why branchtown?
Because everything that is really good came out of Branchtown. In the Bible, at the end of John 1, Philip is all amped up because he just met the guy both Moses and the prophets of old had written about, the Messiah, and it was Jesus…from Nazareth. Nathanael is less than impressed. His upper body heaves with a sarcastic chuckle and he bursts out, with tongue-in-cheek, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Of course we do the same thing when someone tells us how healthy their burger from McDonald’s was or how finely crafted their shoes from Wal-Mart are. Fact is, Nathanael was less than impressed because Nazareth was less than impressive. It was situated in the hill country of Galilee. Translation: It was hick-ville. Well off the beaten path, it was small and sparse with no major commerce. A couple trailer parks, an all night bar serving up domestic beer, a motel with a flickering “Vacancy” sign, and more cars up on blocks than on the road. You’ve probably been to a town like it…but you probably drove right through. Roman soldiers hunkered down in Nazareth. Ruffians and outcasts found refuge there. And locals…well they just kept to their own poor estates. The reputation of Nazareth had apparently preceded itself into Nathanael’s mind, but perhaps he’s missing something. Maybe something good; something really good could come out of Nazareth?
If you have lived around or driven through regions that are forested, you have probably noticed, either nearby or from a distance, a patch of land that has been logged off. Perhaps you have even known a logger or two throughout your years. I have lived around forested regions and I have known a handful of loggers. I have even seen them in action. Decked out in thick leather boots and chaps, hemmed up denim trousers and cutoff flannel shirt sleeves, chainsaws with 30 inch bars strapped to their hulking upper bodies, trouncing over and through the underbrush, dropping trees, setting chokers, taking no prisoners…all in an effort to keep North American industry and economy moving. Well, at the end of Isaiah 10 in the Hebrew Scriptures (OT), the prophet Isaiah paints a vivid picture of the God of Israel as…a logger? Yup, a logger.
See, without rhyme or reason (or invitation) evil permeates the hearts of humankind; so much so, that for most people the goodness of God fades into a distant memory at best, if not altogether disappears. The real love and real justice of God; the stuff that stimulates worship, the stuff that is really good, dissolves in our minds and there emerges in us a prevailing attitude of arrogance and action of idolatry, injustice, unrighteousness, and ultimately death. That is how things were three thousand years ago. That is how things are today. And with that in mind (and sight) Isaiah launches into full-on poetic metaphor. The nations are a forest of wickedness and the axe is the justice of God. (Go on…turn to Isaiah 10:33.) He plows through the vaulted timbers wielding his laden steel edge, rivaling the most skilled woodsman; lopping down “the boughs,” hewing down “the great in height,” bringing low “the lofty.” And at the end of the day, “the thickets of the forest” have been felled by “the Majestic One” himself. Like glancing toward a clear-cut foothill, there is nothing left but heaps of wickedness piled up in rubble mounds awaiting a fiery removal and stumps of people groups left for bugs and fungus to devour. A radical scene to be sure. But even though the chapter breaks there, leaving the reader standing amidst a barren landscape of stubs and snags, chapter 11 turns the scene up-side-down. Out of the rabble and remains of the once lush forest comes something really good indeed.
Recently my wife and I took our kids for a walk on a local nature trail. The well manicured crushed gravel walkway begins where a wide meadow bumps into a stand of trees. The trail winds through the small forest for about half a mile and ends with a stepped descent down a hillside and out onto a rocky beach scattered with driftwood and shells. On previous occasions as I wandered through the wonder-full forest I encountered deer and woodpeckers and squirrels and slugs, and plenty of other creatures that moved too quickly for my eyes (but not so quick for my ears). This time, with my kids leading the adventure, we saw only the slugs. Yet, with the absence of animals scurrying throughout the underbrush, we noticed other wonders; curious and phenomenal alike.
One in particular that was well worth pointing out to the kids was the way several strong maturing trees were growing up from the root system of a tree stump that had been gently decaying for years. Perhaps you have seen a similar sight. On a much smaller scale, we have the same thing going on in our backyard. We have this ailing mimosa tree in the middle of our patio that somehow produces a sparse collection of leaves each year, but fails miserably to produce any grand array of fragrant blossoms, as most mimosa trees are known to do. However, despite its ill state, every year the tree sends up a small mimosa shoot from one of its buried, yet apparently healthy roots; a thin spry branch that I promptly stem off at the end of the season because I was told that is what you do with a “sucker” branch. (This year the branch actually produced half-a-dozen blossoms, which is half-a-dozen more than its sickly host.) I suppose I could cut the unhealthy tree down to little more than a stump and that branch would continue to grow year after year. And I suppose after several years, given the branch is pruned properly, it would become a fine healthy tree in the place of the decaying stump, much like the ones along the nature trail. Well anyway, while the kids were momentarily impressed by the death-to-life scene alongside the nature trail, I found it held my gaze for just a moment or two longer. From death came life. Can anything good come from an old decaying stump? Something really good came from that one; new life to be specific.
Of course you remember the clear-cut scene at the end of Isaiah 10. The nations of the world, including God’s people Israel, once flourished like a grand and mighty forest…and they knew it. The pride and idolatry and injustice and unrighteousness that echoed throughout the woodlands of the world could not be overlooked by God. Judgment was swift. And the chapter ends with a barren hillside in view, littered with old decaying stumps. Can anything good come from this mess of decaying stumps? Oh yeah, something really good! Come and see.
Right on the heels of chapter 10, at the outset of chapter 11 Isaiah writes in verse 1: “There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from [Jesse’s] roots shall bear fruit.” (English Standard Version)
Do you love this scene, or what? A hopeless landscape; gaping wide, gloomy and gray. But then…hope in the form of a tiny shoot peaking up through the rubble. A stem with a bud vying for light. A branch from a good root of an ailing stump. And then a leaf…and then a blossom…and then fruit! Here, amidst the ruin and wreckage of God’s necessary justice, like that old dead stump alongside the nature trail or my poor dying mimosa tree in the backyard, is a stump left for dead that brings forth new life!
Now this stump, the one we find in Isaiah 11:1, is no ordinary stump. This stump is the one, among all the others, that represents Jesse, the father of Israel’s great King David, whom God especially picked out as one from whom would come something really good; a redeemer, a savior, a messiah…a branch? Yup! Just as true as Scripture is, up from Jesse’s roots, which plunge deep into God’s meta-narrative; as deep as Abraham and Noah, even Adam, comes a branch. In Hebrew the word is net-zer (נֵצֶר). And this is no ordinary net-zer.
Keep reading in Isaiah 11 and you’ll find that this branch…or shall we be more proper and say Branch†…is fully alive and fully empowered by the Spirit of the LORD. He will be filled with the Spirit of wisdom and counsel and knowledge and a particular “fear of the LORD” that looks more like worship and adoration than a cowering fetal afraid-ness (vs.2). He will not fail to judge right and wrong, meek and strong, based on His essential righteousness and faithfulness. He will have an eye for goodness, because He is good, and an ear for truth, because His word is truth. He will be the measure of equity for the poor and the oppressed, and will flat out kill the wicked oppressors for their evil deeds (vs. 3-5). This Branch will obviously be a person! This Branch will be the Redeemer, the Savior, the Messiah!
In sum, where evil permeates the hearts of humankind and any measure of real goodness fades into a distant memory at best, The Branch will spring forth and bring a vivid reminder of God’s real goodness. And where pure love and true justice have dissolved in the minds of humankind and provoked an attitude of arrogance bearing the fruit of idolatry, injustice, unrighteousness, and ultimately death…like a decaying stump, The Branch will shoot up and represent real love and real justice; the stuff that stimulates real worship unto an attitude of humility, finally bearing fruit of righteousness and life…real life…for all who would believe. That is radical! That is net-zer, The Branch and that is really good.
Isaiah and Micah were contemporaries; prophetic colleagues if you will, who began their “careers” around the middle of the 8th century BC. Both were authors of books in the Hebrew Scriptures, each bearing their names. Both prophesied in Judah, the southern region of the country of Israel. And both took occasions to make it clear that judgment was coming; but beyond the judgment, both took occasions to be clear, there was coming a Redeemer, a Savior, the Messiah. Previously I noted one such occasion among several from Isaiah’s book. One well known occasion among several from Micah’s book on the topic of coming judgment and coming Messiah is in chapter 5, beginning in verse 1.
Micah offers fair warning to the people of Israel: “Now muster your troops,” he says. Rally the ruffians and assemble the soldiers, it is on! Take up arms, for “the judge of Israel,” or the ruler/king, is about to be smacked upside the head with the rod of judgment. The Assyrians are coming! But take heart. There is hope on the way in verse 2: “But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me (the LORD, that is) one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.”
Recognize that verse? “Oh where did I hear it recently? Aha! That one Christmas sermon.” Sure enough, most of us recognize that verse from Matthew’s gospel account of Jesus’ birth (Matt. 2:6). When we hear it we often imagine three wise men traveling from the east to Bethlehem, where eventually they find a sterile couple peering kindly at a little glowing baby in a manger full of straw tucked under a rickety lean-to surrounded by a few shepherds and an ox and a lamb. Now, we know that image encounters problems, both biblically and historically. But what is more, in Micah’s day, that is not even close to what would have been imagined upon hearing that verse. For the average Israelite sitting down with his TV dinner and drink in front of the evening news, hearing the two phrases “from of old” and “from ancient days” in the context of a new ruler in Israel from Bethlehem would probably have impelled the guy to choke up his chicken fried steak and spray his drink across the room in astonishment. He’s not imagining a baby. He’s imagining the Messiah!
See, the phrase “from of old” is from a Hebrew word that means “front” or “east” or “formerly” and is used often enough in scripture to imply eternity past, especially in relation to the LORD God (as also in Isaiah 45:21 and Habakkuk 1:12, among others). As well, with mention of Bethlehem, the phrase “from ancient days” would have identified this new ruler/king from eternity past with the house and lineage of Israel’s great King David…the son of Jesse, the guy who had a dead stump named after him in Isaiah 11 and from whom would come the Branch. All added up, Micah’s prophetic statement reads like a scrolling newsflash at the bottom of your TV or a flashing banner on your web browser’s homepage: “MESSIAH COMING FROM BETHLEHEM!”
Can you imagine the wonder and joy born anew in the hearts and minds of the Israelites? Can you imagine all the hopeful spying in the direction of Bethlehem? Can you imagine the tabloids and the rumor mills and the chit chat in the diner among the old codgers during morning coffee hour? And this joy and hope and gossip continued for days, weeks… years? Yup, even centuries. For literally hundreds of years of battles and captivity and restlessness and an eerie prophetic silence that waxed far too long to be comfortable, the daily-ness of the lives of the Israelites was broken up with the hope that Messiah was yet on his way; that the Branch was coming, a new ruler/king from Bethlehem that would bring redemption and salvation to his people. And by the time Augustus Caesar had settled well into his role as Emperor and empire builder near the end of that last century BC, hope of Messiah was yet present. Most assuredly hope trembled like a low flame upon a pile of barely glowing embers. Roman rule was stiff. Never-the-less hope quietly remained, with one eye on the Romans and one eye on Bethlehem, the city of David, watching for something really good, like the Branch of Jesse to emerge…and emerge He did!
I bet the sun was out. I bet it was quiet and the streets were static. After all, unless it’s after dark, there isn’t much bustle in a podunk village like Nazareth. I bet Mary was working at weaving or kneading bread or scrubbing tunics or whatever women did to pass the day in late first century BC. I bet that’s when Gabriel, an angel, showed up…uninvited of course, as was the reputation of angelic appearances: “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” (Luke 1:28, ESV throughout)
The Bible says Mary was “greatly troubled at the sayings, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be.” (Luke 1:29) That seems like a pretty flat and pleasant way to put it. I bet she was floored, astounded, flabbergasted, bowled over! I bet she froze on the outside and freaked out on the inside. Yet, Gabriel continued: “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” (Luke 1:30-33) That sounds really good, doesn’t it? Sounds like Messiah talk; a new ruler/king on David’s throne with an everlasting kingdom!
Certainly a very exciting message for Mary. One problem, of course…which Gabriel seems to have already figured out: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you…” Which is to say, this conception will not quite be the same as what Mary was taught in fifth grade sex education class? This will be far more miraculous. This will not involve a man, but rather a mysterious movement of God the Holy Spirit on Mary such that this child will not inherit humankind’s evil heart and arrogant attitude, but instead “the child to be born will be called holy – the Son of God.” (Luke 1:35) Yup, that is definitely Messiah talk!
I bet the sun had set. I bet it was less quiet as the streets were beginning to bustle in Nazareth. I bet Joseph had chiseled blocks and plowed boards with his hand planer all day trying to make sense of Mary’s news. I bet he now lay quietly in his bed wondering if he should marry her or what others would say when they heard she was pregnant…but that the baby wasn’t his. I bet he was worrying that if this news made it to the wrong ears Mary could be killed. I bet he was worrying about what divorce would do to his reputation. (Who of us wouldn’t?) So he “resolved to divorce her quietly” (Matt. 1:19), and fell asleep. I bet that’s when Gabriel, same angel, showed up in a dream…uninvited again: “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” (Matt. 1:20-21) That sounds like Messiah talk too; in the line of David, one who will be the Savior from sin…surely unto righteousness!
Both the message to Mary and the message to Joseph, in all their similarity, resonate with words and phrases and themes of Messiah, which we saw in Isaiah 11 and Micah 5 in particular. But as well, they align with the broad sweep of Hebrew Scripture; the Pentateuch, the Writings, the Prophets. Finally something really good was imminent. The Messiah was on his way; the Branch was coming, a new ruler/king from…Nazareth? What about Bethlehem? Micah 5:2? Nazareth of Galilee was not what Micah said. Bethlehem of Judea was what he said, right? Bethlehem had become known as the city of David. That is where David was born; where his family lived for at least five generations prior and most likely more still. That is where his “house and lineage” were founded. I suppose you could have called it the city of Jesse or the city of Obed or even of Boaz, but who knows who those guys are? David, on the other hand, comes with some precedence of repute. He slew the giant of Gath. He ruled over God’s people Israel as God’s anointed King. He authored much of the Book of Psalms. (He also slept with his neighbor’s wife, which keeps him grounded in the same humanity we enjoy, lest we set him on a pedestal based on renown.) For these reasons David’s hometown of Bethlehem was particularly associated with him; with his household and lineage from years past and for years to come. Bethlehem is where the Messiah, the new ruler/king in the line of David was to come from. Bethlehem is where the net-zer or Branch of Jesse; something really good, was to come from. Seriously, can anything good come out of Nazareth?
I bet people were annoyed. I bet people saw right through the imperial decree. Sometime just before year 1 BC Augustus Caesar decided everyone in the Roman Empire, particularly the Jewish people, should be registered according to their family “house and lineage.” Presumably Caesar’s intention was to make filing your income tax return easier. I bet it had more to do with raising taxes and getting richer. Never-the-less, everyone packed up their families, loaded into their station wagons and Winnebago’s, and hit the road, “each to his own town.” Not the least of which was Joseph and Mary.
Luke 2:4 says, Joseph “went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David.” Even a casual reader is connecting dots at this point. Mary is pregnant with the Messiah. Messiah was prophesied to come from Bethlehem, the city of David. Joseph is taking Mary to Bethlehem! Now we’re back on track.
I bet it was cold. I bet the sheep were as tired as their shepherds. I bet the night sky above the hillside outside of town was bright with stars. I bet that’s when Gabriel, same angel, showed up in brilliant array…uninvited yet again: “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:10-11) Obviously Messiah talk; good news of great joy in the city of David a Savior and Christ, which means Messiah. The curious phrase, however, is “all the people.” I wonder how many all is? I thought Messiah was only for the people of Israel?
Yet, just about the time the shepherds were imagining a highly secured private sanitary birthing room at Immanuel General Hospital in town and wondering what they were supposed to do with this news; they aren’t going to let the likes of us in there, Gabriel tells them they will find this new born Messiah “wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” (Luke 2:12) And just about the time the shepherds were imagining a back room cave full of chilly livestock and thinking, Manger, we know where to find one of those, a whole host of angels showed up putting the brightness of the starry sky to shame and exclaimed with a thunderous echo through the hills: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” Curious again, the non-exclusive tone that frames this declaration of God’s extension of peace through Messiah to anyone “with whom he is pleased.” Makes you wonder if this Messiah; this Branch that Isaiah and Micah promote as something really good, is actually better than first imagined? No matter though, the shepherds “went with haste” and found the scene in Bethlehem just as it was announced to them. And eight days later, Joseph and Mary gave the baby the name Jesus (Luke 2:21), just like Gabriel told them to, and then proceeded to hang out in Bethlehem with the newborn until it was time to head to Jerusalem for a very special event.
I bet Mary had battled the baby blues and had wished Jesus would sleep better at night and had struggled to figure out whether his cry meant he was hungry or tired or wet. Yet now, as her and Joseph journeyed to Jerusalem to dedicate Jesus as their first born, I bet Mary’s heart was bursting with all she had treasured up over the past forty days or so (Luke 2:22-23). I bet Joseph was vigilant as they traveled through the hill country, knowing the treasure Mary held. And as the massive temple came into view, I bet Joseph began thinking about the sacrifice Mary would have to offer for her purification.
Joseph didn’t make much money. Not many people from Nazareth did. He knew he couldn’t afford both a lamb and a pigeon for Mary (cf. Leviticus 12:6-8). He knew he was going to have to play the welfare card; two pigeons instead (Luke 2:24). But, I bet he also knew he had something really good here; apparently better even than what many may had imagined in a Messiah. And I bet he was wishing he could do more. Who of us men wouldn’t? Even though poverty and modest means among Jews at that time was common, I bet Joseph wished people could see how uncommon; even amazing Mary and especially her child Jesus really were.
Now, the stone floor courtyards surrounding Herod the Great’s colossal temple in Jerusalem, which originally were a provision for non-Jews to express their devotion to the God of Israel, had become a sort of convenience store/farmers market. For many Jews, what didn’t make the packing list for the often arduous journey to Jerusalem; such as proper currency for the temple tax and an animal to sacrifice, could now be easily bought just before entering the temple. The intended locale for the worship of God by the nations had become permanently disrupted by the “one stop” purchasing bustle of busy ethnic worshipers. (An issue that Jesus himself would return to years later and sort out with zeal. See John 2:13-17.) And it was into this scene that Joseph and Mary arrived, seeking to purchase a sacrifice themselves and to dedicate their newborn baby according to the custom of the day.
I bet Simeon was getting nervous…or restless. A righteous man to be sure, yet I bet he wrestled to stay hopeful as he peeled off the pages of his daily calendar, “waiting for the consolation of Israel” (Luke 2:25) from Messiah; the new Ruler/King…remember Isaiah and Micah. I bet he spent his days in the temple courts eager and intense, pacing and praying, watching hundreds of strapping young men come and go, wondering if maybe, just maybe that was the one…or that one…or that one. I bet he wondered how he would know; how the Holy Spirit, who promised him originally that “he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ” (vs. 26), would show him which one it was. I bet that’s when Joseph and Mary hiked up the southern steps to the temple mount, strolled across the Court of the Gentiles toward the Eastern Gate of the temple courts, bought Mary’s meager sacrifice and wandered into the Court of Women with something really good in Mary’s arms.
Now I bet, when Mary entered the Court of Women with baby Jesus in her arms, Simeon’s attention was quickened and pointed by the Spirit of God. I bet he rubbed his eyes with a twist of his fists and shook his head sharply the way we do when we’re coming out of one of those dazed uninterruptible stares at the end of a boring Sunday school class. And I am not sure if I imagine Simeon as a strong upright old man with sturdy shoulders or a frail bent elderly man with weak shoulders, but I bet when he realized what God was showing him he popped up off his duff and strode toward that baby with a spirited gait.
I would think Simeon asked Mary’s permission before sweeping Jesus up in his arms, but maybe not? Maybe Joseph and Mary were caught a bit off guard with the whole scene. Never-the-less, when Simeon got his hands on Jesus, his lips were loose with blessing and prophecy. “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.” (Luke 2:29-32) Unquestionably Messiah talk; my eyes have seen your salvation. But even more, most assuredly confirmation that this Messiah; again the net-zer or the Branch that is really good, is greater yet than previously supposed.
Evidently Jesus Messiah will not merely be the salvific representative for God’s people Israel, a sort of crowning glory for a chosen race. In fact, He will also be; or perhaps more aptly stated, more fully be a light for revelation to all non-Jews, the ones trying to worship in the convenience store/farmers market (aka. Court of Gentiles) just outside where all this was happening. Jesus as Messiah would illuminate God such that all nations might finally see God and finally know God for who He really is; not as ethnically exclusive and commandingly irritated…even fuming, but rather as merciful and generous, and slow to get angry, and overflowing with grace and truth. Jesus as Messiah would brighten the darkened hearts of all people by revealing God the Father as one who deeply loves and forgives the folks whose hearts worship Him, yet rightly holds the arrogant and idolatrous and unjust folks guilty for not worshipping Him (cf. Exodus 34:6-7). Now you may color that as you will, but that is real love and real justice. That is really good; marvelous even. And as Simeon wrapped up his prophecy, further revealing the degree to which Jesus would eventually suffer and yet ultimately be triumphant, Joseph and Mary, and certainly anyone within earshot of the old man’s booming commentary, “marveled at what was said” (Luke 2:33-35) about their new young Ruler/King.
I bet the introduction of Jesus as the new Ruler/King for all people and all nations leaked quickly into the Court of Gentiles just a stone’s throw beyond the temple proper. I bet this epic news of net-zer’s arrival, launched from the grand center stage of Jerusalem, generated not a small buzz throughout the city. “Messiah? Really? A Judge who will decide right and wrong based on His essential righteousness and faithfulness, and not on religious initiatives or political motivations? A Savior/Redeemer who will stand against the rich oppressor and Himself be the measure or portion of equity for the poor and oppressed (cf. Isaiah 11:3-4)? A Shepherd to lead us on ‘in the strength of the Lord’ and ‘in the majesty of [His renown],’ and cause us to ‘dwell secure’ and Himself be our peace (cf. Micah 5:4-5)? Really?” Couple that with the fact that “He’s just a baby?!”
I bet as word hit the wire individual reactions ranged anywhere from optimism to incredulity. But any pursuit of investigation was stemmed off as Joseph and Mary left town to raise their son. Where did they go? That’s a good question. After the accounts of Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem, followed by the episode with Simeon at the temple in Jerusalem, the Gospel records appear divergent on where Joseph and Mary go. In actuality though, Luke simply jumps ahead in his Gospel narrative to where the young family with the new Ruler/King end up. Matthew, however, takes some extra time to fill in some historical blanks*. Eventually though, Matthew catches up with Luke and they agree: Joseph and Mary settle in Nazareth in Galilee (Matthew 2:23; Luke 2:39).
Matthew tells us Joseph and Mary landed back in Nazareth so that what the prophets spoke would be fulfilled; namely that he would be called a Nazarene, which no prophet of Scripture actually spoke in so few of words, but rather by implication. You remember the reputation of Nazareth? The Psalmist gives voice to Jesus the Nazarene: “But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by mankind and despised by the people.” (Psalm 22:6) As well Isaiah, speaking on behalf of Israel, depicts Messiah with similar regard: “He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from who men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.” (Isaiah 53:3) Jesus, as a Nazarene, would be despised and held in no higher esteem than any other sweaty trailer park dweller that may have emerged from Nazareth (cf. John 7:41; 52).
But Luke tells us Nazareth was Joseph and Mary’s “own town.” (Luke 2:39) Nazareth was home sweet home. No matter its reputation, it was where they met, fell in love, married and finally returned to raise their family. All four Gospel accounts and the Gospel epilogue we call “Acts of the Apostles” refer to Jesus on more than one occasion as “Jesus of Nazareth.” Nazareth in Galilee is where the new Ruler/King “grew and became strong.” It is where the young Messiah was “filled with wisdom.” This Redeemer, the Branch or net-zer of Jesse, found the favor of God upon him (Luke 2:40, 52), just as a son finds favor or grace with his father, right there in Nazareth.
As I have read, I have learned of particular historical lore associated with Nazareth’s beginning. I suspect much of it makes simply for good fable. Curious to me however, at the end of this all, is the Hebrew word from which Nazareth finds its origin. You can hear it as you sound out Naz-ar-eth. Transliterated, the Hebrew word reads net-zer-et or…Branchtown. Here is where your pencil begins connecting the dots.
Isaiah prophesied of Messiah as a net-zer or Branch in the line of David, the son of Jesse. The Spirit of the Lord would “rest upon him,” filling him with all wisdom and understanding counsel and might and knowledge and a particular “fear of the LORD.” He will judge right and wrong based on His essential righteousness and faithfulness. He will have an eye for goodness, because He is good, and an ear for truth, because His word is truth. He will be the measure of equity for the poor and the oppressed, and will deliver to the wicked oppressors precisely what is due them for their evil deeds. Micah prophesied that, as well as Messiah and Redeemer, the Branch would be the new Ruler/King in Israel; born in Bethlehem, the city of the great King David. The angel Gabriel confirmed this when he revealed to Mary that her baby, “the Son of the Most High,” would be given the throne of David and rule forever! The Branch would establish a kingdom without end, the Kingdom of God to be exact. Further still, the Branch would not merely arrive on the scene with spiritual, judicial and regal acclaim. The angel Gabriel revealed to Joseph that he would actually save people from their sin. And not just Joseph’s people. Simeon prophesied that the salvific reach of Messiah, the Branch, would extend to both Jew and non-Jew. He would arrive as the glory of Israel, but even more, the bright glaring illumination of that glory would splash over as a light for revelation to Gentiles…you and I! Jesus as the Branch would illuminate God so that all nations might see God and know His salvation from sin. Now that is really good!
Back in John 1, toward the end, you’ll remember Philip’s enthusiasm of having met the Messiah; the new Ruler/King, and learning it was Jesus of Nazareth. You’ll remember how Philip’s enthusiasm exploded on Nathanael. You’ll remember Nathanael’s reaction. If his initial skepticism was not apparent in his body language, it certainly was in the sarcastic comment he leaked out: “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Can anything of any essential quality or goodness come from that podunk trailer village in the hills? Can anything good come out of net-zer-et; out of Branchtown?
Are you kidding me Nathanael? Jesus, the Messiah and Redeemer and new Ruler/King…the Branch himself came out of Branchtown. Everything that is really good came out of Branchtown!
This blog is a venture in similar suit. Just as everything that is really good emerged from Branchtown in Christ Jesus, subsequently changing the course of history by illuminating God and establishing the way of salvation through His redeeming work on the cross and through His resurrection, so this blog will include those things that are really good; that are particularly related to the broader scope of Christ’s redeeming work. What do I mean by that? Well, I would commend to you the same answer Philip gave to Nathanael: “Come and see…”
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† In Jeremiah 23:5 and 33:15, though using a variation in Hebrew similar to Isaiah 4:2, the term branch is used as a proper noun and modified with the adjective “righteous.” Thus is reads, and notice the similar Messianic qualities as those indicated in Isaiah 11, “Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.” (Jer. 23:5, ESV; very similar to Jer. 33:15).
* Evidently, Joseph and Mary lived in Bethlehem a bit longer, because at some point the “wise men from the east” came to Bethlehem to worship the new divinely appointed Ruler/King Jesus (Matthew 2:1-12; further demonstrating Messiah’s breadth of inclusion). Of course the reigning politically appointed Ruler/King Herod was less than pleased to learn of a successor near his stage, so he set out to kill Jesus. Upon being warned of this by an angel, Joseph packed up his family and escaped to Egypt until further notice (2:13-15). There they lived as refugees until that same angel showed up to tell Joseph that Herod the spoiled insane tyrant was dead and the coast was clear to move back to Israel. And, to avoid crossing paths with Herod’s spoiled insane tyrant son Archelaus who ruled southern Israel, Joseph and Mary moved to northern Israel (2:16-23).
