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. The anxious care of Joseph for the safety of the child and its mother may be regarded as a proof that Divine Providence always raises up faithful servants to protect and to promote His own kingdom, and with it the spiritual welfare of mankind. But in this instance the salvation of the world was connected with the safety of a babe, threatened by the craft of a despot, whose dagger had on no other occasion missed its mark. Hence the care of Providence for the safety of this child was unremitting; Joseph’s vigilance did not cease even in his sleep, while the mother’s solicitude was undoubtedly still more eager. Every other consideration seems secondary to that of the safety of the child. Thus has the Lord ever prepared instruments for His work. By God’s grace, devoted and faithful servants have never been wanting in the world, and the King Eternal has always had His faithful ones.¹

7. Nazareth is the perpetual symbol of the outward lowliness and humble condition of Christ and of Christianity in the world. It is the emblem of that poverty which apparently so ill accords with the exalted nature of, and the depth of spiritual life brought to light by, the Gospel. But what to the world seems unfitting, is in reality, and in the sight of God, most fitting; for Christianity is based and reared on deepest humility. Hence the path by which God leads His elect is first downward, and then upward; both the descent and the ascent increasing as they proceed, as we see in the history of Jacob, of Joseph, of Moses, of David, and of others. The prophets were fully and experimentally acquainted with this fundamental principle of the Divine government. Hence they prophesied of the lowliness of the Messiah during the earlier period of His life, of His subsequent humiliation, and of His death at the conclusion of His earthly career.²

Nazareth is not to be thought of as a backwoods community, but was on the trade routes of the world. Located in the north of Israel, it was a town which lay in the hills of the southern part of Galilee, on the major trade routes which carried the news of the world. All one needed to do was to climb the hills of Nazareth to have a view of the world. Off to the west one could view Mt. Carmel and beyond the blue waters of the Mediterranean Sea. Here ships came and went from Rome, and from Rome to the ends of the earth. One could look to the foot of the hills and see one of the greatest roads in that part of the Roman world, leading from Damascus to Egypt and on into Africa. This was one of the great caravan routes, one which Abraham probably used in his business of operating a caravansary. It had been followed three centuries earlier by Alexander the Great and his legions. On this road, called “the way of the south,” Jesus, as a boy, could have observed and met travelers of many nations. The second road came through this community from Telmius on the sea to the west, traveling on to Tiberias and the eastern frontiers of the Roman Empire. On this road the caravans from the east moved to the coast on the west, while the Roman legions moved from the coast into the eastern frontiers. Thus Jesus was brought up in a town where the traffic from the ends of the earth moved through His sphere of life.

Jesus’ boyhood days exposed him to the cultures and philosophies of people of all nations. This must have enhanced his conviction that the kingdom of God was for people of all nations. It is probably true as well that Galilee was the one place in Palestine where a new teacher could readily be heard. This setting helped focus Jesus’ message, not on a revival of Judaistic religion as it was known in Jerusalem, but on God’s grace for all people, from a base in Capernaum where the gospel could be heard by the peoples of all lands. Matthew quotes the striking prophetic statement, “The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned” (4:16). Here is the good news of God’s grace, the gospel for the world. ³

In this is said to be fulfilled what was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene. Which may be looked upon, (1.) As a man of honour and dignity, though primarily it signifies no more than a man of Nazareth; there is an allusion or mystery in speaking it, speaking Christ to be, [1.] The Man, the Branch, spoken of, Isa. 11:1. The word there is Netzar, which signifies either a branch, or the city of Nazareth; in being denominated from that city, he is declared to be that Branch. [2.] It speaks him to be the great Nazarite; of whom the legal Nazarites were a type and figure (especially Samson, Jdg. 13:5), and Joseph, who is called a Nazarite among his brethren (Gen. 49:26), and to whom that which was prescribed concerning the Nazarites, has reference, Num. 6:2, etc. Not that Christ was, strictly, a Nazarite, for he drank wine, and touched dead bodies; but he was eminently so, both as he was singularly holy, and as he was by a solemn designation and dedication set apart to the honour of God in the work of our redemption, as Samson was to save Israel. And it is a name we have all reason to rejoice in, and to know him by. Or, (2.) As a name of reproach and contempt. To be called a Nazarene, was to be called a despicable man, a man from whom no good was to be expected, and to whom no respect was to be paid. The devil first fastened this name upon Christ, to render him mean, and prejudice people against him, and it stuck as a nickname to him and his followers. Now this was not particularly foretold by any one prophet, but, in general, it was spoken by the prophets, that he should be despised and rejected of men (Isa. 53:2, 3), a Worm, and no man (Ps. 22:6, 7), that he should be an Alien to his brethren Ps. 69:7, 8. Let no name of reproach for religion’s sake seem hard to us, when our Master was himself called a Nazarene.⁴

1 Lange, J. P., & Schaff, P. (2008). A commentary on the Holy Scriptures: Matthew (p. 65). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.

2 Lange, J. P., & Schaff, P. (2008). A commentary on the Holy Scriptures: Matthew (pp. 65–66). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.

3 Augsburger, M. S., & Ogilvie, L. J. (1982). Matthew (Vol. 24, p. 18). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.

4 Henry, M. (1994). Matthew Henry’s commentary on the whole Bible: complete and unabridged in one volume (pp. 1617–1618). Peabody: Hendrickson.