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."
Two cities are especially important to the baby Jesus. He was born in Bethlehem, as predicted in Micah 5:2. But God led Mary and Joseph to return to their hometown of Nazareth so that Jesus could be called a Nazarene. There is no written record of any prophets who wrote that Jesus would come from Nazareth. Rather, look carefully at the text; it says “prophets,” meaning more than one. Also, this prophecy was spoken; it was not written. This means that several prophets had predicted that Jesus would be a Nazarene. Since everyone had to come from someplace, Jesus didn’t just appear as an angel, nor did He invade the earth as a grown man. Jesus was born in Bethlehem and grew up in Nazareth. Jesus was a Nazarene.
Lord Jesus, thank You for coming to the earth and choosing one specific spot to be born and to grow up.
The word “Nazareth” comes from the root nazar, meaning “to separate,” as in the Nazarite vow. The people of Nazareth were more conservative than those of most Jewish towns. They separated themselves from other people and from sin. In social, religious and moral customs, they were extremely separated to God. Jesus was as separated as the people of Nazareth because He was God. Jesus was separate from worldly and secular trends because He was raised in a town called Separated Ones. Jesus was a Nazarene.
Lord Jesus, Your hometown must have been special for God to choose it for Your boyhood. Thank You for becoming flesh for me. Amen.
Go Deeper: Matthew 2:19-23
God had a special hometown for Jesus.
