LESSON 16 – JESUS WHO RETURNED TO NAZARETH
Lesson 16 – Jesus Who Returned to Nazareth (Matthew 2:19-23)
Do you know why Jesus was called Nazarene?
After getting the message of the angel in their dream, the wise men who came to worship Jesus went to their own country through another way. Then, when Herod saw that he was deceived by the wise men, he was exceedingly angry; and sent forth and put to death all male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years and under. An angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph and asked him to take the mother and Baby and go to Egypt. He did what was ordered to him by the angel.
When Herod was dead, an angel appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt. “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the young Child’s life are dead.”
Then he arose, took the Child and His mother, and came to the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archalaus was reigning over Judea instead of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And being warned by God in a dream, he turned aside into the region of Galilee. And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth. All of us are known for the place we live in. Similarly, this is how Jesus was known as a Nazarene. It might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, “He shall be called a Nazarene.”
Jesus went to many places to tell people about God. After he had been doing that for a while, he decided to go back to the town of Nazareth. Nazareth was the town where Jesus had grown up. That was the town where his old friends and teachers lived. Although he was born in Bethlehem, he grew up in Nazareth. This was his hometown. The people who had watched Jesus grow up would have been excited that such a popular preacher had come from their town. They were proud of Jesus and were glad that he was from Nazareth. Maybe he would do a miracle in Nazareth.
Jesus was in Nazareth on the Sabbath – the day of worship. Guess what Jesus did? Do you think he went to sport? Do you think he slept in or went to the beach? No, of course not! Jesus did what he did every Sabbath day. He went to the synagogue to worship.
The leaders of the synagogue were so happy to see Jesus that they asked him to read a Scripture and then preach about it.
Jesus stood and picked up the scroll where the Word of God was written. He unrolled the scroll and read from it. Then he sat down and began to preach.
The Jews in the synagogue really liked what Jesus was preaching. They were glad that Jesus was a Jew like them. Some of them even thought that Jews were better than anyone else. Then Jesus said something that they did not like. He said that God loves everyone. God loves the Jews, but God also loves the people who are not Jews. God wants everyone to learn about him.
The Jews got very angry. They did not want anyone but the Jews to hear about God. Even though Jesus was preaching the truth, the people got mad at him.
The people started pushing Jesus and telling him he had to leave. They followed him and kept pushing him forward until he got to a big cliff. There was nowhere else for Jesus to go. It seemed everyone was going to push him off of the cliff!
Then something amazing happened. The Bible said that Jesus just walked right through the crowd and left.
How did he do that? How could he just walk right through a crowd that was trying to push him off of a cliff? He could do that because Jesus is the Son of God. He has the power of God. He can do anything!
Jesus was not sorry that he preached the things that God wanted him to preach. He did it even if people did not like him.
Video Reference:
Bible Verse:
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.”
Coloring Page:
Word Search:
Questions:
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TRUE OR FALSE:
- Wise men came from the East to worship Baby Jesus
- On their way back, they visited King Herod
- King Herod also went to worship Baby Jesus
- Joseph received God’s message in a dream
- They fled to Egypt
- As He lived in Nazareth, He came to be known as Nazarene
- Did the crowd in the synagogue at Nazareth like Jesus’ sermon at first?
- What did the crowd at Nazareth try to do to Jesus when they did not like what he said in his sermon?
- What happened to Jesus in the end?