12-1-19 Sermon Notes
“Overwhelming – The Nazarene” Matthew 2:22-23
Last week, we spent our time appreciating more fully Jesus being a suffering servant. This week, we zero on Jesus being from the town of Nazareth and what that means to us.
Introduction
In prophecy, God went to great lengths to foretell details about even the geography of the coming Messiah. He foretold He’d be delivered, called out of Egypt, and that he would be called a Nazarene. We do know a good deal about the journey they took to get to Nazareth. From Bethlehem, eventually fleeing to Egypt, then back to Israel, then eventually settling in Nazareth. Future disciples asked, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” Why?
In the first century, Nazareth was a small town about 55 miles north of Jerusalem, and it had a negative reputation among the Jews. Galilee was generally looked down upon by Judeans, and Nazareth of Galilee was especially despised (seeJohn 1:46). If this was Matthew’s emphasis, the prophecies Matthew had in mind could include these two passages concerning the Messiah:
“But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by everyone, despised by the people. All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads” (Psalm 22:6-7). It’s true that Nazarenes were “scorned by everyone,” and so one could see this messianic prophecy as an allusion to Jesus’ hometown of Nazareth.
“He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem” (Isaiah 53:3). Again, in Jesus’ day, Nazarenes were “despised and rejected,” and so Isaiah’s prophecy could be viewed as an indirect reference to Jesus’ background as the supposed son of a carpenter from Nazareth
Read Matthew 2:22-23 New International Version (NIV)
22 “But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee, 23 and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets, that he would be called a Nazarene.”
Message
Question: “Why is Jesus often referred to as Jesus of Nazareth?”
Answer: Jesus was referred to as “Jesus of Nazareth” for several reasons. For one thing, in Bible times people were often identified by their native area or place of residence. The man who carried Jesus’ cross when He was no longer able to, for example, was called Simon of Cyrene, noting his name and his place of residence (Luke 23:26. This distinguishes him from all other Simons and from all other residents of Cyrene who were not named Simon. Although Bethlehem was the place of Jesus’ birth, Nazareth was the place where Jesus had lived until He began His public ministry, and therefore He is said to be “of Nazareth.”
Matthew 2:23 tells us that Joseph settled his family in Nazareth—after returning from Egypt where he had fled to protect Jesus from Herod—in order to fulfill “what was said through the prophets: ‘He will be called a Nazarene.’” The words here are not found in any of the books of the Old Testament, and there has been many difficulties in ascertaining the meaning of this passage. Most commentators agree that the prophecies respecting the coming Messiah were that He was to be of humble origin and would be despised and rejected (Isaiah 53; Psalm 22) and that the phrase “he shall be called” means the same as “He shall be.” When Matthew says, therefore, that the prophecies were “fulfilled,” his meaning is that the predictions of the prophets that the Messiah would be of a low and despised condition and would be rejected, were fully accomplished in His being an inhabitant of Nazareth.
The phrase “Jesus of Nazareth” is first used in the Bible by Phillip who, after being called by Jesus to follow Him, told Nathanael, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph” (John 1:45). By calling Him Jesus of Nazareth, Phillip may also have been making a statement about the lowliness of His birth. The character of the people of Nazareth was such that they were despised and condemned. Nathanael’s response, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” (John 1:46) would seem to indicate such. To come from Nazareth, therefore, or to be a Nazarene, was the same as to be despised, or to be esteemed of low birth. The Messiah who would come to save His people would be “a root out of dry ground, having no form or comeliness” (Isaiah 53:2). He would be “despised and rejected of men” from whom men hid their faces and “esteemed him not” (Isaiah53:3).
Jesus of Nazareth was born and grew up in humble circumstances, but His impact on the world has been greater than anyone ever born before or since. He came to “save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21), a feat that could be accomplished by none other than God incarnate.
From Gotquestions.org
Concluding Remarks and Application
Jesus was identified in seventeen verses as Jesus of Nazareth in the New Testament. Angels referred to Him as Jesus of Nazareth (Mark 16:6), demons referred to Him as Jesus of Nazareth, and Pilate referred to Him as Jesus of Nazareth when he had a sign posted in Aramaic, Latin, and Greek on the top of the cross “JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS.” (See John 19:19) He also referred to Himself as Jesus of Nazareth after His resurrection when Paul met Him on the Road to Damascus. Acts 22:6-8
Think of what it might have been like for Mary and Joseph to return to their home town Nazareth after their time in Egypt. Being a small town, might there have been a lot of finger-pointing and tongue-wagging regarding the fact that Mary became pregnant before marrying Joseph? How do you think Jesus was treated during His growing up years in Nazareth? Most likely, He lived there for about 25 years (5 years in Bethlehem and Egypt) before beginning His ministry at age 30. The point is that if God had wanted Jesus to be known as a great leader, His parents then probably would have considered returning close to the religious center – Jerusalem.
We might think that Jesus was a ‘star’ in His hometown of Nazareth. But, that was not the case because when He returned to Nazareth, they tried to kill Him. Luke 4:14-30
Now, let’s stop for a moment and answer the following questions. If you were to design a business card, what would it look like? Would it identify you by your location? Would you be known as …………….from “No Where”?
So why did Jesus choose to be known as Jesus of ‘No Where?’
1. What is important to man is not important to God.
2. Jesus is not easily embarrassed.
3. God is in the business of bringing great things from unexpected places.
4. Jesus embraced His name.
5. Jesus is happy to be associated with the weak, despised, unimportant, and the obscure. “We are important to Him no matter our station in life.”