Jesus Grew Up in the Middle of Nowhere, Which Turned Out to be the Center of the Father's Will

What Did Jesus Do?

But when Joseph heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod,
he was afraid to go there,
and being warned in a dream he withdrew to the district of Galilee.
Matthew 2:22

There is an old saying, “You can take the boy out of the country, but you can’t take the country out of the boy.” Joseph had literally taken the infant Jesus out of the country, fleeing from Israel and the wrath of Herod to Egypt. (Matthew 2:14) But Jesus was not about to grow up to become in effect an Egyptian. The Father had sent the Son to be born of Mary, that he should grow up to become “the King of the Jews.” (Matthew 2:2) So, when Herod died, an angel of the Lord gave Joseph the “green light” to return to Israel. (Matthew 2:19) Actually, it was more of a yellow light, because Joseph needed to exercise caution on the return trip. Achelaus, the son of Herod, ruled in Jerusalem, and the city, along with the region of Judea, undoubtedly teemed with those who were still on the lookout for the child whom the wise men had once traveled afar to worship. So Joseph went on past Judea, up to the country, into rural Galilee.

Why Galilee? Well it was off the Jerusalem radar. Galilee was nowhere. And, if Galilee was nowhere, then Nazareth, nestled pretty much in the center of the district, was the “middle of nowhere.” Nazareth was the perfect place for Joseph and Mary to raise their son in total obscurity. Jesus, thank God, was a country boy. That the Christ would call Nazareth his home was also part of the prophetic word concerning the Messiah. (Matthew 2:23)

I am not about to launch into a sermon on the virtues of rural life versus the vices of urban existence. But it is clear that the Father desired that the Son should grow up far from Israel’s center of political and religious power. The Christ would be raised outside the influence of court intrigues, and far apart from the scheming of politicians and the posturing of Pharisees. Jesus grew up humbly, in the midst of God’s people, as one of God’s people. As far as anyone knew, Jesus was “the neighbor’s kid,” Joseph and Mary’s little boy. Funny thing, though. While, for all intents and purposes, it may have seemed as if Jesus grew up in the middle of nowhere, he was, in fact, precisely in the center of his Father’s will. The truth of the matter is, the Father would have all of his children grow up in the very same place as the Son. No, not in Nazareth, but in the center of his will for us.

And the center of the Father’s will for his daughters and sons is—Jesus. It doesn’t matter to the Father if we live in a tiny apartment downtown, or a spacious penthouse uptown. If we reside on a rundown ramshackle farm, or a prosperous sprawling ranch is of little significance to the Father. It is the Father’s desire, wherever we may be, whatever our circumstance, that we should live in, with, and for the Son. The Father went to great trouble to ensure that Jesus would grow up in the true midst of his people—Emmanuel—so that his people should live in the knowledge and power and presence of the Son, who is the center of the Father’s will.

As Advent is now nearly over, and with Christmas just a few days away, where are we? Whether we find ourselves where the action is, or in the middle of nowhere, the critical question is in truth where is Jesus in our life? Is Jesus at the center of our life? Or is he out on the periphery somewhere? Or, perhaps, looking at our life, must we acknowledge that we’ve really made no place at all for Jesus? As the story of the return to Nazareth shows, the Father cares very much where Jesus is, and where his daughters and sons are in relation to Christ. Advent is when we consider the meaning of Jesus coming to us. Christmas is when, the Father having made sure that the Son’s place is with us, we can discover, or rediscover, just how close Jesus is, and come to him.

S.D.G.

Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4