John 1:43-46 KJV The day following Jesus would go
forth into Galilee, and findeth Philip, and saith unto him, Follow me. 44 Now
Philip was of Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip findeth
Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and
the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. 46 And Nathanael
said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto
him, Come and see.
They answered and said unto him, Art thou also of
Galilee? Search, and look: for out of Galilee ariseth no prophet. John 7:52 KJV
Jesus
was referred to by many names and titles in the gospels: Son of God, Son of
Man, Rabbi, Master, Messiah, Son of David, Holy One of God and also Jesus of
Nazareth! He is referred to as Jesus of Nazareth at least 17 times in the
gospels!
Can
there any good thing come out of Nazareth seems to be a rhetoric question for the
reputation of Nazareth and its locality was common knowledge.
Apparently
even in the days of Solomon the region where Nazareth was located was not
looked upon favorably! And if that was so then by comparison the reputation of
Nazareth stood out among them! Way back in Solomon’s time Hiram of Tyre was not
pleased when Solomon gave the neighborhood to him as a gift!
1 Kings 9:11-13 KJV (Now Hiram the king of Tyre had
furnished Solomon with cedar trees and fir trees, and with gold, according to
all his desire,) that then king Solomon gave Hiram twenty cities in the land of
Galilee. 12 And Hiram came out from Tyre to see the cities which Solomon had
given him; and they pleased him not. 13 And he said, What cities are these
which thou hast given me, my brother? And he called them the land of Cabul unto
this day
Nazareth
was a town of skeptics and unbelievers in the teachings and ministry of their
homeboy Jesus. And he went out from thence, and came into his own country; and his
disciples follow him. 2 And when the
sabbath day was come, he began to teach in the synagogue: and many hearing him
were astonished, saying, From whence hath this man these things? and what
wisdom is this which is given unto him, that even such mighty works are wrought
by his hands? 3 Is not this the
carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and
Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at
him. 4 But Jesus said unto them, A
prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin,
and in his own house. 5 And he could
there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and
healed them. 6 And he marvelled because
of their unbelief. And he went round about the villages, teaching. Mark 6:1-6
KJV
They
were willing and ready to murder him because of his teachings And
all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with
wrath, 29 And rose up, and thrust him out of the city,
and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they
might cast him down headlong. Luke 4:28-29 KJV
The
regions around Galilee were regarded with contempt but it seems as though
Nazareth was the worst of the worst with Nathaniel speaking in contempt of it! Philip
had no argument but simply said come and see!
Can
any good thing come out of Nazareth is a question that can be compared to “Can
any good person descend from such a band and group of cheats, cowards,
connivers, schemers, plotters, defective, miserable company of ancestors?
It
goes all the way back and on its way makes a significant connection with Ruth
in Bethlehem! Remember Ruth? She’s the Moabitess widow from a hateful country,
of people descended from an incestuous act between a drunken father and his
daughter!
The
amazing grace of God is manifested in the genealogy He chose! We may see only
the greatness of Abraham, David and others but we also need to see the
dysfunctional traits of the families!
Everyone
likes to get a boy or girl from a decent family for a spouse. No one likes to
think of the skeletons in the closet that may one day rattle out in an
embarrassing manner! When we look back at the human ancestors of Jesus we find
in surprise that there were a lot of dysfunctional individuals and families in
the family tree.
In
it all He identified Himself with all the infirmities, imperfections and
irregularities but yet came out with no sin?
In
Genesis 12, Abraham, in a moment of cowardice, passed of his wife Sarah as his
sister to the Pharaoh of Egypt, in order to avoid being possibly killed because
of her beauty! God had to come to his rescue! Did you think he learned a
lesson? No! About somewhat more than twelve years later in Genesis 20 he did
the same thing – AGAIN – with king Abimelech of Gerar. God had to come to his
rescue again.
Isaac
his son proved to be no better! In Genesis 26 he also did what his father did
years ago in another famine and another time but in the same place, same reason!
A cowardly desire to save his own skin! He passed his wife Rebecca off as his
sister! Like father like son and he also
had to be rescued by God!
Jacob
Isaac’s son made a mess of his brother Esau’s life by first robbing him of his
birthright. He connived with his mother and deceived his aged blind father and
robbed Esau of his father’s blessing! He then had to run for his life from a
vengeful brother. Talk about dysfunctional and disturbed families! And what in the
world was Esau concerned about most? His belly before righteousness!
Jacob’s
sons following in true family style dysfunction plotted to kill Joseph their
brother and ended up actually selling him as a slave. They then banded together
and reported to their father that a wild animal had killed Joseph!
Then
one of Jacob’s sons Judah, who loved messing around with harlots, got trapped
in his roving tendencies, by his own daughter-in-law Tamar who played the
harlot with him and got pregnant! Two more sons Simeon and Levi deceived and
slew the men of a city in revenge!
Salmon
fell in love with the harlot Rahab of Jericho and married her. From that union
we have Boaz who married proceeded to marry Ruth a Moabitess. Two generations
and two inter racial marriages!
Think
of David the mighty giant killer who fell without a shot being fired at the
sight of another man’s wife. To cover it up he retrogressed from adultery to deceit
and finally outright murder of one of his most faithful soldiers!
His
children were no better. David’s son Amon raped his half sister Tamar and was
then killed in revenge by his half brother Absalom, Tamar’s brother. Absalom then
tried taking the kingdom away from his father David and on unsound political
advice, slept with all David’s concubines on the rooftop of the palace! It really
beats the soap operas of today!
Then
we have Solomon and his thousand women harem and all the strange gods he
honored for his women’s sake. He was referred to as the wisest man who lived
but it sure did not help his commitment to God!
Solomon’s
son Rehoboam thought he was the best thing that ever got elected king and, being
full of himself, refused to listen to the wisdom of the wise men, preferring
the advice of his close buddies who care nothing for the welfare of the people.
As a result of his arrogance, conceit and narcissism, he split the country into
two! (1 Kings 12)
Jehoshaphat’s
son Jehoram killed all his brothers when he became king. (2 Chronicles 21)
When
his son Ahaziah who became king after him died, Ahaziah’s mother Athaliah
murdered all the royal offspring except Joash who was hidden. (2 Chronicles 22)
After
that we eventually reach a list of kings who were so evil, who continuously
rejected the warnings of God’s prophets even persecuting them to death, that
God allowed the Babylonians to take Judah captive for 70 years, a really
distressing situation indeed.
Yet
from all this mixed up soup of confusion, deceit, evil and intrigue, the Father
chose to have His Son, our Savior come forth! The purest Lily sprouted and grew
in the messed up filth of degraded humanity! And have you ever wondered why God
who can do anything, chose to be born in a manger to a lowly couple and not
some fabulously wealthy king of the most powerful nation on earth?
It
was God’s sovereign choice and in it all we see God’s grace, mercy and love for
all despite what we may have lurking in our minds. He is truly a universal
Savior who chose to be born in a manger in Bethlehem to humble Nazarene
residents and chose to announce his birth to some lowly shepherds in a field. He
was willing to identify with the worst in us to bring His best to us! Who would
have thought that with such a pedigree He would be the Savior of the world?
Note how he was referred to as Jesus of Nazareth.
Jesus
really identified Himself with man in such a way that none may be barred from
approaching Him. May we never allow the
hideousness of our past to hinder the honor of a having a heavenly future with
Him! If as He emphatically proved, good can indeed come out of Nazareth, then He
can take the worst among us and make something beautiful of our lives. It
matters not where you came from or who your ancestors were. It matters not what
your life has been thus far or what others have branded you. Look at who He
picked for disciples! What matters is that he is willing to take you as you are,
if you will allow Him, and He’ll turn you into something beautiful for God! It
matters not how messed up your life may seem to you and to others. He is able
to do something wonderful with it! Allow him to make heavenly music in your
life!
Ruthing
for Christmas!
The
little genealogy at the end of the Ruth reveals the main reason behind the
story -the Moab Connection between Ruth, David and Jesus. In addition to that
God gives us the powerful type of our Kinsman Redeemer - Jesus the Messiah!
It's
a Christmas story because it projects the birth of the Messiah.
It's
a Christmas story because it promotes the spirit of giving.
It's
a Christmas story because it portrays restoration of lost hope
It's
a Christmas story because it promises Redemption through Messiah!
It's
a Christmas story because it preaches:
1.
The need for salvation,
2.
The seed of salvation,
3.
The deed of salvation.
Therefore
let's pay earnest heed to the deed and avoid the greed as we feed the souls in
need and speed the creed of the gospel!
"For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ:
for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the
Jew first, and also to the Greek."
Romans 1:16 KJV
I
Stand Amazed in the Presence
1. I stand amazed in the presence
of Jesus the Nazarene,
and wonder how He could love me,
a sinner, condemned, unclean.
Refrain:
How marvelous! How wonderful!
And my song shall ever be:
How marvelous! How wonderful
is my Savior's love for me!
2. For me it was in the garden
He prayed: "Not my will, but
thine."
He had no tears for His own griefs,
but sweat-drops of blood for mine.
3. In pity angels beheld Him,
and came from the world of light
to comfort Him in the sorrows
He bore for my soul that night.
4. He took my sins and my sorrows,
He made them His very own;
He bore the burden to Calvary,
and suffered and died alone.
5. When with the ransomed in glory
His face I at last shall see,
'twill be my joy through the ages
to sing of His love for me.
Charles
H. Gabriel
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