Matthew
2:19-28
Joseph,
Mary And Jesus Return To
Nazareth
2:19
But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord
appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, and said,
20 "Get up, take the Child
and His mother, and go into the land of Israel; for
those who sought the Child's life are dead."
21 So Joseph got up, took
the Child and His mother, and came into 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. Then after
being warned by God in a dream, he left for the
regions of Galilee,
23 and came and lived in a
city called Nazareth This was to fulfill what was
spoken through the prophets: "He shall be called a
Nazarene."
-
This
is the Word of the Lord ... It is meant to
change the way that we think, and the way that
we live.
Commentary
by Bob Pardue
Mary, Joseph
And Baby Jesus Return To Nazareth
Nazareth was a small town
located in southern Galilee. It was along the trade
routes so they received all the world news, so to
speak.
The dark side is that the
people of Nazareth were very independent in nature
and the rest of the Jewish community were not too
fond of that attitude. If you read John 1:46 you'll
find the statement made by Nathanael saying;
"Nazareth! Can anything good come from
there?"
The Conflict Of --- "He
shall be called a Nazarene."
In modern times this
statement has come under attack, especially by
atheists and non Christians because these exact
words are not in the Old Testament. I don't worry
so much about the accuracy of a statement just as I
don't worry about the historical proof of Noah's
ark because Christianity is based on belief and a
faith in God, not world history. It's a way of
life.
However, some experts of the
Bible feel that Matthew is mentioning Scripture
from Isaiah 11:1. The word "branch" mentioned here
is similar to the word Nazarene or it could be that
he was referring to a prophecy not included in the
written Bible.
Either way, Matthew is
pointing out the humble beginnings of the Messiah,
as predicted in the Old Testament.
The Nation Of Israel
Divided
Herod, knowing the Roman
government would not give his sons complete control
after his death, divided the country into three
parts, one for each son to rule.
His son, Herod Antipas was
placed as ruler over Galilee where Joseph and his
family finally settled.
Why not Judea? This area
along with Samaria and Idumea was assigned to
Herod's son Archelaus who's first order of business
as ruler slaughtered 3,000 people who were
previously in power. He was such a violent person
that God did not want Joseph, Mary and Jesus living
in this region.
This is how Jesus became a
resident of Nazareth and would later become known
as "the man from Galilee".
The moral of this story is
that, no matter what the odds, God will prevail.
The battle between good and evil is already won!
Which side are you on?
Love in Christ
- Bob
If you have never made the
commitment to receive the love and life-changing
experience of Jesus Christ, please take a moment to
go
here and take the
first
steps to salvation.
Bob
Pardue is a member of
First
Baptist Church in
Lancaster, SC. He is ordained from Rich Hill
Baptist in Lancaster.
Want
to place this passage and commentary on your
website or e-zine for content?
This article about the visit
of Joseph and Mary's return to Nazareth with baby
Jesus in the Christmas story may be freely
reprinted or distributed in its entirety in any
e-zine, newsletter, blog, or website. The author's
name, bio, and website links must remain intact
and be included with every reproduction.
Bob
Verses are from New American Standard
Bible
Comments are welcome. Please email
me with any questions or comments you
may have.
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