January, 1933
T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
8
NAZARETH andilie cJea qf^jalilee
B y J. A. HUFFMAN* Marion, Ind.
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H . azareth is the city in which Jesus spent the greater part o f His life, the period sometimes called “ His hidden years,” from the time He was two or three until He was about thirty. It was of His residence here that it was said
T raditional S pots of N azareth Local tradition has marked sacred spots. The Church of the Annunciation is said to be built over the place where Mary lived, and where the angel Gabriel appeared to her and announced to her that she should become the mother of our Lord. There is a chapel dedicated to the angel and one to Mary. In the latter, called the Chapel o f the Annuncia tion, there is an altar with the inscription in Latin, “ Here the word was made flesh.” There is also a chapel called “ The Workshop o f St. Joseph.” This is the supposed location o f the carpenter shop in which both Joseph and Jesus labored. There is an altar here with the inscription, “ Here He became subject to them.” Personally, I felt that a present-day carpenter shop in Nazareth would more nearly reflect Joseph and Jesus at their trade as carpenters,'than a dark grotto be neath a building. Therefore, I sought out a typical Naza reth carpenter shop, o f which there are plenty, and ob served the primitive methods of centuries ago still em ployed. Until the last few decades, there has been little change in the lands o f the Near East, and even now the changes are adopted very slowly. The Greek church is built upon the spot reputed to be the location o f the synagogue where Jesus preached in Nazareth. At the beginning of His sermon, they all “ won dered at the gracious words which proceeded from his lips.” But before He had finished they were all “ filled with wrath” (Lk. 4 :28 ). Then they rose up and thrust [Continued on page 13]
SEA OF GALILEE AND SITE OF ANCIENT BETHSAIDA
*Dean o f Divinity School, Marion College, Marion, Ind., and Dean o f Divinity School o f Winona Lake (summer sessions), Winona Lake, Ind. Nazareth is nestled picturesquely among the high hills o f Galilee. There is only one thing which could add to its beauty, and that would be to have the Sea o f Galilee, which is sixteen miles away, at its foot. But Galilee is the re deeming feature o f Tiberias and cannot be spared to Nazareth. o f Him, that He was subject to Joseph and Mary, and that “ he increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with Gofl and man” (Lk. 2:51, 52). When one walks the streets of Nazareth, he may be assured that he is treading upon places hallowed by the feet of Our Lord. It was from Nazareth that Jesus went to he baptized by John the Baptist at the river Jordan, in the wilderness o f Judaea. Nazareth has never been of political or commercial im portance, and to have been a Nazarene was no badge of honor. It was not a backwoods village, however, as it was located on the Jerusalem-Damascus road, and just off the Plain o f Esdralon. It was situated near the crossroads of interesting movements in Palestine. It is one o f the cities o f New Testament times which has continued to hold its own through the centuries, and is at present about as prosperous as it ever was. It has a population of about eight thousand, more than half o f whom are Christians. By “ Christians,” in Palestine, we mean those who are not Mos lems or Jews. The Greek Orthodox number the most, the Roman Catholic and Moslems about the same, and the Pro testants are the smallest group. There are no Jews in Nazareth.
Photo by Adalbert Bartlett BOYS OF MODERN NAZARETH SAWING OLIVE WOOD IN A CARPENTER SHOP, PROBABLY SIMILAR TO THE ONE IN WHICH JESUS LABORED AS A BOY.
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