Advent: 7 Days to Go

In this installment of our Christmas adventure, Mary and Joseph return to Judea and Nazareth...

19 But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeareth in a dream to Joseph in Egypt,

20 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.

21 And he arose, and took the young child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel.

22 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:

23 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 KJV Bible


39 And when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own city Nazareth.

40 And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him.
--Luke 2:39-40 KJV Bible

In his gospel, Luke omits the stirring events that took place between the visit of the shepherds and the family’s return to Nazareth. He may have done this because Matthew gave such a full account.

On the death of Herod the Great, the Romans divided his kingdom among his three sons. Archelaus was given Judah and Samaria, Antipas was given Galilee and Perea, and Philip was giving Northeast Palestine. Archelaus was a bloody king and ineffective in the eyes of Rome. Caesar Augustus removed and banished Archelaus to Gaul in AD 6, and Judea was brought under direct Roman rule.

Jesus' parables and preaching often made use of events that were familiar to the people in order to bring His lessons to life. For this reason, some suggest that the brutal Archelaus was thinly disguised as the nobleman in Jesus' parable of the ten minas (Luke 19:11-26).

Being called a “Nazaren” was probably a synonym for “contemptible” or “despised” since Nazareth was a most unlikely place for the residence of the Messiah. This attitude can be seen in Isaiah 53:3 and Psalm 22:6.

Next time, Joseph, Mary and Jesus again visit the temple...

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