As I read my Bible, especially the gospels, I find that I am frequently lost as I try to put the narratives into a chronological order (it is not mandatory to have things in a tight, chronological order, but I am a visual learner, and it is easier if I can visualize what is going on in the narrative).
Having watched the entirety of “The Chosen” season five, we see scenes and timelines that may not have occurred as portrayed by the producers. The reality is that “The Chosen” may have created a false narrative.
Will that false impartation corrupt the word of God?
Only if you are fragile in your knowledge of the scriptures, and there is only one person who can cure that, you.
I am sure I have mentioned this before, but John wrote this gospel with the Jewish community in mind. As we dive back into John, we will soon crash into verse 46, where Nathanael makes his sarcastic comment that implies that Jesus is probably as low as the reputation that Nazareth carries. He will soon find out how wrong he is.
That having been said, let's jump into John 1:45.
John 1:45 NAS95 “Philip *found Nathanael and *said to him, "We have found Him of whom Moses in the Law and also the Prophets wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph."
Not that it is important, but Philip was from Bethsaida, which is in the Northern region of Galilee.
Why is any of that important?
Because, as we begin to learn about Jesus, we find Him in the Southern regions of Galilee, where we also find John the baptizer, as he pursued adequate water to immerse those who came to him to be baptized. Jesus came to John, His cousin, to be baptized. Only God knows where Nathanael was, but Philip pursued him and found him.
Pay attention to what Philip had to say about the Messiah.
“ We have found Him of whom Moses in the Law and also the Prophets wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”
These words were not peculiar to Nathanael, and he comprehended immediately what Philip was trying to tell him. Nathanael's response was not in opposition to what Philip said, but in I have come to learn that sarcasm is a classic Jewish manner of conversation, Nathanael's sarcastic response was, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?”
In what ways do the scriptures validate this statement?
Malachi 3:16 NAS95 Then those who feared the LORD spoke to one another, and the LORD gave attention and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the LORD and who esteem His name.
These people were not considered to be the church, for the Holy Spirit had not yet been given; therefore, perhaps we can set their words aside for a moment.
If we look at the book of Acts, where Saul of Tarsus (soon to be recognized as Paul) has been preaching the gospel of Jesus, the Messiah.
Saul of Tarsus, consider the fear that name must have struck in the hearts of Christ's followers back then. Not quite an extradition, but if you go north, it will be more comfortable for us in Jerusalem.
Acts 9:30-31 NAS95 But when the brethren learned of it, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him away to Tarsus. (31) So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria enjoyed peace, being built up; and going on in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it continued to increase.
When it says, “Him of whom Moses in the Law … wrote,” we immediately think about the “law,” and we frequently associate that law with Paul. It is not that Paul wrote out laws, but his words frequently tell things like Christ followers don't act that way.
Law: it is the Strong's Greek #G3551 nómos; gen. nómou, masc noun from némō (n.f., see aponémō [G632]), to divide among, parcel out, allot.
Thayer's Definitions of Law: 1) anything established, anything received by usage, a custom, a law, a command. 1a) of any law whatsoever. 1a1) a law or rule producing a state approved of God. 1a1a) by the observance of which is approved of God. 1a2) a precept or injunction.
The law and some of the defining narrative that surrounds that law began in Genesis 3:15.
Genesis 3:14-15 NLT Then the LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all animals, domestic and wild. You will crawl on your belly, groveling in the dust as long as you live. (15) And I will cause hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.”
You should recognize by now that the serpent is Satan. The seed of the woman is Jesus, the Messiah. Striking someone's heel will definitely hurt, but crushing someone's head will bring about death.
The offspring referred to in Genesis 3 is the seed that leads to Jesus. Matthew's gospel spells out the ancestry from Abram to Joseph, the husband of Mary.
Matthew 1:1-3 NLT This is a record of the ancestors of Jesus the Messiah, a descendant of David and of Abraham: (2) Abraham was the father of Isaac. Isaac was the father of Jacob. Jacob was the father of Judah and his brothers. (3) Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah (whose mother was Tamar). Perez was the father of Hezron. Hezron was the father of Ram.
This narrative continues:
Matthew 1:15-17 NLT Eliud was the father of Eleazar. Eleazar was the father of Matthan. Matthan was the father of Jacob. (16) Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary. Mary gave birth to Jesus, who is called the Messiah. (17) All those listed above include fourteen generations from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the Babylonian exile, and fourteen from the Babylonian exile to the Messiah.
Let's settle some arguments: Joseph, although it is clear that he is the husband of Mary, in Matthew's gospel, this assertion that Mary is the mother, should clarify that Joseph had NO relations with Mary, and was NOT the biological father of Jesus.
Luke 1:27 makes it clear that even up to the birth of Jesus, Mary was a virgin. The most amazing part of this story is that Mary was also of the bloodline of Judah.
I realize many of you read something like this, and all you get is a headache, but watch what happens next.
Matthew 1:18 NLT This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit.
The Sermon Bible Commentary says,
"Nathanael’s prejudice was but the giving voice to a fault that is as wide as humanity, and which we have every day of our lives to fight with, not only in regard of religious matters, but in regard of all others—namely, the habit of estimating people, and their work, and their wisdom, and their power, by the class to which they are supposed to belong."
While all that is often debilitating and true, here is something we seem to refuse to acknowledge and accept. Mary, in the face of quite probably death by stoning, stood her ground and told the community that the baby was God's baby.
Yes, these people had a better understanding of the impact of angels in their lives than we do, but we are so practical and judgmental. What, you might ask, is the practical side of a pregnant girl trying to tell us that NO man was involved in making this baby? Practicality tells us Joseph would be the father, but being older, wiser, and having an outstanding reputation as a "teacher," it did not make sense that he would crush his reputation.
If you think this train of thought is outrageous, consider that Joseph took his young, pregnant wife to Bethlehem, Joseph's hometown, where he had kinfolk. None of them would let him in their house. Because it was taxation time, the "hotel" was filled, and the two of them had to share a place where animals - sheep- were fed and pooped.
A portion of the evidence of that seed is demonstrated in Genesis 22, where God spoke to Abraham, but we understand that it is Moses, many years later, who is writing down the history and defining statements that enfold the law, we assume, word for word, between God, Abram, and all the patriarchs throughout the ages after that.
The writer of the book of Hebrews tells us that we are to take this by faith.
Hebrews_11:1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
Hebrews_11:3 By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible.
Hebrews_11:4 By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained the testimony that he was righteous, God testifying about his gifts, and through faith, though he is dead, he still speaks.
Hebrews_11:6 And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.
But it is not a blind faith, for the substantiating evidence is scattered throughout the scriptures.
Genesis 22:14-18 NASB Abraham called the name of that place The LORD Will Provide, as it is said to this day, "In the mount of the LORD it will be provided." (15) Then the angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time from heaven, (16) and said, "By Myself I have sworn, declares the LORD, because you have done this thing and have not withheld your son, your only son, (17) indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies. (18) "In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice."
We have spent an ample amount of time looking at Nathanael's response to what Philip said, but I want to touch on one last thing before moving on.
John 1:46 NASB Nathanael said to him, "Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?" Philip *said to him, "Come and see."
I mentioned how Jesus could have been referred to and treated as an illegitimate child. Look at the demands placed upon an illegitimate child by the law.
Deuteronomy 23:2 NASB "No one of illegitimate birth shall enter the assembly of the LORD; none of his descendants, even to the tenth generation, shall enter the assembly of the LORD.
Was Jesus illegitimate? The answer is NO, but do you think that mattered to the townsfolk?
Strong's # definition of illegitimate is the Hebrew word mamzêr. It is from an unused root meaning to alienate; a mongrel, that is, born of a Jewish father and a heathen mother: - bastard. I mentioned how none of Joseph's kinfolk would allow them into their home when they arrived in Bethlehem. Doesn't it shock you? It does me, and it enforces the idea that he was considered a mamzêr.
Take this a few years forward, to where Jesus is twelve, and He is now holding intelligent conversations with the scribes in the temple.
Where and how did Jesus get His knowledge?
The answer to that comes from Matthew 1:19, where it says: “... Joseph her husband, being a righteous man …” NAS95. Translations include good and just.
Who bestows a title like this upon you?
You do not give it to yourself, for that would be insolent. Therefore, only those who know you personally, know what you stand for, and have watched you for years; in the case of Joseph, who, up to this point, had most likely been an active member of a synagogue, and he, by memory, just as anyone else would have to do, memorized the passages over time and by repetition.
If I go back to Luke's gospel, I find information that tells me that Joseph was from Nazareth, and this may be where the dark shadow was cast over Nazareth.
Luke 1:26-27 NAS95 Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth, (27) to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.
The Biblical Illustrator states, “The place the angel is sent to—Nazareth. An obscure place, little taken notice of; yea, a city in Galilee, out of which arises no prophet: even there the God of prophets condescends to be conceived.”
“Out of which arises no prophet” – Well, that statement is no longer true.
This causes another question to rise within me. Was Jesus born in Nazareth?
No, but He was conceived there. Remember that Jesus, according to the religious busy bodies, was a mamzêr, an illegitimate child, and both the child and the mother could have been stoned.
Conveniently, a census was called for, and God saw fit to move Joseph and Mary out of Nazareth. Just because we don't see something spelled out with a definition does not mean it did not happen. It just moves the strong potential of hostility into the theoretical range, and, as you recall, we may have seen the theoretical in action when they came into Bethlehem. I believe it is clear that we probably should not try to make a theoretical subject a doctrinal issue, and that is why I am only sharing this with you, my closest friends.
Luke 2:1 NAS95 Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth.
There is an odd insertion.
Luke 2:2 NAS95 This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria.
Information like this gives some the ability to pinpoint when Jesus was born.
