Joseph, a home builder
And he (Joseph) came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, “He (Jesus) shall be called a Nazarene” (Matthew 2:23).
After the wise men returned home, Joseph was warned in a second dream to take his family to Egypt (Matthew 2:13-15). Joseph was a remarkable man of faith. He quietly obeys God and protects his family. Joseph had witnessed the incredible story of Christ’s entrance into the world. God acted in love and grace. It was while this love and grace were dawning on this world, evil became evident. King Herod, in utter wickedness, slaughtered infants in and around Bethlehem. Joseph fled with Mary and Jesus into Egypt. He stayed there until God told him, in a third dream, that it was safe to return to Israel. Again Joseph immediately responds to God’s word and returns to his homeland with Mary and the young Child.
Joseph was always alert to his surroundings and protective of his family. Spiritual alertness is vital in a world where spiritual, psychological, and physical dangers abound. The Lord Jesus instructs us to watch and pray. This instruction means to be alert to dangers and to take action to avoid them for the well-being of ourselves and those we care about. When Joseph learned Herod’s son was reigning over his father’s territory, he didn’t go to Bethlehem. Once more, God responds to Joseph’s faith, in a fourth dream, to direct him to Galilee and to the town of Nazareth. Matthew refers to a prophecy saying Jesus would be called a Nazarene (Matthew 2:23).
This prophecy may be a reference to Isaiah 11:1-2:
There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse,
And a Branch shall grow out of his roots.
The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him,
The Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
The Spirit of counsel and might,
The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.
These verses refer to the Messiah. The Branch in verse 1 is the Hebrew word netzer. Commentators think “netzer” and “Nazarene” are connected. Isaiah also writes of the Saviour:
He grew up before him like a tender shoot,
And like a root out of dry ground (Isaiah 53:2).
Nazareth became the home of Jesus Christ. When the Lord Jesus emerges out of the obscurity of this town to fulfil His powerful public ministry, Nathaniel said, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” (John 1:46). The place was not held in high regard. But it was the place where the Eternal Son of God, who occupied the centre of heaven, grew up: the home of Joseph, the carpenter.
Luke tells us that Jesus went to Nazareth “…where He had been brought up” (Luke 4:16). The title above the head of Jesus at Calvary was, “This is Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” Peter healed the lame man in Jerusalem with the words, “In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk” (Acts 3:6). Recalling his conversion on the road to Damascus in Acts 22, Paul remembers the words spoken to him from heaven by the resurrected and ascended Christ: “I am Jesus of Nazareth whom you are persecuting.”
Jesus was not ashamed of Nazareth and the home of Joseph. It is a constant reminder of the love that brought Him from all the glory of heaven to where we were.
