“Jesus of Nazareth” this is how Jesus was called when he was on the Earth and this is how we even call him today. I grew up thinking that Nazareth was Jesus’ surname, but I learnt that people in those days were named after the cities were they lived. Not many people in the time of Jesus would choose to be called Nazareth. The word “Nazareth” means the separated, but here the meaning of the name is not a problem but the city itself.
The city of Nazareth was considered as a city of no good. The city of Nazareth was a small and insignificant agricultural village in the time of Jesus. It had no trade routes, was of little economic importance and was never mentioned in the Old Testament or other ancient texts. The New Testament mentions Nazareth many times, referring to it as the home of Mary and Joseph, the town that inspired Jesus during his childhood and early manhood.
Jesus grew up there and was called Jesus of Nazareth. In the gospel of John 1:45-46 Phillip had found the long awaited Messiah and he now introduces this Messiah to his friend Nathanael saying “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law and about whom the prophet also wrote-Jesus of Nazareth the son of Joseph”. Nathanael replied “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?
Down through the history of Israel not a single prophet ever came out of Nazareth. Jesus was called the Nazareth and he had no problem in being said so. Although, Nazareth was an insignificant city but Jesus says he is “of” Nazareth. He belongs to Nazareth .
It indeed takes a lot of guts to accept a rejected thing. We all like to cling on to things that are great, special, and significant. Whether it is a job or a relationship, but it is in the nature of God to love the broken, despised, and rejected things. He loved us when we were still sinners.
Do you feel insignificant, rejected, and of no good, Jesus says he belongs to you and you belong to Him. He is more than happy to identify Himself with you. For Nazareth it was once said that nothing good could come out of it. Many a time we hear people saying such negative comments about us may be because of our background or because of our finical status, or may be because of things we have done in the past, whatever may be the reason, but for Jesus no body is insignificant he died for ever single soul on this Earth. He gladly accepts us in his family, gives us a new life, a new identity in Christ Jesus and he is proud to be called Jesus of the insignificant.
wonderful counselor 