The Nazarene King

Where We’ve Been

- Matthew 1:1 we saw that Jesus is the long-promised Davidic son, who brings the Abrahamic promises to fruition, or, to say it in reference to the divine covenants related to David and Abraham, Jesus is the long-promised eternal King who is bringing the nations in to God’s presence for blessing.

THAT is the first thing Matthew wants you to know about Jesus. We saw that it is also the last thing Matthew wants you to know about Jesus. In the “Great Commission” or better, the “Final Command” of King Jesus we see him announce his everlasting, all encompassing authority and send his disciples to go gather up the nations into the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

- Then we surveyed the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew 1:2-17. We saw that Matthew, inspired by the Holy Spirit, crafted Jesus’ family history for theological purposes. He arranged the genealogy into three sets of 14, from Abraham -> David the King -> Babylonia Exile -> Jesus. We noted how this is Matthew’s way to hammer home the reality that Jesus is the King promised to David in 2 Sam 7. And by appealing to these key moments in Israel’s history Matthew also announces that the Exile is ending in this Davidic Son, King Jesus.

Matthew 2:23

So, you might naturally expect that in our survey of Matthew’s use of the OT, we would now jump into the birth narrative of Jesus where Matthew actually starts quoting from the OT. Well, today we’re actually going to jump over most of the birth narrative and look at the very end of Matthew 2.

I figured that we could loop back around to the birth narrative for the November and December sermons. Seems to be a natural fit.

So, Matthew 2:23 is pretty simple and straightforward right? Joseph had taken Mary and Jesus out of the area to get a way from a tyrannical king who wanted to kill Jesus because he felt threatened. Upon return Joseph was directed to a little town called Nazareth up in the Galilee region. Here Matthew says, “And he came and lived in a town called Nazareth, in order that what was said by the prophets would be fulfilled: “He will be called a Nazarene.”

All right, well that’s that, Jesus lived in Nazareth and that checks the box that Jesus fulfilled yet another prophecy, that he would be a Nazarene. There you go, the shortest sermon ever. Quick, easy, to the point.

Well, I guess perhaps that I should at least show you where the prophets (note that multiple prophets are mentioned here by Matthew) said this fun little insignificant fact about Jesus.

But wait...

One thing we’ve already seen about Matthew is that he’s not playing around here. There are no real insignificant facts about Jesus in Matthew’s account. Everything he says and does is highly calculated and he’s not afraid to sharpen the point to make the theological reality he’s communicated pierce a little deeper. Here’s what Matthew knows, and is expecting you to know: There are zero prophecies about Jesus being from Nazareth in the OT. In fact, the last prophet spoke 400 years before Jesus was born and the town of Nazareth wasn’t even a town in the time of the OT! It was only about 150 years old when Jesus was born.

SO what is Matthew doing by saying that Jesus living in Nazareth fulfills what multiple prophets said? Matthew’s point is theologically rich and wonderful…and yet we shall see it is yet another way for Matthew to tell us that Jesus is the long-awaited promised Son of David who rules forever and ever as King.

The Wordplay

Matthew is doing a wordplay here. Remember that Matthew’s first readers would have be familiar with Hebrew and Greek. The name Nazareth is Ναζαρέτ in Greek and it sounds like the Hebrew word for “branch” in Hebrew נֵצֶר. But that still makes one wonder what the word נֵצֶר or “branch” has to do with anything. Listen to Isaiah:

Isaiah 11:1–10 (LEB)

And a shoot will come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from its roots will bear fruit. And the spirit of Yahweh shall rest on him— a spirit of wisdom and understanding, a spirit of counsel and might, a spirit of knowledge and the fear of Yahweh. And his breath is in the fear of Yahweh. And he shall judge not by his eyesight, and he shall rebuke not by what he hears with his ears. But he shall judge the poor with righteousness, and he shall decide for the needy of the earth with rectitude. And he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and he shall kill the wicked person with the breath of his lips. And righteousness shall be the belt around his waist, and faithfulness the belt around his loins. And a wolf shall stay with a lamb, and a leopard shall lie down with a kid, and a calf and a lion and a fatling together as a small boy leads them. And a cow and a bear shall graze; their young shall lie down together. And a lion shall eat straw like the cattle. And an infant shall play over a serpent’s hole, and a toddler shall put his hand on a viper’s hole. They will not injure and they will not destroy on all of my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of Yahweh, as the waters cover the sea. And this shall happen on that day: the nations shall inquire of the root of Jesse, which shall be standing as a signal to the peoples, and his resting place shall be glorious.

The word “branch” here is the Hebrew word נֵצֶר. When God appointed David to rule over his people he told David that he would have a Son who would rule forever and ever. But who exactly was this forever King? Solomon? Josiah? Son after son came through the generations (you can read about them in the book of Kings and Chronicles). Most were bad kings (there were a few decent ones), and they actually led God’s people away from God. In an act of judgment on these kings and his people, God sent them into exile and cut off the Davidic kingly line! You can see how this is a big deal. What about the forever-king? God’s anointed one who would rule on David’s throne forever? The Exile of God’s people was catastrophic. God’s presence left the Temple and his people left the Promised Land. Was it all over? This whole project to restore all humanity through the offspring of Abraham, namely a singular eternal King from the line of David, was over?!

That’s the context the prophets are speaking into. The “stump of Jesse” signifies that God had indeed chopped the tree of David’s line down. But, the prophets speak regularly of a new shoot, a new branch, that will come up from that old dead stump. In this new branch lies the hope of the whole world! Notice the “nations” mentioned in Is. 11:10.

God is a God of resurrection and new life, and the prophets claimed that one day he would resurrect the Davidic line, and through that Son of David, God would make all things new!!!

Jeremiah 23:5 LEB

“Look, days are coming,” declares Yahweh, “when I will raise up for David a righteous branch, and he will reign as king, and he will achieve success, and he will do justice and righteousness in the land.

Jeremiah 33:15 LEB

In those days and in that time I will make a branch of righteousness sprout for David, and he will execute justice and righteousness in the land.

In Zechariah (3:8 and 6:12) the prophet speaks of a Branch that will come and rule and build a new Temple for YHWH!

The Apostle Paul quotes Isaiah to show that Jesus, the Davidic Forever-King, will even be the hope of the gentiles:

Romans 15:12 LEB

And again Isaiah says, “The root of Jesse will come, even the one who rises to rule over the Gentiles; in him the Gentiles will put their hope.”

And I told you guys this last time, but the very last thing the Bible says about Jesus is spoken by Jesus when he says in the final sentence of Revelation:

Revelation 22:16 LEB

“I, Jesus, sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.”

This Davidic “branch” (נֵצֶר), the hope of the whole world, that the prophets said would come and make all things new, is King Jesus, the Son of David. Matthew can’t stress enough that we come to grips with this wonderful reality.

Conclusion

My parents live in the small town of Barnwell, SC and one way to get there from my house is to drive through Branchville, SC. It’s a small, off the beaten path town in rural SC (not too unlike Nazareth). Matthew is seeing Jesus’ identity all over his life. Jesus was raised in the “Branchville” of his day, and Matthew couldn’t help but say “of course the Root of Jesse, the Son of David, was raised in ‘Branch’ville!” By the power of the Spirit, Matthew has eyes to see the rich providence of God surrounding Jesus’ life. He was born in the Bethlehem, the “City of David” and raised in a town that triggered his mind to contemplate the multiple prophecies about the coming “Branch.”

One NT scholar puts it this way, “Matthew concludes his telling of the story of Jesus’s birth just as he began it (1:1), by emphasizing Jesus as Messiah, son of David, the hope of Israel’s restoration.” And, I would add ultimately, all humanity’s restoration.

Hopefully you’re staring to notice that the kingship of Jesus is a MAJOR deal for Matthew (and once you see it, you’ll notice it everywhere in the NT). I’ve mentioned it before, “Christ” is a royal title, not a last name. “Lord” is the word for master or ruler, not Jesus’ nickname. We want to be biblical in how we think and speak, especially about Jesus. The reality is that our english Bibles, and the BCP sometimes conceal this wonderful royal reality we’ve pondered today behind words like “Christ” and “Lord.” Of course it is not the intention of the english translators (or of the BCP) to do this, but nevertheless we must be taught the full reality behind the words Christ and Lord, so that our Bible reading and liturgy can be received more full theological import. Consider Jesus’ kingship and rule as we finish out this service when you hear or read the words “Christ” and “Lord.”

Now, we may not live in a society that readily grasps living under a monarch, and some of you may be more sensitive to the idea that the very foundation of our country was induced by the desire to get out from under a king, but we cannot allow that to color how we conceive of, and speak of Jesus. We want to allow Jesus to define kingship, not George, Herod, or Caesar. So, let me encourage you to embrace Jesus as king. Let me encourage you to consider his kingship over heaven and earth and what it might look like for him to be your king, and the king of your household. He reigns with absolute authority and, unlike any other king ever, is omni-benevolent (all good!). There isn’t even an ounce of darkness in him. He’s not a tyrant. He doesn’t levy unfair taxes or kill first born children because they are a threat to him. He is the hope of the whole world. The means by which we (Jew or Gentile) get access to God, the fount of life-everlasting. The Psalmist notes

Psalm 16:11 LEB

You will make known to me the path of life. In your presence is fullness of joy. At your right hand are pleasures forever.

He’s not a tyrant. Obedience to this Forever-King leads to life, not death, to joy not misery. Let us pledge allegiance to this saving, loving forever-King! As we prepare ourselves to take communion, let us remember that we are being welcomed at the table of God, because our King‘s royal blood was shed and his royal body broken. Jesus is surely a king like no other!