Matthew 21:11 records that when Jesus entered into the city of Jerusalem, ALL of the city was moved and questioned, Who is this? to which the multitude responded “This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee”. Did you ever stop to think as to why there was a need to qualify that Jesus was from Nazareth? I believe that it is so recorded in the scriptures which is all God inspired, penned by men, because the divine Author did not want to leave room for any speculation as to the identity of Jesus. It was this Jesus that was hunted as an outlaw when he was a child and His earthly father Joseph, fearing Archelaus (Herod’s son) did not return to Israel but fled to Nazareth and it was this same Jesus that you see walking from Galilee (where Nazareth is) to Jordan when He came to be baptized by John the Baptist, and even in the betrayal in the garden, Jesus questioned not once but twice as to whom they sought and the officers of the Jews and the high priests replied ‘Jesus of Nazareth’ and it is this same Jesus who endured the cross that held on it an inscription in three languages which read, Jesus of Nazareth the King of the Jews.
A noteworthy and interesting finding in my research on this Name led me to the Hitchcock’s Bible Names dictionary, wherein, it is mentioned that Nazareth means separated, crowned and sanctified.
Nazareth means separated. Jesus was in a sense separated from God at which time he cried out ‘My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?’ (Mark 15:34). This He joyfully endured because Jesus did not want us (man) to be God-forsaken or separated from God and now there is nothing, absolutely nothing that can separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus, the separated prophet (Romans 8:38,39).
Nazareth means crowned. Jesus was crowned a crown of thorns (John 19:2) before his crucifixion but God crowned Him with glory and honor (Hebrews 2:9) befitting a conquering King (Revelation 6:2, 14:14, 19:12).
Nazareth means sanctified. Merriam-Webster’s dictionary defines ‘sanctify’ as ‘to be set apart to a sacred purpose or to a religious use‘ or ‘to be free from sin’. Jesus in John 17 prays for Himself, His disciples and for all believers in which he makes the statement that He sanctifies himself so that all his disciples may be sanctified as well (John 17:19). Jesus is Holy and sinless and so he did not have to pray that He had to be made free from sin when he expressed that He sanctifies Himself. He was set apart to the sacred purpose of becoming salvation to all mankind so that we can become the same as well.
Jesus the prophet of Nazareth is indeed the separated, crowned and sanctified prophet of God. The name is Nazareth’s prophet.
