God kept baby Jesus safe by keeping Him in hiding in Egypt. When Herod had died God sent word to the family that all was safe. They were allowed to return to their homeland. But as they came to the land of Israel ungodly Archelaus, son of Herod the Great, was ruling. He was a viciously cruel man who killed up to 3,000 Pharisees that resisted him. He deposed three High Priests for monetary gain and is known for his incest and licentiousness. So God, in His providence warned Joseph , again in a dream, to live in the region of Galilee - one of the cities of which was Nazareth. The whole region to the west of the Jordan river was divided into 3 portions - Galilee in the North, Judea in the South and Samaria in the centre. As such, the child king could be legitimately called a Nazarene in fulfilment of prophecy.
It’s difficult to work out where the prophecy came from. No single text matches it well. If however, we trace the Hebrew root word we come to Isaiah 11:1 -
- A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.
A netzer is a small twig or sprout, a shoot, that comes up from the stump of a tree. This Nazarene came up from the stump of Jesse - King David’s father. The Netzer would grow and bear fruit and thrive in the presence of the Lord. Even more amazingly, Galilee was inhabited by many Gentiles (non Jews) and was deprecated in the eyes of the Jews and in particular, the leaders. They literally believed that nothing good could come out of Galilee/Nazareth (Jn 1:46, Jn 7:52) because it had been spoiled and defiled by foreign blood. From humble beginnings would come a tree so grand, so immense that it will rule over the entire world. Everything about the origins of the King of Kings was humble. Yet He rose, through suffering and death, to sit at the right hand of God Almighty. Through His humility and obedience to God the Father, He was given the name above all names, King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
There’s a lesson there for you and I. Jesus spells it our for us in Matthew 23:-
- For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
Don’t spend your life seeking your will and enforcing your will upon others. Be humble and seek God’s will. Seek out His plan for your life. Seek to find His purpose for your days and live for Him. Take yourself off the throne and allow God to sit upon the throne in your heart.
Prayer:-
- Pray for the Student Life teams on mission. Pray that God would open up doors for gospel sharing in Byron Bay among schoolies week. Pray that many would come to Christ for salvation and be linked to churches in their own local areas. Pray that God would bring many muslim people to faith through the Turkey Mission as well. Pray for protection for the team and for open doors to speak of the love of Christ as they work in a foreign culture.
- Pray that God would use the students in student life that are graduating to start workplace “Jesus” movements in their respective fields of employment. Pray that we’d see Christianity take hold in many workplaces and bring great glory to our God.
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