Nazareth, Where Jesus Grew Up

To grasp fully the life of Jesus, we must understand the setting in which He lived. 

by BILL PATTERSON

When Jesus was about 3, Mary and Joseph moved back from Egypt (see Matt. 2:13-15) to Nazareth (see Matt. 2:19-23) where Jesus lived for the next 27 years. Where was Nazareth, and what was it like growing up there?

A SMALL PLACE

Nazareth is located in the hill country of Galilee, 20 miles west of the Mediterranean and 15 miles southeast of the Sea of Galilee. Josephus, a first- century historian, cited 45 Galilean towns; but Josephus never mentioned Nazareth. Neither does the Old Testament or the Apocrypha. The Talmud (ancient commentary) referenced 63 sites in Galilee, but not Nazareth.

       When Philip told Nathanael he had found the Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth, Nathanael replied, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" (John 1:46). Apparently, Nathanael, like some people today, equated size with importance. Excavations of ancient Nazareth reveal a village covering only 60 acres that supported a population of about 500 people.

     Our Father chose Nazareth as the ideal place in which His Son would mature. God seems to delight in taking the small things, places, and people of this world and doing something spectacular through them.

A RELIGIOUS PLACE

Many of Nazareth's citizens observed Jewish practices. Nazareth held a synagogue where Jesus customarily worshiped. (See Luke 4:16.) In that synagogue and in His home, Jesus mastered the Jewish Scriptures. He learned so thoroughly that, at age 12, He amazed the teachers in the temple. (See Luke 2:47).

       Nazareth overlooks the Esdraelon Plain (Valley of Jezreel). On a clear day, people can see a panorama of 30 miles. The rabbis pointed out many places from the Old Testament. The incarnate Jesus could see Mount Gilboa and visualize Gideon defeating the Midianites there. (See Judg. 7-8). As jesus grew, He didn't just hear about Saul and his sons; He could see where they died in battle with the Philistines. (See 1 Sam. 31). He could view Mount Tabor where Barak and Deborah defeated the Canaanites. (See Judges 4). Jesus could see Shunem, where Elisha prayed for a boy's life to be restored. (See 2 Kings 4). Visual reminders of God's involvement in the lives of His people highlighted the reason Jesus came into the world.

A FAMILY PLACE
Jesus learned the value of family in Nazareth. Families conducted many of their daily activities together. With only one spring where people could obtain water, the town couldn't grow because the small amount of water would not support additional people. I wonder what Jesus and Mary talked about as they walked to and from the spring each day. Visitors to Nazareth can still drink from Mary's Well. 
       A Jewish proverb states, "He who does not teach his son a trade teaches him to steal. " Joseph taught Jesus how to work with stone and wood.
      Jesus had a sheltered life in Nazareth but not in cosmopolitan Sepphoris, only three miles away, where He and Joseph found plenty of work. 
      In the days of Jesus, Herod Antipas rebuilt the city and added a palace, a theater that seated 5,000 people, city walls, and a fortress. Picture teenage Jesus walking home with Joseph after a hard day's work. Soldiers and caravans of traders frequently traveled the ancient road, the Via Maris, near Sepphoris. Jesus heard not only Hebrew and Aramaic but also Greek. He spoke all three languages.
      Following Jesus' episode at the temple at age 12 (see Luke 2:41-52), Joseph is never again mentioned in Scripture. Scholars think he died before Jesus began His public ministry. Jesus, as the oldest child in the family, filled the fatherly role of providing for His mother, brothers, and sisters. (See Mark 6:3). I believe one reason Jesus waited until 30 to begin His ministry was that He first needed to provide for His earthly family.
      Last February I traveled to Nazareth and visited the grape press nearest the ancient village. Families would have shared this resource after their harvests. It consisted of a large boulder, hollowed on top about a foot deep with a drainage channel chiseled to enable the collection of grape juice 10 feet below. I pictured a smile on Jesus' face as He felt the grapes under His feet and began the Nazareth two- step. He must have laughed with the other children as He pressed out the sweet juice to provide for the people of Nazareth. Soon that boy would grow up. Jesus' own blood would be pressed out for our sins. He still provides.