‘[Joseph] came to a town called Nazareth and lived there. Then what had been spoken by the prophets was fulfilled, that Jesus would be called a Nazarene.‘
Where does it say in the prophets ‘that Jesus would be called a Nazarene’?
This wording is not to be found in any of the prophets. In fact, Nazareth is not mentioned at all in the Old Testament. Bethlehem, on the other hand, had a higher status as the ‘city of David’.…
John 1:29
(Naismith, 1200 Scripture Outlines)…
Extracts from The Fountain of Life, by John Flavel. Ch. 18, Christ’s Humiliation – In His Incarnation.
“And being found in fashion as man, he humbled himself, and became obedient to death, even the death of the cross.” Phil. 2:8.
Here is the sun almost under total eclipse. He that was beautiful and glorious, Isa. 4:2, yea, glorious as the only begotten of the Father, John 1:14, yea, the glory, James 2:1, yea, the splendor and brightness of the Father’s glory,” Heb.…
2 Corinthians 5:21 ‘God made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we would become the righteousness of God.’
P.E. Hughes comments:
‘There is not sentence more profound in the whole of Scripture, for this verse embraces the whole ground of the sinner’s reconciliation to God.’
Kruse:
‘We obviously stand at the brink of a great mystery and our understanding of it can be only minimal’
Here, according to Stott:
…‘is surely one of the most startling statements in the Bible, yet we must not on that account evade it.
Mt 1:24f ‘He took his wife, but did not have marital relations with her until she gave birth to a son, whom he named Jesus.’
Mt 12:46–50 — While Jesus was still speaking to the crowds, his mother and brothers came and stood outside, asking to speak to him. 47 Someone told him, “Look, your mother and your brothers are standing outside wanting to speak to you.” 48 To the one who had said this, Jesus replied, “Who is my mother and who are my brothers?”…
John 1:1 ‘…and the Word was God’ (NIV)
The New World Translation of the Jehovah’s Witnesses translates this verse idiosyncratically: “In the beginning the Word was, and the Word was with God, and the Word was a god.”
…‘Their explanation for this is that in the Greek there is no definite article before ‘God’, whereas if God (theos) were meant in the full and absolute sense it should be ho theos: ‘God’ with the definite article.
Luke 2:7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.
So translated by AV, ESV, NASB, RSV, NRSV, God’s Word, Good News.
NIV – ‘…because there was no guest room available for them.’
New Living Translation – ‘…because there was no lodging available for them.’
Unravelling fact and fancy
The traditional translation (‘No room at the inn’) has become engraved in the popular mind and, along with an unfriendly inn-keeper, in many a nativity scene.…
Matthew 5:21f “You have heard that it was said…But I say to you…”
Did Jesus reject the moral teaching of the Old Testament?
William Barclay thinks that
‘Jesus quotes the Law, only to contradict it, and to substitute a teaching of his own. He claimed the right to point out the inadequacies of the most sacred writings in the world, and to correct them out of his own wisdom.’
More generally, Richard Rohr writes this:
…‘It is rather clear in Jesus’ usage that not all scriptures are created equal.
Isaiah 7:14 ‘Look, this young woman is about to conceive and will give birth to a son. You, young woman, will name him Immanuel.’
Matthew 1:22 This all happened so that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet would be fulfilled: 1:23 “Look! The virgin will conceive and bear a son, and they will call him Emmanuel,” which means “God with us.”
The passage in Isaiah, and its quotation by Matthew, invite a raft of questions:
There is a line in a hymn, often sung at Advent, that refers to Jesus as “great David’s greater Son”.
(a) What was so great about David?
(b) Why is Jesus referred to as ‘David’s Son’?
(c) In what ways is Jesus ‘greater’ than David?…
