In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a
city of Galilee named Nazareth.                                                                               --Luke 1:26

For those who don’t live in the
area, Bellevue is a city just a few miles east
of Seattle.
Because it is not as big as Seattle, Bellevue may be regarded as one of Seattle’s many suburbs. However, it is by no
means a small town. Neither is it lacking in wealth and affluence. By
reputation, some of the wealthiest people of the area live in Bellevue. In addition, most of the jobs to be
held in Bellevue are office jobs. Proportionally, you will not find many blue collar workers in Bellevue.
As we all know, the wealthiest
among us are often scorned by those who do not have as much. They are perceived
as having everything handed to them on a silver platter. It does not seem fair
that they should get as many tax breaks as they sometimes do. After all, since
they have more money, they can afford to pay more in taxes.
So many middle- and lower-class
people resent the upper-class. And we often make fun of them. We call them
yuppies, portraying them as snobs, making fun of their snobbish lifestyle, and
even the snobbish way they talk. And just in case you don’t know what a yuppie
is, consider the old sitcom, “Gilligan’s Island.”
Remember Mr. and Mrs. Howell? They were the quintessential yuppies.
Leading up to the time of Jesus’
birth, the region of Galilee, particularly the city of Nazareth,
was Israel’s Bellevue. Of course, this
is where the Sea of Galilee was located
(hence, its name). The Sea was teeming with fish, and it also provided water
for the local agricultural industry. Hence, the region provided for much of the
staple of the Jewish diet. Anyone desiring wealth only had to go live and work
in Galilee.
Conversely, Jerusalem was spiritual center of Israel.
The temple was located in Jerusalem.
Many of the annual festivals God had commanded the Israelites to keep took
place in Jerusalem.
The Sanhedrin (Israel’s
religious ruling body), all the centers of religious training, and (again) the
temple—all that was located in Jerusalem. Jerusalem was considered Israel’s
fountain of knowledge and wisdom.
Because the Jews living in Jerusalem were proud, self-righteous people, they looked
down on those who lived in Galilee. They
considered them to be second-class citizens because they were able to attend
services and festivals only occasionally. And they certainly were not able to
expose themselves to regularly expose themselves to the wisdom of the religious
teachers in Jerusalem.
Galileans were perceived as being materialistic and ungodly. In fact, as J.
Dwight Pentecost explains, it was with an attitude of scorn that residents of Jerusalem used the saying, “If a man would be rich, let
him go to Galilee; if he would be wise, let him go to Jerusalem.”
Within Galilee, Nazareth was particularly known as a place of
vice. In that sense, it had a reputation similar to Las Vegas. It was sin city. This was because
the Romans had set up a garrison just outside Nazareth, turning it into a military town. No
doubt, the Romans had a heavy presence in Nazareth,
engaging in daily business transactions with the Nazarenes, and presumably
influencing them with their ungodly lifestyle. At least, this was the town’s
reputation among other Jews. As we will see later in the life of Christ, it was
this reputation associated with His hometown that caused Nathanael to exclaim, “Can
anything good come out of Nazareth?”
(John 1:46).
But it was into this sinful
environment that the Word, when He became flesh, entered. No, Jesus was not
born in Nazareth.
He was actually born in Bethlehem,
as we all know. And this was according to Old Testament prophecy. However, this
is only because Caesar Augustus just so happened to order a census to be taken,
causing a certain man to travel to Bethlehem with his pregnant wife. And she just so happened to give birth while they were
in Bethlehem.
Had that census not been ordered, Christ would have been born in Nazareth.
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