST BOW.

1. (Phil 2:9-11) "Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth, And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

2. B. H. Carroll said: "No man could prove an accusation against him. The Devil himself found nothing in him; All the enemies of the great doctrines of the New Testament admitted the spotless character of Jesus of Nazareth.

3. Mr. Greenleaf, who is the author of The Law of Evidence, a law book which passes current in all the law books on this continent and in Europe, in mentioning the trial of Jesus Christ, says, No lawyer of any reputation, with the facts set forth in the Gospels, would have attempted to defend Jesus Christ, except on the assumption that he was the Messiah and divine, because all through the Book that is his claim. If he was not divine, he did blaspheme. Therefore when he took that oath, that court should have investigated the character of his claim as the Messiah, but instead of that they assumed the thing that they should have investigated and called it blasphemy."

4. B. H. Carroll says: Another great violation of the law takes place: "What further need of witnesses have we? We have heard the blasphemy; what think ye?" And now they vote that he is worthy of death; they condemned him to be worthy of death. Their law declared that a vote of condemnation should never be taken the day of the trial. There had to be at least three intervening days, and here at night they pass sentence on no evidence but the oath of Jesus Christ, and that without investigating the matter involved.

Conclusion:

JESUS OF NAZARETH

Jesus of Naz'reth! name that sweetly sounds

To charm our ears as grace free grace abounds;

Can any good thing out of Nazareth come?

There has Messiah made His humble home.

‘Jesus of Nazareth! He Who passes by

Will not disdain to heed a beggars cry;

Largely He gives moved by the piteous pleas,

Sight for the sightless, mercy rich and free!

Jesus of Nazareth! can He be the King,

To Whom the multitudes hosannas sing:

In majesty He rides but 'tis to weep

O'er Salem for the sorrows she shall reap!

" Jesus of Nazareth! "-Hebrew, Latin, Greek!

Let now His Cross to all the nations speak;

It is the Son of God we see impaled,

Well might the earth in darkness deep be veiled I

Jesus of Nazareth! 'Tis of Him they talk,

As all disconsolate they homeward walk;

He Who at eventide would be their Guest,

Their Host becomes, Christ risen ever blest!

Jesus of Nazareth! from the realms of light

Speaks He the efftilgcnce of God's glory bright!

Paul sees and hears and now has but one aim:

To bear before all men " none other Name"!

---A. H. Storrie