The Life of Jesus in Harmony |
Index
Nazareth
- The little town of Nazareth was one of the loveliest spots in
Galilee. Situated on the southeast slope of a hollow pear shaped basin, which
descends gradually from the elevated plateau 1500 feet above sea level and opens out
through a steep winding way -the stem of the pear-into the plain of Esdraelon, a
thousand feet lower.
- On the hill five hundred feet above the town, a most wonderful panorama
opens to view of the beauties and historic scenes of the land.
- To the north one sees the plateaus of
Zebulun and Naphtali
- The mountains of Lebanon with snow-covered Hermon towering above them all
- To the west the coast of
Tyre and the blue waters of the
Mediterranean
- Mt. Carmel, historic scene of the struggle of Elijah with the prophets of
Baal
- To the south the plain of Esdraelon (scene of many of the most memorable
battles of
Israel), and the hills of Gilboa where Saul and Jonathan lost their lives
- Mt. Ebal and the land of Shechem in the background
- To the east, across the sea of Galilee and the
Jordan Valley, Gilead and Jaulan with Tabor.
- What thoughts
Jesus must have had sitting upon these hilltops
- At the foot of the hill passed the Roman road, "the Way of the Sea,"
connecting the ancient city of Damascus with the Mediterranean sea-ports.
- Southward ran a road to Egypt and
- A mile and a half away was the caravan route to
Jerusalem
- The town itself was built of the white limestone from the quarries of the
calcerous mountains which encircle the basin.
- Most of the houses were of one characteristic type even with the rich and
poor.
- A plentiful spring furnished the water supply for the whole population and
was a favorite place
- Nazareth did not have the best of reputations even in Galilee. Nathaniel of
Cana was but speaking a common opinion when he said: "Can anything good come out
of Nazareth?"
- Remember how violent they were when He preached there in the beginning of
His ministry?
- It was an evil reputation to be called a Nazarene (Matthew said this was in
accord with the prophecy of
Isaiah 53) and pictures the
Messiah as a "root springing up out of the dry ground."
- The best known of the names for the Messiah among the Jews was Tsamech or
Branch, based on Isaiah's prophecy (Isa 11:1). The word Netzer is the exact
equivalent. The title Nazarene not only stood for the reproach which Jesus bore, but
was a fulfillment of Messianic prophecy. He was a Branch (Netzer) sprung out
of David's roots.
- All Classes of people for Jesus to observe (home, weddings, funerals, the
carpenter shop,
synagogue,
- His childhood days brought innumerable illustrations for His later teachings
such as the
leaven hid in three measures of meal, women grinding at the mill, sowing and
reaping, the sparrow and the lily, the children in the market place playing at wedding
and funeral, etc.
- Educators say that the child learns more in the first three or four years
than in all the rest of life.
- Nazareth was secluded by its natural location but it was not cut off from
the outside world.
- Sepphoris, the capital of Herod Antipas and strongest military center in
Galilee, was only five miles to the northwest across the rolling hills.
-
Tiberias,
Capernaum,
Bethsaida and other towns were a few miles away on the margin of the Sea of Galilee;
and even Jerusalem itself was not a great distance from His Nazareth home.