Why Nazareth?

“And he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets: ‘He will be called a Nazarene.’” Matthew 2:23 (NIV)

When Philip met Jesus he went to his friend, Nathaniel and told him that he had found the Messiah and He was the son of Joseph of Nazareth. Nathaniel’s response was one of disgust; “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” he asked. Philip’s only response was the invitation to come and see for himself.

Nazareth was considered a very lowly town. Someone said that if the earth was the footstool of God then Nazareth was the heel. No one had a high opinion of Nazareth and of course that meant that if you were from there then you were of no value.

However, all that changed. Nazareth today is regarded with reverence. It has been raised in status because it was the home of our Lord. No one ever expected that a carpenter’s son from Nazareth would be the Messiah. No one of any stature had ever come from Nazareth.

Why did God choose to have His Son raised in such an obscure and insignificant town? Why Nazareth?

Jesus came as a common man and as a common man he lived in a common town. There was no one who could say that He was superior because He had been born in Jerusalem or raised in a fine home. Jesus was like all the other common people. His family was poor. He lived in an insignificant village. He did ordinary work. He learned the Scriptures in the synagogue. He was a poor village boy. But all that changed when He revealed Himself and began His public ministry.

There are two reasons why He grew up in Nazareth. First, He identified with the common man, suffering the same hardships as anyone else. He came to save the lost and He came and dwelt among the lost.

Second, He shows that the ordinary is no longer ordinary when He is there. Nazareth would have been lost in antiquity except that it was the home of our Saviour. Today people all over the world know about Nazareth. God changes the ordinary into the special.

And He does that with mankind as well. He does not require that we are special. All He requires is that we come to Him. He can take the ordinary jars of clay that we are and make them something special because He dwells in those jars. We are special because we are Christ’s home.