Nazareth: Growing Up a Carpenter’s Son

Dr. Ray Pritchard
Dr. Ray Pritchard

“He went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets: ‘He will be called a Nazarene’” (Matthew 2:23).


In this case we are looking at Nazareth as Jesus’ boyhood home. Nazareth was indeed an obscure village. Recently archeologists have discovered the remains of a home in Nazareth from the time of Jesus. Nazareth itself was evidently “a small hamlet with about 50 houses populated by poor Jews.”

One of those poor Jews was a carpenter named Joseph. He made his living with his hands, using tools like an ax, a chisel, and a saw. Most likely he was poor all his life. This means Jesus grew up in a blue collar home. He wasn’t born with a silver spoon in his mouth. No doubt Joseph taught Jesus how to spot a good piece of wood, how to measure it properly, and how to make a good cut. I’m sure Jesus spent many hours learning at his father’s side. He knew what it was like to be raised in a poor family. It prepared him for later years when his message would spread like wildfire among the common people of Israel. They loved him because he was one of them. 

But his neighbors had no use for him.

The final tragedy is to know Jesus so well that you don’t know him at all. We must not make that mistake or we will be as guilty as the people of Nazareth who did not know they lived next door to the Savior of the world.



Originally published February 25, 2015.


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