He shall be called a Nazarene

(Matthew 2:19-23) But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeareth in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, Saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel: for they are dead which sought the young child's life. And he arose, and took the young child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus did reign in Judaea in the room of his father Herod, he was afraid to go thither: notwithstanding, being warned of God in a dream, he turned aside into the parts of Galilee: And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene. (Matthew 2:19-23) Herod the Great realizes that he has been deceived by the Magi, and is terrifying to kill children near Bethlehem to get rid of the baby Jesus. However, when Jesus fled to Egypt and Herod died, he returned to the land of Israel under the guidance of an angel and spent his childhood in a town called Nazareth. 『It might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene』 『He shall be called a Nazarene』. The name Nazareth (Hebrew Natsuri, Greek Nazoraios) is mentioned 31 times in the New Testament, but never appears in the Old Testament. However, there is a gap of about 400 years between the Old Testament and the New Testament, which is likely to change the town name. In Isaiah 11:1, "And there shall come forth a rod(Nasir) out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch(Netzer) shall grow out of his roots" It can be assumed that Nazareth's Old Testament name was Netzer. In the typical Messiah verse, Isaiah 53:1-3『who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed? For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 』 The expression Nazareth means that Jesus is not a person of interest. Jesus is said to be called a Nazarene, a town that has never been noticed by the Old Testament, far from Bethlehem pointed to by the Old Testament (Micah 5:2). Regarding why Jesus was called Nazarene despite being born in Bethlehem, it is recorded in Matthew's Gospel as if Jesus accidentally arrived in the town of Nazareth through the guidance of an angel in the process of avoiding various adversities and dangers. However, the Gospel of Luke is written quite differently. In Luke 2:2-5『 (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judæa, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. 』 The Gospel of Luke records that Joseph's "Jesus' Father" was the home of Bethlehem, and that the place of life at that time was Nazareth. Joseph was ordered to clear the family register, so he went to Bethlehem, where he had been, with his fiancé, Mary. It is quite natural to return to Nazareth, a town where he lived after work there. However, the Gospel of Matthew says that Jesus happened to live in a strange neighborhood called Nazareth. The reason is Jesus' parents, Joseph. When Jesus fled to Egypt and Herod the Great died, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph and told him to go to the land of Israel. Following this, Joseph returned to the land of Israel, but when he heard that Akelao succeeded his father Herod as king of Judea and was afraid to go there, he was guided by his dream and went to the region of Galilee. So Joseph and Mary happened to go to Nazareth. Probably, Joseph and Mary tried to start a new life in their hometown Bethlehem, but we can assume that Archeleo brought them back to Nazareth where they lived. Here, "Nazareth," the home of the old man, and "Bethlehem," the new family register, are contrasted. Nazareth is not where Jesus was born, but where Joseph lived. It is said that it is the base of life that originated from the flesh. However, Bethlehem is the place where Jesus was born and the family register was registered. Jesus of Nazareth was Jesus who had to die for the ransom on the cross. In John 1:45-46『 Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see. 』 Bethlehem was the home of the priests of the house of Micah during the period of the judges, and was also the home of the concubine of a Levite in the Ephraim region. It is also the hometown of Naomi and Boaz of Ruth, and of King David, descendant of Boaz and the second king of Israel. In 2nd Chronicles, it was also the place where Solomon's son Rehoboam built a strong city. Bethlehem means “bread house” by combining “Betto” meaning house and “Lehem” meaning bread. Spiritual Bethlehem does not mean any place, it means the true shepherd (Jesus) who has been born again to the life of God, and Jesus said that he was Bethlehem, that is, the living bread that came down from heaven (the word of life). Since the words that come out of Jesus' mouth are living, living bread, that is, spirit and life, when a person eats this bread (word), he will be born again into eternal life. Therefore, Jesus said, ``But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. 』. Through the old covenant, God became a husband to the Israelites and held hands and led them. Nevertheless, the Israelites did obscene acts of shaking their hands and worshiping idols. So the marriage relationship between God and Israel was broken, and Israel could no longer live in the promised land of Canaan. However, there will be a day when everything will recover without being over. At that time, God will establish a new covenant. Although God was the husband of Israel in the old covenant and took responsibility for their lives, Israel broke the marriage. But God is going to engrave God's law in his heart with a new covenant. It is said that it is Jesus Christ who will accomplish this. Those who are in Christ through Jesus Christ are reborn as spirit bodies. The person who signed the new covenant becomes two bodies. One is the body of fresh from the parents, and the other is the body of the spirit from God. The Bible says that the body of the Spirit is on the right hand of God in Christ. The flesh body received from the parents was buried on the cross with Jesus. However, the physical body that exists in reality becomes a sacrifice to God. It is a body that exists for evangelism. That is why we should not follow the flesh passions before the Word of God.

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