The Nazarene; The Carpenter

During this week it’s going to be my privilege to talk with you about some of the names and titles of the Lord Jesus Christ found in the Bible. Now I haven’t counted all of them; a friend of mine claims that there are more than seven hundred different names and titles of Jesus Christ in the word of God, and that certainly is a lot of material to cover.

But during these days we want to take our Lord’s names and titles and try to understand them for this reason: every name that he wears is a blessing that he shares. I’m reading from Matthew 2:23: "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." 

Now perhaps the most common name that was used to identify our Lord when he was here on earth was Jesus of Nazareth or Jesus the Nazarene. Now Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, but the people did not identify him with Bethlehem, they identified him with Nazareth in Galilee. This is really where he spent most of his earthly life.

And at the age of thirty when he went into his ministry, he left Nazareth and he began to travel throughout the various parts of the Holy Land. It was there in Nazareth that Jesus Christ lived, and he was given the title Jesus of Nazareth. 

Now according to Matthew, this was in fulfillment of prophecy: "That which was spoken by the prophets, he shall be called a Nazarene." And the interesting thing is this: you can search the Old Testament and you’ll not find Nazareth mentioned even once.

Now Nazareth is mentioned several times in the New Testament, but not in the Old Testament. And nowhere in the Old Testament do we find a specific prophecy that says he shall be called a Nazarene. And so we have two tasks before us today: the first is to try to understand this name, and the second, of course, is to apply the name and see what it means to your life and to my life today. 

Let's begin by trying to understand the name, he shall be called a Nazarene. Now please do not confuse this name with the title Nazirite. In Numbers 6 we have given the specifications concerning the Nazirites. The word Nazirite means one who is separated, and of course the Lord Jesus Christ was totally separated unto God, holy, harmless, undefiled. But the Lord Jesus Christ was not a Nazirite. 

For example, Nazirites were not supposed to touch dead bodies, but Jesus did. Nazirites were not supposed to be identified with the fruit of the vine, but our Lord was. In contrast to John the Baptist, who was a Nazirite, the Lord Jesus Christ attended dinners, he went to wedding feasts, and he did not separate himself from the social life of the people. So this name Nazarene does not mean Nazirite, although our Lord Jesus was totally separated unto God.

Now there are many Bible students who associate this name with a Hebrew word netzer. If you want to spell this word in your notes, it would be spelled N-E-T-Z-E-R, netzer, which means a branch. And a number of times in the Old Testament, our Lord Jesus is associated with this title, Branch. For example, in Jeremiah 23:5, he’s called the branch of David. In Zechariah 3:8, he’s called my servant the branch.

This word branch indicates one who is coming in to reign, to rule. We have, however, only one problem: these four references to the Lord Jesus as the Branch do not use the word netzer. They use another Hebrew word for branch, and only in Isaiah 11:1 do we find a prophecy about the Lord Jesus using this word netzer, which means a branch. 

I do not think that Nazarene comes from netzer, it certainly does not come from the term Nazirite. Well, then what does it come from? Well, we must remember what Nazareth was in Jesus' day. You remember when Philip was converted, and he went and called his friend Nathanael to come and meet the Lord Jesus. Nathanael said, "Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?" That's a good question, John 1:46. 

You see, back in this day, Nazareth was looked upon as a despised and a rejected place. It had a mixed population of Jews and Gentiles, had a very rough dialect in speech, some of the rebels in that day lived in Nazareth, and really it was, as we would say, rejected, across the other side of town, on the other side of the tracks, so to speak.

And so when you called somebody a Nazarene, you were saying he was not in the social register, he was not listed among the who’s who in his day. And I think our Lord Jesus is called a Nazarene because he was despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. In the Old Testament, many of the prophets, including Isaiah, Jeremiah, the psalmist, talk about the Lord Jesus Christ as the one who was rejected. 

Now let’s apply the name to our own lives. What does it mean to you and to me today that Jesus Christ was called a Nazarene? Well, I’ll tell you what it means to me right now. It speaks to me about the grace of God. When Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came into history, he did not identify with Jerusalem, the great city of religion. He didn’t go to Rome, the great city of law. He didn’t go to Athens, the great city of philosophy. 

Where did he go? He went to Nazareth. He identified with the people who were despised and rejected, the poor and the needy. And yet the Lord Jesus took that name Nazareth, and he glorified it. Jesus of Nazareth. The name Nazareth was lifted up to the cross. 

In John 19:19, you’ll recall that Pilate had made that title and put it on the cross: "This is Jesus of Nazareth, the king of the Jews." Can you imagine that? Nazareth put up on the cross. Our Lord Jesus himself used this name Nazareth from heaven. In Acts 22:8, at the conversion of the Apostle Paul, he said, "I am Jesus of Nazareth." He took that name Nazareth and lifted it all the way up to heaven. And yet the sad thing is that the people of Nazareth rejected him. 

It speaks to me of the grace of God. My friend, no matter where you live, no matter how much you own, no matter how important you may be to other people, Jesus Christ comes where you are. It also speaks to me not only of the grace of God but of the word of God. Do you know why the Lord Jesus lived in Nazareth? Because God’s word told him to. 

At least twelve times in the Gospel of Matthew, you find Matthew saying this: "This was done that it might be fulfilled which was written by the prophet." "This was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet." Do you know why Jesus was born in Bethlehem? The prophets said so. 

Do you know why those babies were slain in Bethlehem? The prophet said it would happen. Do you know why he went to Nazareth? Because the prophet said he would be called a Nazarene, rejected. You see, whatever Jesus did was in fulfillment of the word of God. And that encourages me: if you and I will just simply obey the word of God, we’ll be living as Jesus lived. 

Well, there’s a third lesson that comes from this name. We should be identified with the sufferings of God. You see, Jesus came to a despised and rejected place. He himself was despised and rejected. And we should share in his reproach. Hebrews 13 tells us we should go without the camp, bearing his reproach. My friend, don't be afraid to suffer for the Lord Jesus. 

Don't be ashamed to be identified with him. He was not ashamed to be identified with us. In Acts 24:5, they call the Christians the "sect of the Nazarenes." How about that title? The sect of the Nazarenes. And they looked down upon the Christians. They said, "Who are these people identified with Jesus of Nazareth?" 

Well, my friend, don’t be ashamed of the Lord Jesus. We’re not ashamed of the gospel of Christ; it’s the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believes. We aren’t ashamed to take up his cross and follow him. In fact, we are honored to be identified with Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, Jesus the Nazarene.

And so the grace of God, and the word of God, and being identified with the sufferings of God, this is all wrapped up in this wonderful name: Jesus the Nazarene. Yes, yes, something good did come out of Nazareth: the Lord Jesus Christ, the holy Son of God. And he left Nazareth, and he ministered to needy people, and wherever there was hurt, Jesus was there.

In Mark 6 we read these words: "And he went out from there and came into his own country and his disciples follow him." This is Nazareth where our Lord had been brought up. "And when the Sabbath day was come, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many hearing him were astonished saying, From where hath this man these things? and what wisdom is this which is given unto him that even such mighty works are wrought by his hands?

Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Judas, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? and they were offended at him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honor but in his own country and among his own kin and in his own house. And he could there do no mighty work except that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk and healed them. And he marveled because of their unbelief, and he went round about the villages teaching." 

The Lord Jesus Christ was a carpenter. Now we ought to meditate on that and ask ourselves the question: why was it when Jesus came to earth, he chose that vocation? Now he was a teacher, we know that. He was a healer, we know that. But he was a carpenter. 

And during the years that he was there in Nazareth, he worked at a bench; he was a carpenter. This, of course, gives me great encouragement because most of us have to work. We know what it is to put in our time regardless of what our calling may be. And Jesus was a laborer; he knew something about working. 

But why was our Lord a carpenter? Well, let me suggest several reasons. First of all, and perhaps this comes in as the most important: he was born in a carpenter’s home. You see, Joseph, his earthly father, was a carpenter. In Matthew 13:55, they say, "Is not this the carpenter’s son?" And so the Lord Jesus was born in a carpenter’s home. 

This is not what the Jewish people expected at all. They thought that when their Messiah would come, he would come as a great king; he should have been born in a palace. No, he was born in a carpenter's home. He should have been born a great soldier, a conqueror, who would deliver them from Rome. No, no, he came as a laborer. He came as a servant. 

And of course, the Old Testament scriptures predicted that he would come as a servant. In Isaiah 52 and Isaiah 53, we have a description of the suffering servant of the Lord. In Philippians 2:5, we’re told that Jesus Christ came as a servant.

When our Lord Jesus Christ came into this world, according to Hebrews 10, he said this: "I come to do thy will, oh God, thy law is within my heart." Jesus came as a humble servant; he came as a carpenter. That says to me that when Jesus Christ came to this earth, he identified with all of us. 

There's a second reason why I think our Lord became a carpenter when he was here on earth. Not only was he born in a carpenter's home, but he came to do a carpenter's work. Now what does a carpenter do? Well, he builds and he repairs.

I can just imagine people coming to the carpenter shop there in Nazareth and bringing Jesus broken tables or broken chairs, giving him orders for manufacturing some piece of furniture, some piece of farm equipment. And our Lord Jesus would build and repair. 

Now that opens up for me a great vista of meditative truth. For example, before he came he'd built the universe; he knew something about building. All things were made by him, and without him was not anything made that was made. He built the universe. 

And today, the Lord Jesus Christ is building his church. In Matthew 16:18, he said that: "I will build my church." Now the church is not some denomination or some man-made organization. The church is made up of all those who have trusted Jesus Christ as their Savior. In 1 Peter 2, Peter tells us that we are living stones in this temple that God is building. Jesus Christ built the universe and he’s building a church.

And I wonder, my friend, are you a part of what he is building? I note in John 14 that my Lord is building a home up in heaven. "I go to prepare a place for you, and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself." The wonderful thing about knowing Jesus as your Savior is this: you know where you’re going. 

Now you may not know how long it'll take to get there. We don't know if Jesus will return; we don't know if we may pass away in death, go to sleep in Jesus and wake up in heaven. This the Lord has not told us. But he has assured us that he’s building a home for us up in heaven. And that to me is a great encouragement. The carpenter who built the universe, the carpenter who is building his church, is building for his church a home in heaven. 

And Jesus Christ came to build lives. The sad thing is we don't let him do it. I notice here in Mark 6:2, they say, "Even such mighty works are wrought by his hands." Mark 6:5: "He could do no mighty work there except he laid his hands upon a few sick folk and healed them." What was the reason he could not work? Mark 6:6 tells us: "He marveled because of their unbelief." 

My friend, the Lord Jesus Christ wants to build your life. You say, "Oh, but I have a terrible, terrible temptation I have to overcome." He can strengthen you. "I have a habit I have to get rid of." He can enable you. Jesus Christ came to do a carpenter’s work. 

There's a third reason why the Lord Jesus was a carpenter. He not only was born in a carpenter's home and came to do a carpenter's work—building and repairing—he follows a carpenter’s methods. You see, a carpenter looks at a piece of wood and he sees a potential in that wood. I might not see it, but he can see it. I wonder how many times our Lord Jesus went out and saw a tree and he said, "I can see in that tree a certain potential." 

You know, God looks at you, my friend, and he says, "I see potential in you." Oh, you may look at yourself in the mirror and say, "I can never become anything, I can never do anything." Yes, you can. Jesus looked at Peter one day and said, "I know who you are, you’re Simon, but I’m going to call you Peter, a rock." And his friends must have laughed at Peter because they knew there wasn't much in Peter that was like a rock. 

But Jesus saw the potential in Peter. He saw the potential in Saul of Tarsus. He saw the potential in John Mark. He sees the potential in you. God knows what he wants you to do. God knows what he wants you to become. He never leaves a job half done. But our responsibility is just to surrender into his hands. 

Jesus was a carpenter because he was born in a carpenter’s home. He came to do a carpenter’s work—building and repairing. He follows a carpenter’s methods. And finally, he died a carpenter’s death. Now he wasn’t stoned to death; he was nailed to a tree. 

I wonder how many times our Lord Jesus had carried trees back to the carpenter shop and trimmed them and planed them and made from them some useful implement. Well, one day they took the Lord Jesus and they took hammers and nails—the very tools that he had used in the carpenter shop—and they nailed him to a tree. Peter wrote and said, "Who his own self bore our sins in his own body on the tree." 1 Peter 2:24. But I want you to know it wasn't nails that held him to that cross, it was his love. 

He died a carpenter’s death, nailed to a tree. And you know why he died that death? He died that death that you and I might be saved. Whenever you think of Jesus Christ the carpenter, just remember the price that he paid to make something out of our lives. He saved us. And then he takes our lives and he begins to work in our lives to make us what we ought to be. 

Now may I ask you a question: who is making your life? Is Satan ruining your life? You say, "Well, I’m a self-made man." Oh, my friend, you can’t be a self-made man, self-made woman, because of ourselves and in ourselves, we just can’t make it. But when you put your life into the hands of the Lord Jesus, the wonderful carpenter, he will save you and he will make something out of you. 

Yes, he is the carpenter. He was born in a carpenter’s home; he identifies with us. He came to do a carpenter’s work, to build your life and to repair your life. He follows a carpenter’s methods, patiently fulfilling the plan that he has for you. And in order to make all of this possible, he died a carpenter’s death. He died for you that you might live through him. I recommend him to you.