JESUS WAS A HILLBILLY!

JESUS WAS A HILLBILLY!

John 1:44-46 KJV

44 Now Philip was of Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.

45 Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.

46 And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see.

          Jesus spent most of his life in Nazareth, a village about three days walk from Jerusalem, about eighteen miles from the Sea of Galilee, and six miles west of Mount Tabor.  The Plain of Esdraelon lies before you, with its twenty battlefields-the scenes of Barak's and of Gideon's victories, of Saul's and Josiah's defeats, of the struggles for freedom in the glorious days of the Maccabees. There is Naboth's vineyard and the place of Jehu's revenge upon Jezebel; there Shunem and the house of Elisha; there Carmel and the place of Elijah's sacrifice. To the E the valley of Jordan, with the long range of Gilead; to the W the radiance of the Great Sea. . . . You can see thirty miles in three directions" (from The New Unger's Bible Dictionary. Originally published by Moody Press of Chicago, Illinois. Copyright © 1988.)

          The people of Nazareth were of a lower class and mixed with gentiles. They earned a bad reputation due to their rude dialect and because the trade routes brought them into constant contact with the heathen. Nathanael’s comment in John 1:46 seemed to indicate a lack of morals and after Jesus’ first sermon there they refused to believe. The inscription on the cross (John 19:19) was an insult because it labeled Jesus as a Nazarene and a crucified king.  

          The houses in Nazareth were built upon foundations dug deeply into the stone. When it rained in Nazareth houses that simply rested upon the ground would be washed away as the rain rushed down the hill. Jesus used this truth to illustrate the wise man who built his house on the rock.

          Yes, Jesus was a hillbilly who lived among rough and earthy people. He was in all points tempted like me, yet without sin.

Dear Lord, thank you for not only becoming one of us but becoming one of the lowest of us. Thank you for taking my load of sin and giving me your own righteousness. AMEN