Sometimes biblical prophesies can be confusing. For example: The Bible says that the Messiah will be born in one place, come from another place, but be called something else, identified with another location. Bethlehem, Egypt, and a Nazarene.
First, I will give the passages for the three prophecies, and then will look at the last one in more detail -“He shall be called a Nazarene.”
Bethlehem Prophesy -Matthew 2:1-6
“Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east, and have come to worship Him.” And when Herod the king heard it, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he began to inquire of them where the Christ was to be born. And they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it has been written by the prophet,
‘AND YOU, BETHLEHEM, LAND OF JUDAH, ARE BY NO MEANS
LEAST AMONG THE LEADERS OF JUDAH; FOR OUT OF YOU SHALL
COME FORTH A RULER, WHO WILL SHEPHERD MY PEOPLE ISRAEL.’ ”1
The Old Testament (OT) prophet Micah foretold that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem.2
Egypt Prophesy -Matthew 2:13-15
“Now when [The wise men] had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, ‘Arise and take the Child and His mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is going to search for the Child to destroy Him.’ And he arose and took the Child and His mother by night, and departed for Egypt; and was there until the death of Herod, that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet might be fulfilled, saying, ‘OUT OF EGYPT DID I CALL MY SON.’ “
The OT prophet Hosea foretold that the son would come from Egypt.3
Nazarene Prophesy -Matthew 2:19-23
“But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, ‘Arise and take the Child and His mother, and go into the land of Israel; for those who sought the Child’s life are dead.’ And he arose and took the Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And being warned by God in a dream, he departed for the regions of Galilee, and came and resided in a city called Nazareth, that what was spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, ‘He shall be called a Nazarene.’ “
The OT prophets foretold that the Savior would be called a Nazarene.
Jesus fulfilled all three prophesies. He was born in Bethlehem, came from Egypt, but was called a Nazarene.
The Nazarene
There is something different about this last prophesy. Notice that the last sentence in the Matthew 2:19-23 passage, “He shall be called a Nazarene,” is not in all caps. This is because it is not a direct OT quote like the other two prophesies mentioned. Also, Matthew says it was ‘spoken through the prophets,’ plural. In other words, the information that Jesus would be called a Nazarene was not a direct quote from just one OT prophet.
There are several thoughts for this put forth by theologians and Bible commentators. One is that the prophesy is lost or just not recorded in Scripture. A second, is that Jesus was set apart like a Nazarite4 because the word is similar to Nazareth or Nazarene. I don’t think that either of those ideas explain it. Instead of those reasons, I think there is a better explanation, stereotyping.
Bad Reputation
Identifying Jesus as a Nazarene was a sign of disrespect. As Matthew Henry says in his commentary, “Nazareth was a place held in bad esteem, and Christ was crucified with this accusation, Jesus the Nazarene.”5 Nazareth was seen as an insignificant city and its people looked upon with scorn. Jesus was stereotyped because he grew up in Nazareth.
“Over and above the general contempt in which all Galilee was held, from the number of Gentiles that settled in the upper territories of it, and, in the estimation of the Jews, debased it.”6 Because Nazareth had a bad reputation, folks living in that small city also had a bad reputation.
Held in Contempt
When Philip wanted to introduce Nathanael to Jesus, Philip identified Him as ‘Jesus of Nazareth.’ Nathanael showed his contempt for the Nazarenes when he says of Jesus, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?”(John 1:46) And when one of the Pharisees, Nicodemus, seemed to look favorably upon Jesus, the rest of the council said to him, “Search, and see that no prophet arises out of Galilee.” (John 7:52) Not only was the city held in contempt, no one important comes from there.
“[Nazareth] was a place so very contemptible among the Jews, that it was grown into a proverb with them, that no good thing could be expected from thence; so that by Jesus’s returning to Nazareth, and being brought up and educated in it, a way was further opened by the providence of God, for the fulfillment of the many Scriptures which foretold that he should appear in mean and despicable circumstances, and be set up as a mark of public contempt and reproach. That is, he shall be reputed vile and abject, and shall be despised and rejected of men, an event which many of the prophets had particularly foretold.7
Rejected by Men
When Jesus started His ministry, those who did not believe treated Him with scorn because of His message. Being from Nazareth just added to the way people viewed Jesus.
This treatment fulfilled several OT prophesies that spoke of the general characteristics of the one recognized as the Messiah. Some are listed below:
- But I am a worm, and not a man,
A reproach of men, and despised by the people. (Psalm 22:6) - For zeal for Thy house has consumed me,
And the reproaches of those who reproach Thee have fallen on me.
When I wept in my soul with fasting,
It became my reproach
When I made sackcloth my clothing
I became a byword to them. (Psalm 69:9-11) - Thou dost know my reproach and my shame and my dishonor;
All my adversaries are before Thee. (Psalm 69:19) - For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot,
And like a root out of parched ground;
He has no stately form or majesty
That we should look upon Him,
Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him. (Isaiah 53:2) - He was despised and forsaken of men,
A man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief;
And like one from whom men hide their face,
He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. (Isaiah 53:3) - Surely our griefs He Himself bore,
And our sorrows He carried;
Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten of God, and afflicted. (Isaiah 53:4)
Name Calling
Calling someone a Nazarene as a put-down is not unusual thing to do, we have the same thing today. For example, the middle of the U.S. is despised when the coasts refer to them as ‘fly-over’ country. One web site says that the term, “is often used in the pejorative sense.”8 The Free Dictionary Says, “The phrase is typically used derisively to dismiss these states as unimportant, uninteresting, or not worthy of visiting (i.e. the states that one flies over on the way to worthwhile destinations).”9
Another Example
Before Simon became one of the twelve apostles, he was part of the political sect known as the Zealots.10 Even after becoming one of the Twelve Apostles, he was still identified as ‘Simon the Zealot.’ (Matthew 10:4; Luke 6:15) This is another case of being identified with a label that Simon might have wanted to drop.
Conclusion
So the use of generalizations toward someone to deride, denigrate, or belittle has been going on for years. We find this in the common speech of men today, and I think it applies in the case of Jesus as well.
One Bible commentator summarizes with 4 reasons:11
- He [Matthew] does not say “by the prophet,” as in Matthew 1:22; Matthew 2:5, Matthew 2:15, but “by the prophets,” meaning no one particularly, but the general character of the prophecies.
- The leading and most prominent prophecies respecting Him were, that He was to be of humble life; to be despised and rejected.
- The phrase “He shall be called” means the same as He shall be.
- The character of the people of Nazareth was such that they were proverbially despised and contemned.
Thus, the character assassination prophesies about Jesus were fulfilled even though He did not deserve to be treated that way. (I write more about Jesus humility in my article, Jesus Waited.)
Appendix
We know that Jesus’ story does not end with His birth. (See my post, The Real Christmas Story.) I also write about His life on Earth compared to the view of Him in Heaven. That article is, Jesus: Earth and Heaven.
Additionally, Jesus will return to earth again. My article Jesus’ Second Coming or The Rapture, talks about when He returns.
1 ALL CAPS in the New Testament are used in the text to indicate Old Testament quotes.
2 Micah 5:2
3 Hosea 11:1
4 Numbers 6:2 “Speak to the sons of Israel, and say to them, ‘When a man or woman makes a special vow, the vow of a Nazarite, to dedicate himself to the LORD.’ ”
5 Matthew Henry’s Commentary
6 Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
7 Benson Commentary of the Old and New Testaments
8 https://www.definitions.net/definition/flyover%20country 12/12/22
9 https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/flyover+country 12/12/22
10 “The Zealots were a faction, headed by Judas of Galilee, who “in the days of the enrollment” bitterly opposed the threatened increase of taxation at the census of Quirinius, and would have hastened by the sword the fulfillment of Messianic prophecy.” -International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
11 Barnes’ Notes on the Bible https://biblehub.com/commentaries/matthew/2-23.htm 12/11/22 (Edited for brevity)