When I was invited to speak at your summer series, I experienced a mixed reaction. On the one hand, I was pleased to learn that your theme is focused on Jesus. I have become convinced in my senior years that the one thing the church of Christ most needs is simply more of Jesus! You are wise to devote your summer series to Jesus!
However, when I was informed of my assigned topic, I immediately began to wonder what can I say about “Jesus the Nazarene”? Over the last few years I have taught much on the divinity of Jesus, but in over 50 years of ministry I had never preached on Him as the Nazarene. I suppose you could say that I have sung more about “Jesus the Nazarene” in the hymn “I Stand Amazed” than I have ever preached on the subject.
Of course, when we speak of Jesus the Nazarene, we are addressing the subject of His humanity as the Son of Man. As I prepared for my topic, I came to a much greater appreciation of Jesus the Nazarene and I hope I will say something that will encourage you to more fully appreciate this title of His manhood!
Let me first clarify that my assigned topic is not “Jesus the Nazarite”. We may tend to confuse Nazarite and Nazarene. A Nazarite was a Jew who made a promise to God involving special rules about eating and cutting the hair as stated in Moses’ Law. While Jesus was committed to serving His Father as an obedient Son, He was never committed to observing the rules of a Nazarite.
In contrast a Nazarene was simply someone from the city of Nazareth. Nazareth was an insignificant city that grew in biblical importance when the angel Gabriel was sent from heaven to Nazareth with the shocking announcement to the virgin Mary that she was going to give birth to her baby, Jesus (Lk. 1:26-28).
After Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem of Judea, Joseph’s family temporarily sojourned into Egypt to escape the wrath of King Herod. Later he and his family returned to Nazareth of Galilee, where Jesus was raised from childhood into manhood. Jesus spent the majority of His life in Nazareth to fulfill the prophecy that He would be called a Nazarene (Matt. 2:23). Later Jesus’ followers would be mockingly called “the sect of the Nazarenes” (Acts 24:5).
Please turn to Luke 2 as we focus on Jesus the Nazarene. Like me you may wish we had more insight into the early life of Jesus. However, God, in His wisdom, did not see fit for the gospel writers to include a lot of details about the first 30 years of His life. Instead they focused on the final 3 years of His earthly ministry.
Of Jesus’ growth from childhood to manhood Lk. 2:40 says: And the Child grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him. Verse 52 adds: “and Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men”. As a young Nazarene, Jesus matured in 4 vital areas of normal human development: mentally, physically, spiritually and socially. Apparently, God believes this is all we really need to know about Jesus’ childhood and early manhood.
Since Jesus’ earthly stepfather Joseph was a carpenter by trade, Jesus was trained to be a carpenter (Mark 6:3) so we might picture Him as a man with strong muscles and rough hands.
Before we leave the first 30 years of His life, let’s examine one more key passage from Luke 2. His family, as was their custom, had gone to Jerusalem for the annual Passover feast. Jesus was 12 years old at the time, and as His family began the journey back to Nazareth, He was overlooked as Joseph and Mary assumed He was with some of their many other traveling relatives. They journeyed an entire day before they missed Him. We can imagine their stress as they rushed back to Jerusalem to begin their desperate search for Him.
Three days later they found Him in the temple sitting among the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions. Luke 2:48 tells us: “So, when they (Joseph and Mary) saw Him they were amazed, and His mother said to Him, ‘Son why have You done this to us? Look Your father and I have sought You anxiously’. And He said to them, ‘Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?’ But they did not understand the statement which He spoke to them.” Luke adds in v. 51: Then He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was subject to them, but His mother kept all these things in her heart.
From this incident we learn that Jesus at the age of 12 impressed all of the Jewish teachers as they were astonished at His understanding and answers (Lk. 2:47). How rare for a 12 year old lad to be so acquainted with God’s Word! Of course, what they did not know at the time was that this Nazarene happened to be the living Word of God Himself in the robes of human flesh (Jn. 1:1).
Over a period of time, the term “Jesus of Nazareth” evolved into a term of disrespect as Nazareth possessed a bad reputation as a city. This is reflected in Nathanael’s question (who by the way was a Galilean himself!): Can anything good come out of Nazareth (Jn. 1:46)? The hymn, We Saw Thee Not mentions the cottage of Jesus as “that despised Nazareth”. The name “Jesus the Nazarene” may be one of the reasons the prophet predicted that Jesus would be despised by men (Isa. 53:3).
We jump ahead some 18 years to Jesus’ baptism and temptations recorded in Luke 4. In passing, let me say that it was not until Jesus was baptized by John in the Jordan that the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in the physical form of a dove. When God’s Word describes the Spirit of God descending, falling, coming upon someone, miraculous activity is associated with His descent. God’s Spirit descended upon many Old Testament Jewish leaders to miraculously empower them to do God’s will. Saul’s disobedience as the King of Israel robbed him of God’s Spirit and an evil spirit took the place of God’s Spirit to plague him.
Of course, there is a huge difference between the Holy Spirit falling upon someone as He fell upon the apostles on the day of Pentecost and the indwelling Spirit Who is promised as a gift to all who repent and are baptized for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38)! You may ask: “If the Holy Spirit no longer falls upon Christians to impart miraculous gifts, why are Christians given the Holy Spirit?” Romans 5:5 tells that God pours His love out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who is given to us. The love of God is so unique and powerful that it cannot be produced in human hearts without God’s help! God’s Spirit of love enters us to help us love God and others with His perfect, agape love. This is in contrast to the Spirit miraculously falling upon the apostles on Pentecost and on Christians who received the laying on of their hands. Christians have the gift of the indwelling Spirit to help us love as Jesus loved and apart from Him Jesus says we can do nothing (Jn. 15:5).
Jesus never performed a miracle until after His baptism when the Spirit descended upon Him. This assumption is confirmed as John says that Jesus’ 1st miracle was in Cana of Galilee where He turned water into wine (Jn. 2:11). Perhaps because Jesus never performed miracles in His early years His fleshly brothers did not believe in Him (Jn. 7:6). Following His miraculous resurrection, Acts 1:14 tells us that Jesus’ brothers were gathered for prayer with the apostles, the women and Mary the mother of Jesus. His brother James became an important church leader and the inspired author of the epistle that bears his name.
Since miracles are possible only if the Holy Spirit descends or falls upon someone, we can more fully understand the power of one of the devil’s temptations following Jesus’ baptism. Satan said: If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread (Lk. 4:3). The devil tempted Jesus to doubt He was truly the Son of God and suggested that Jesus prove He was really the Son of God by commanding the stone to become bread.
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Only the gospel of Luke tells of Jesus’ sermon in His hometown of Nazareth. By then news was out about the miracle worker from Nazareth; so, His family, friends, and neighbors were all anxious to see Him and to hear what He had to say.
On this particular Sabbath, Jesus stood up to read a passage from Isaiah that the rabbis were convinced was a Messianic prophecy. Jesus read: Lk. 4:18-20, The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, [which we have seen involved miraculous activity] Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the broken-hearted, [the healing miracles of Jesus were unlimited!] To proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; 19 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD. 20 Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him.
In the very synagogue in which He had been raised, Jesus applied a Messianic prophecy to Himself! Can you imagine the shock of His fellow Nazarenes when He added: Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing (Lk. 4:21)? The next verse tells us that at first the audience marveled at the gracious words which proceeded from His mouth. Mark 6:3 says they asked: Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And are not His sisters here with us?
We might think that Jesus’ hometown folk would have been very proud that such a wise man had been raised in their very own city! To the contrary, Jesus told His fellow Nazarenes: a prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in His own house (Mk. 6:4).
Lk. 4:28-30 tells us of the audience’s reaction: So, all those in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, and rose up and thrust Him out of the city; and they led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw Him down over the cliff. Then passing through the midst of them He went His way. So much for a warm homecoming for the Lad of promise who had been raised in their city of Nazareth! His fellow Nazarenes went from being amazed at His godly words of wisdom to a Satanic effort to murder Him on the spot! Only a miracle from His Father spared Jesus from a terrible death in His own home town after His one and only sermon in His hometown!
Let me close with one last reference to Jesus of Nazareth which is the most important of all. Jn. 19:17-22: And He (Jesus), bearing His cross, went out to a place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha, 18 where they crucified Him, and two others with Him, one on either side, and Jesus in the center. 19 Now Pilate wrote a title and put it on the cross. And the writing was: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS. 20 Then many of the Jews read this title, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. 21 Therefore the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews,’ but, “He said, I am the King of the Jews.” 22 Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”
The last thing the chief priests would ever want to be guilty of is the very thing they were doing: crucifying their promised Messiah! Jesus Himself prayed: Father forgive them, for they know not what they do (Lk. 23:34).
Mark’s gospel opens with: the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Paul summarizes the gospel as consisting of three vital historical facts: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried, and rose again the 3rd day according to the Scriptures (1 Cor. 15:3-4).
These 3 facts of Jesus the Nazarene are the most important facts in human history! Jesus was indeed the King of the Jews, the promised Messiah and the Son of God and those who fail to recognize this truth seal their eternal fate of unbelief! Jesus clearly stated: that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him (Jn. 5:23).
We honor Jesus’ Death, Burial. and Resurrection by obeying this gospel truth. Jesus said: and you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free (Jn. 8:32). Jesus’ disciples learned much truth, but did not yet know the truth of His gospel which is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes (Rom. 1:16).
In Rom. 6:17-18 Paul wrote: But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.
We obey the gospel when we decide to die to a life of living in sin. Just as Jesus the Nazerene died on His cross, we also repent (or die to the practice of sin in our daily lives). Just as Jesus was buried into His tomb we are buried with Him into His death as the old man of sin is buried into its watery grave. At that point we trust nothing but the blood of Jesus to wash our sins away. Finally, just as Jesus was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, the gift of His Holy Spirit raises us to walk in newness of His eternal life (Rom. 6:3-4).
From that moment on the Christian is to reckon (or count) himself dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord (Rom. 6:11). Our attitude of faith is reflected in Paul’s words: I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Gal. 2:20).
On Judgement Day the Lord Jesus will come in flaming fire taking vengeance on those…who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Thess. 1:8). Those who are not yet Christians must obey the gospel by repenting and being baptized into Christ Jesus. Those who are already Christians must continue to obey the gospel by counting themselves crucified with Christ—dead to sin and self that Jesus might live His life of love in us and through us to the glory of our Father!
The only question that will matter on Judgment Day is: “Have I in the past obeyed the gospel? And did I continue to obey the gospel as I denied myself daily and took up my cross to follow Jesus as Lord of my life?” (Lk. 9:23) Jesus the Nazarene died and was raised from the dead to give birth to the gospel. You and I must obey the gospel to experience the new birth of water and the Spirit!
Ralph Weinhold
