Tuesday, March 7, 2023

Getting to Know Jesus by Name #66: The Nazarene


Matthew 2:21 And he rose and took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there, and being warned in a dream he withdrew to the district of Galilee. 23 And he went and lived in a city called Nazareth, so that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled, that he would be called a Nazarene
Over the last several days we have considered some of the loftiest and most impressive names of Jesus. Today we go to the opposite spectrum and a name that was meant to be an insult to belittle Him. Here, and in a few other places, Jesus was called the Nazarene, a place looked down upon as small, insignificant, and even dirty.  The name overemphasizes the humanity of Jesus and the poor, humble origins of His earthly heritage. Together with the names we have recently discussed it reminds us that Jesus Christ was the God-Man, which made Him not only qualified to be our substitute, but also the perfect demonstration of character for the child of God and the only one ever to be in the position to be our understanding advocate.  His humble beginnings give us hope that we too can and will someday be with God in heaven.

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