Jesus of Nazareth

December 20

(Luke 2:39 NIV) “When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth.”

(Matthew 2:13-15 NIV) ““When they (Magi) had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. "Get up," he said, "take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him." {14} So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, {15} where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: "Out of Egypt I called my son.””

(Matthew 2:19-23 NIV) ““After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt {20} 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." {21} So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. {22} 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, {23} and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets: "He will be called a Nazarene.””

We learn two important things from this one verse in Luke. First, Joseph and Mary did everything required by the Law of Moses in regard to Mary’s purification, as well as Christ’s circumcision and dedication. Second, we learn that Jesus eventually ended up in Nazareth. Luke omits the Magi’s visit and the flight to Egypt to protect Christ from Herod’s wrath, but both gospels still speak the truth. Rather than contradicting one another, they supplement one another. John’s gospel notes that Scripture says the Christ would come from Bethlehem, while Matthew’s gospel notes that prophecy has the Christ coming from Nazareth. Both are correct. Christ was born in Bethlehem, but grew to manhood in Nazareth. It is a case of “both/and” not “either/or”. We must read the entire Bible to get the big picture. God gave us the Scriptures.  Merry Christmas! Use God’s great gift -- all of it. -- Friar Tuck’s Word of the Day