Hebrews 11:1 says that faith is “the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Habakkuk 2:4 , in the OT, says that ‘the righteous shall live by his faith.” Safe to say, our faith is the foundation of our belief in God and through Jesus. Instead of striving for verification of what may be written in the Bible, our faith in the Almighty amounts to an expectation that fosters our belief.
It is through our faith that what is written in the Bible is taken for granted. Scientists and archeologists may spend their time verifying events in the Bible, but without a faith in God, it may not bring them any closer to Him no matter what they find.
Matthew 2:23 raises something interesting. This verse is part of Matthew’s chapter which describes King Heros getting wind of a king (Jesus) being born in Bethlehem. As a result, an angel warns Joseph and his family to take the baby Jesus to Egypt, lest King Herod has him killed. When Herod and those who wanted to kill Jesus had died, an angel tells Joseph it is safe to go to Israel. But Joseph heard that Herod’s son was reigning there, and he “withdrew to the district of Galilee” as it says in Verse 22. In verse 23 we learn that Joseph takes his family to Nazareth. That same Verse says that he went to Nazareth, “so that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled, that [Jesus] would be called a Nazarene.”.”
How did Jospeh find out about a prophecy that referred to Jesus and said he is to come from Nazareth? Commentators assert that the prophecy actually comes from Isaiah 11:1 which says, “There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.” Jesse is perhaps another name for Joseph. Seems that Verse was known either by Jospeh or by Mattew. One thing seems for sure, and that is the prophecy described in Isaiah 11:1. The Hebrew equivalent of the word “branch” in Isaiah 11:1 is Netzer, and it is believed that the name Nazareth is derived from this Hebrew word. Did Joseph purposely choose a nothing-place like Nazareth, because he saw the word Netzer in Isaiah 11:1? Or was it a divine coincidence that Nazareth was the place he chose? Or was it a stroke of luck from Matthew’s viewpoint that Joseph happened to choose a place that could be equated with what is described in Isaiah 11:1?
Whatever the answer, it is a fact that Nazareth is the place that Jesus lived before he introduced God’s
Word to the world. As faith is the foundation of our belief, it matters more what has come to pass than the reasons for it.
It is through our faith that what is written in the Bible is taken for granted. Scientists and archeologists may spend their time verifying events in the Bible, but without a faith in God, it may not bring them any closer to Him no matter what they find.
Matthew 2:23 raises something interesting. This verse is part of Matthew’s chapter which describes King Heros getting wind of a king (Jesus) being born in Bethlehem. As a result, an angel warns Joseph and his family to take the baby Jesus to Egypt, lest King Herod has him killed. When Herod and those who wanted to kill Jesus had died, an angel tells Joseph it is safe to go to Israel. But Joseph heard that Herod’s son was reigning there, and he “withdrew to the district of Galilee” as it says in Verse 22. In verse 23 we learn that Joseph takes his family to Nazareth. That same Verse says that he went to Nazareth, “so that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled, that [Jesus] would be called a Nazarene.”.”
How did Jospeh find out about a prophecy that referred to Jesus and said he is to come from Nazareth? Commentators assert that the prophecy actually comes from Isaiah 11:1 which says, “There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.” Jesse is perhaps another name for Joseph. Seems that Verse was known either by Jospeh or by Mattew. One thing seems for sure, and that is the prophecy described in Isaiah 11:1. The Hebrew equivalent of the word “branch” in Isaiah 11:1 is Netzer, and it is believed that the name Nazareth is derived from this Hebrew word. Did Joseph purposely choose a nothing-place like Nazareth, because he saw the word Netzer in Isaiah 11:1? Or was it a divine coincidence that Nazareth was the place he chose? Or was it a stroke of luck from Matthew’s viewpoint that Joseph happened to choose a place that could be equated with what is described in Isaiah 11:1?
Whatever the answer, it is a fact that Nazareth is the place that Jesus lived before he introduced God’s
Word to the world. As faith is the foundation of our belief, it matters more what has come to pass than the reasons for it.
