Where Did Jesus Grow Up?

Where did Jesus grow up?  Was it in the same place that He was born?

Born in Bethlehem

Jesus was prophesied to be born of a virgin and also to be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:1-6) which was more of a village than a city. This prophecy would have never been fulfilled unless the Roman “to be registered, each to his own town” (Luke 2:3) if Caesar Augustus had not ordered it and at this exact time so “Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child” (Luke 2:4-5) so apparently, Jesus soon-to-be family came from Galilee and a small Roman soldier outpost called Nazareth. Like Bethlehem, Nazareth was looked down upon by the religious leaders of the Jews. Like in most nations, the customs, culture, and dialect can be quite different from one another. It was “while they were there, the time came for her to give birth” (Luke 2:6) and so Jesus was born in Bethlehem but was He raised there? Did He grow up in Bethlehem or in Jerusalem? If not, where?

Jesus’ Hometown

We already know that Jesus parents had to travel from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth to Bethlehem to be registered (Luke 2:3) so Nazareth was His parent’s hometown. Nazareth lay within the region called Galilee and Nazareth was where Joseph and Mary were at when they both received the news of Jesus coming birth (Luke 1:26). After Jesus’ birth, He was circumcised on the eighth day (Luke 2:21) and “when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord” (Luke 2:22-23). It was “when they had performed everything according to the Law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. And the favor of God was upon him” (Luke 2:39-40). There it is. Jesus’ parents returned to Nazareth with Him and there, he grew in the favor of God and with men and later in this chapter, Luke records that “Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man” (Luke 2:52).

Why Nazareth?

Since we know that Jesus grew up in Nazareth, we might wonder why. Nazareth was right on the Roman Road and as such, it made it easy for troops to be sent in any direction if needed. That explains a large presence of Roman soldiers in the city. We have more scriptural support for Jesus growing up as a boy in Nazareth because “the crowds said, ‘This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee’” (Matt 21:11) and when Peter was spotted after Jesus’ arrest and identified as the man who “was with Jesus of Nazareth” (Matt 26:71). Just before Jesus’ public ministry it says “In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan” (Mark 1:9). Sadly, Jesus’ hometown would later reject Him, nearly throwing Him out of town in one instance but He was also rejected in many other cities so “He went away from there and came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him” (Mark 6:1). Jesus being from Nazareth was such common knowledge that even when a blind beggar “heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me” (Mark 10:47). There are at least twenty-four occurrences where Jesus is referred to as coming from Nazareth or Jesus of Nazareth in the New Testament so it seems certain that Jesus grew up in Nazareth, but with the understanding that He was born in Bethlehem and that He went up to the feasts as a child with His parents and later went to Jerusalem as part of His call to go to the lost sheep of Israel (Matt 15:24). Why was Jesus born in Nazareth? I don’t know other than Him having access to the Roman Road. He could go in any direction He wanted to go to seek the lost sheep of Israel.

Conclusion

Jesus grew up as a child and never sinned even into adulthood and so we can say, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (1st Pet 1:4-5). This is “the last time” that we are living in today and I believe He is “ready to be revealed” at any moment, but naturally, we do not know exactly when. Today is the time to repent and be saved. Procrastinate and it may be too late (Heb 9:27).

Article by Jack Wellman

Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren Church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Teaching Children the Gospel available on Amazon.