SALVATION'S HOMETOWN

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child’s life are dead.”

So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee, and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets, that he would be called a Nazarene.

Matthew 2:19-23

When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth. And the child grew and became strong; He was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was on Him.

Luke 2:39-40

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

It didn’t take long for Jesus to be in danger.

You’ll recall that the Magi had visited Him, worshiping and lavishing Him with valuable gifts. This had followed a call from excited shepherds who came to Bethlehem to give honor to the special child the angels had proclaimed as they were tending their flocks by night.

But the pleasantries ended quickly as Herod, outwitted by the Magi who were warned in a dream not to return to him, took matters into his own hands and had all boys two years old or younger slaughtered in Bethlehem. He didn’t know exactly where Jesus was so if he killed all the young boys, he would rid himself of the One the Magi proclaimed as the King of the Jews.

There was only one problem with Herod’s plan.

Jesus was no longer in Bethlehem when the horrific, murderous onslaught occurred.

This is because an angel came to Joseph and Mary with a warning of the pending peril and instruction for an escape route to Egypt. Joseph and Mary took Jesus and fled as the angel commanded, remaining in Egypt until Herod died, an action that fulfilled God’s promise spoken through His prophet Hosea:

“Out of Egypt I called my son.” Hosea 11:1

We don’t know how old Jesus was…no reference. We can assume he was between one and two years of age when he was taken to Egypt given that Herod ordered all boys 2 and under to be slaughtered.

So Jesus spent a part of His childhood in Egypt. It’s something we often forget about, mostly because God had other plans as to where His Son’s hometown would be. Look at today’s scripture passages from the Gospels of Matthew and Luke:

After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child’s life are dead.”

So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee, and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets, that he would be called a Nazarene.  Matthew 2:19-23

When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth. And the child grew and became strong; He was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was on Him.  Luke 2:39-40

Once Herod died, the coast was somewhat clear for Joseph, Mary, and Jesus. We get the sense that they had fixations on heading to Judea but it was too risky as Herod’s son, Archelaus, was reigning there. A warning within a dream diverted the holy family north of Judea to Galilee and a town named Nazareth where Jesus would grow and become strong, filled with wisdom and the grace of God. It would become where Jesus Himself would identify as His hometown:

He went to Nazareth, where He had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day He went into the synagogue, as was His custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, He found the place where it is written:

“The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

Then He rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on Him. He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

“Truly I tell you,” he continued, “no prophet is accepted in his hometown.” Luke 4:16-21, 24

And so it was. Jesus, born in Bethlehem, would not grow up to be known as Jesus of Bethlehem but rather Jesus of Nazareth, a Galilean. The Savior of the world would hail from a small inconsequential town, one which would surprise at least one person later who would ask:

“Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” John 1:46

I believe anyone can answer that question today with a resounding “Yes!”

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark
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