Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem

The Names and Titles of God (“The Nazarene”) Matthew 2:23

23 And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene.

King James Version

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Because of its awkward shape nestled around a harbor, the City of Boston is fractured into Neighborhoods that seem like separate little towns, which have their own Administrative Buildings, Economic Status, Architectural Styles, and Ethnicity. Roxbury has been a Black Community since as long as I can remember, Mattapan was once Jewish, now mostly Caribbean, Dorchester was Irish and Jewish in my Mom's day, and the North End was mostly Italian (Best Pizza on the Planet!). Roslindale, where I lived after I was 11 years old, was mostly Greek and Lebanese. I ate Hummus and Kalamata Olives LONG before they were popular in the rest of the country. I even learned a smattering of Greek and Arabic (mostly words you can't say on TV), and actually took Belly Dancing Lessons. (I am not making this up.)

When, in 1984 in Bethlehem, I encountered an Arab boy at a Potter's Wheel, I greeted him with "Salaam Aleichem".

"Aleichem Salaam," he replied. "You speak Arabic?"

"Only a little." I replied. There were a lot of Arabs where I grew up, in a place you probably never heard of...Roslindale."

He jumped up from the Potter's Wheel and said, "IN MASSACHUSETTS! I HAVE A COUSIN THERE! I WOULD LOVE TO LIVE IN ROSLINDALE! ARE YOU MARRIED???"

Needless to say, I got out of there in a hurry! Evidently, the little ethnic neighborhood of Roslindale was well-known all over the Middle East.

Bordering Roslindale, and separated by a grassy parkway, is the Neighborhood of West Roxbury. WEST Roxbury is miles away from Roxbury, both in distance and style. While Roxbury was mostly Black, WEST Roxbury was mostly White. Roxbury had a lot of Urban, Multi-Family Dwellings, while WEST Roxbury had gracious Colonial Single Family Homes on broad manicured lawns. Because Boston Firefighters, Policeman, and City Officials had to live within the City Limits, WEST Roxbury was the place to live. The snag was saying you lived in West Roxbury to somebody who didn't live in Boston.

Roxbury? Isn't that where all the riots and crime are? You LIVE in Roxbury???"

Then the resident of West Roxbury would have to hastily do damage-control, and explain that WEST Roxbury was different.

One would think that, having to defend the reputation of their neighborhood, the denizens of West Roxbury would have a little more compassion and understanding towards their more Working-Class neighbors in Roslindale, but alas, that was not the case. "Rozzie-Rats" (that's what we were called), would actually alter their addresses to say "West Roxbury, 02131" (02132 is the ZIP Code for West Roxbury, while 02131 is actually Roslindale). This only worked if you lived on or near the Parkway. The Post Office didn't care as long as the ZIP was correct. Now, after this convoluted tour of Boston's Neighborhoods, let's talk about Today's Scripture.

The first time I read the New Testament from cover-to-cover, I came across this Passage. As we discovered when we looked at Matthew last year, the Evangelist quoted the Old Testament quite frequently, as it seemed that he was aiming his Gospel Story to Jewish People. He had references to Isaiah, Micah, and others, and filled the whole first Chapter with a Genealogy which paralleled the Ancestors of Jesus with the whole Torah. So, I naturally figured that Matthew was quoting some Old Testament Prophet when he called Jesus "A Nazarene".

The Bible I was using was a New American Standard Translation (Thank You Skip!) with a column of Scripture references down the middle of each page. I looked for the reference for "He Shall Be Called A Nazarene" and there wasn't any. That meant I would have to look it up.

There was a big tome available called "STRONG'S CONCORDANCE". I suspected that its name came from the fact that the book weighed almost 15 POUNDS, and one had to be very Strong to carry it around with your Bible. Or maybe it made you STRONG in the LORD. Whatever. It's now available online so I don't have to schlepp it around anymore. It has every single word in the Bible, its meaning, and how many times it appears.

I looked up "Nazarene" in Strong's. It only appears once, in that Passage in Matthew. So what was Matthew talking about? Who was he citing? What Prophet said Jesus would be a Nazarene?

Well, it turns out that Matthew was making a Triple Pun, in Aramaic, from the Hebrew, written in Greek.

The root of "Nazarene" means "Set Apart" or "Branch". I've been to Nazareth. It really is "set Apart". It's on a hill in a desert. Perhaps that is how it got its name. (It's actually easier to understand than "West" Roxbury.) It's a hot dusty bus ride to get there, check the place out, and get back on the Bus. There was even an expression back in the time of Jesus:

"Can Anything Good Come Out Of Nazareth?"

This lines up perfectly with Isaiah 53 and Psalm 22, in which The Messiah is described as "The Despised and Rejected of Men". Even when choosing His Disciples, Jesus encountered the epithet. Nathaniel is quoted saying "Can anything good come from Nazareth?" right before he pledges his heart to the Nazarene.

It goes even deeper. The Word "Nazarite" uses the same root. It means a Person who has been set apart as Holy. A Nazarite would make special vows for a period of time, setting himself apart from the rest of society as "Holy One of God". In fact, the Septuagint substitutes "Holy unto God" for the word "Nazarite" in Judges 13:7 and 16:7. Although the Book of Judges is talking about a human Nazarite (Samson), the parallels are there. Samson was a Miracle Baby, born to a barren woman, and dedicated to God from the womb.

The third aspect of the pun is the Root Word itself, which means "Branch". The Messiah IS called "The Righteous Branch" by more than one Prophet. In Zechariah 6:12-13, the Messiah is called "The Branch of David". In Isaiah He is called "The Righteous Branch". We have already looked at the Name "Branch" when we studied the Old Testament Names of God. Now we see Jesus of Nazareth being called by the same Name.

There are some revelations that even STRONG'S doesn't contain...like First Century Puns.

Come and Pray For the Peace of Jerusalem, For Our FRiends in Need, For Persecuted Believers, and For Our Beloved Nation.

For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open. (Mark 4:22)

God Bless America.

Blessings To All Who Visit This Garden of Prayer.

Hallelujah and Amen

ML/LTOS