Matt 2:22b+23, And being warned by God in a dream, he departed for the regions of Galilee, and came and resided in a city called Nazareth, that what was spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, "He shall be called a Nazarene." 
	In this passage concerning the Christ child, we have a fulfillment of prophecy that we dare not just ignore, or casually regard. It is the importance of the Christ being from Nazareth, or being a Nazarene. The Holy Spirit inspired Matthew to so record this declaration of Jesus of Nazareth. And it was not just Matthew who was so moved by the Holy Spirit.
	Luke, as well, makes it very clear that Jesus was from Nazareth. Luke 2:4-7, And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, in order to register, along with Mary, who was engaged to him, and was with child. And it came about that while they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her first-born son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. 
And in Luke 2:39+40, And when they had performed everything according to the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own city of Nazareth. And the Child continued to grow and become strong, increasing in wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him. 
	There are very many reasons that are given for the importance of this truth, including the vows and sanctifications made by Nazarites as set apart unto God. This is the most common explanation, but it passes over what may be at the very prophetic core of this important account. The prophesies, generally ascribed to this passage, will be the focus of this morning’s contemplation. They deal with the basic aspect of the element of a shoot or a branch, which is at the root of the words Nazarite, Nazareth, and Nazarene. It is the heart of the prophesied Christ, the root of Jesse and the Branch of the Lord. It was this aspect of the Christ, sent to deliver those people whom God chose unto Himself, which held the attention and the anticipation of the people of God. 
	We begin with Isa 11:1-5. Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse, And a branch from his roots will bear fruit. And the Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him, The spirit of wisdom and understanding, The spirit of counsel and strength, The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. And He will delight in the fear of the Lord, And He will not judge by what His eyes see, Nor make a decision by what His ears hear; But with righteousness He will judge the poor, And decide with fairness for the afflicted of the earth; And He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, And with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked. Also righteousness will be the belt about His loins, And faithfulness the belt about His waist. 
	This was a most beloved passage that encouraged those whose hearts were after the fullness of God to be established in His Chosen One. This was the measure of the promise from the very mouth of God to bring forth His Deliverer in righteousness and faithfulness. The Christ would judge the peoples with equity and have compassion on the poor and needy. He would judge the earth and reign with the spirit of wisdom and understanding. This was something that they longed for in their earthly situations and circumstances. They were ruled by others and made to be the servants and the slaves of the whims of the powers of this earth. They were lost and forlorn and anxious for relief from their burdens and chains of oppression. 
	Zech 6:12+13, "Then say to him, 'Thus says the Lord of hosts," Behold, a man whose name is Branch, for He will branch out from where He is; and He will build the temple of the Lord. "Yes, it is He who will build the temple of the Lord, and He who will bear the honor and sit and rule on His throne. Thus, He will be a priest on His throne, and the counsel of peace will be between the two offices.” 
Those earnestly seeking for the Christ were anticipating both a king and a high priest who would reestablish the earthly kingdom of Israel and rebuild the temple to its former glory and splendor. They were very much focused on the earthly outcome of what these prophecies promised. They never realized that God had something far more splendid and eternal in view in the pledge of the shoot and the branch.
	They were relishing the every thought of the Branch of David and longed for the coming of the Promised One. Jer 33:15-18, 'In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch of David to spring forth; and He shall execute justice and righteousness on the earth. 'In those days Judah shall be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell in safety; and this is the name by which she shall be called: the Lord is our righteousness.' "For thus says the Lord, 'David shall never lack a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel; and the Levitical priests shall never lack a man before Me to offer burnt offerings, to burn grain offerings, and to prepare sacrifices continually.'" 
	This was the assured combination of king and priest which kept the hope of salvation alive in the hearts of those who looked for God’s deliverance. They held to the promise through all those hundreds of years of silence on the part of God. They endured captivity and anguish and harshness and injustice and ungodliness, ever longing for the Christ to show Himself mighty and righteous. The fathers taught their sons and daughters, who taught their children, who taught their children, and so on down the lineage, to look for the deliverance to come by the Hand of God. It was ever the faithful few who held to the Word of God concerning the branch, the shoot of the Lord, proclaimed those centuries before.     
	Jer 23:5+6, "Behold, the days are coming," declares the Lord, "When I shall raise up for David a righteous Branch; And He will reign as king and act wisely And do justice and righteousness in the land. "In His days Judah will be saved, And Israel will dwell securely; And this is His name by which He will be called, 'The Lord our righteousness.' This is one of the great reasons that both Matthew and Luke were inspired to declare that Jesus was the Branch, the shoot of the Lord. He was from Nazareth and was heralded as a Nazarene. All the prophetic writings pointed to and were fulfilled in Him in every measure.
	Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, at the beginning of His ministry, we read the following in Luke 4:16-21, And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read. And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the book, and found the place where it was written, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, And recovery of sight to the blind, To set free those who are downtrodden, To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord." And He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant, and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed upon Him. And He began to say to them, "Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." 
	This was the Word of God as declared by the Prophet Isaiah in Isa 61:1-3, The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, Because the Lord has anointed me To bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to captives, And freedom to prisoners; To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord, And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn, To grant those who mourn in Zion, Giving them a garland instead of ashes, The oil of gladness instead of mourning, The mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting. So they will be called oaks of righteousness, The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified. 
	Notice that even in this recorded prophecy, there is the aspect of the branch and the shoot as the people will be called oaks of righteousness and the planting of the Lord. In Jesus, the Christ child, whose birth we celebrate this week, the scripture is fulfilled beyond any earthly understanding or comprehension. What the Israelites were looking for in an earthly savior brought far more than simply earthly relief, He brought eternal life and salvation beyond measure.
	The Jews, including one of Jesus’ disciples, had very little regard for anyone from Nazareth, because they were considered lowly in culture, language, and economic standing. Despite this human disdain, God set into place the greatest and only possible rescue of humanity unto Himself through His Only Begotten Son, Jesus of Nazareth, the Branch of the Lord. John 1:45-51, 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." And Nathanael said to him, "Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?" Philip said to him," Come and see." Jesus saw Nathanael coming to Him, and said of him, "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!" Nathanael said to Him, "How do You know me?" Jesus answered and said to him, "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you." Nathanael answered Him, "Rabbi, You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel." Jesus answered and said to him, "Because I said to you that I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You shall see greater things than these." And He said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, you shall see the heavens opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man." 
	As Jesus of Nazareth presented Himself to the people, there were various reactions ranging from hatred and anger, to disbelief, to wonderment and astonishment. Because they knew He was from Nazareth, there was doubt and disdain for Him, yet also some awareness and hope. John 7:25-31, Therefore some of the people of Jerusalem were saying, "Is this not the man whom they are seeking to kill?” And look, He is speaking publicly, and they are saying nothing to Him. The rulers do not really know that this is the Christ, do they? "However, we know where this man is from; but whenever the Christ may come, no one knows where He is from." Jesus therefore cried out in the temple, teaching and saying, "You both know Me and know where I am from; and I have not come of Myself, but He who sent Me is true, whom you do not know. "I know Him; because I am from Him, and He sent Me." They were seeking therefore to seize Him; and no man laid his hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come. But many of the multitude believed in Him; and they were saying, "When the Christ shall come, He will not perform more signs than those which this man has, will He?" 
	As Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ, entered Jerusalem, just before the celebration of the Passover, He was greeted with the outpouring of expectation from the assembled masses. They stirred up the hopes and dreams of earthly deliverance and placed them on this Nazarene, riding on a donkey, as another fulfillment of the Prophet Zechariah Chapter 9, verse 9. Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, Humble, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a donkey. 
And shout and rejoice they did, as we read about Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem. Matt 21:8-11, And most of the multitude spread their garments in the road, and others were cutting branches from the trees, and spreading them in the road.  And the multitudes going before Him, and those who followed after were crying out, saying, "Hosanna to the Son of David; Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest!" And when He had entered Jerusalem, all the city was stirred, saying, "Who is this?" And the multitudes were saying, "This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth in Galilee." 
	It was very shortly thereafter that Jesus of Nazareth was arrested and crucified. The people were bitterly disappointed that He had not fulfilled their earthly desires. The leaders were disgusted and disgraced by His teachings and His claim to be the Messiah, the Christ, the very Son of God. They were mortified that all the hopes of the nation were hung on such a lowly Nazarene.	Pontius Pilate highlighted this truth, to the great offense of the Jewish High Counsel, as he had Jesus nailed to the cross at Calvary. John 19:18-20, There they crucified Him, and with Him two other men, one on either side, and Jesus in between. And Pilate wrote an inscription also, and put it on the cross. And it was written, "JESUS THE NAZARENE, THE KING OF THE JEWS." Therefore this inscription many of the Jews read, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, Latin, and in Greek. 
	This was all in order that the declaration of the Christ, by the Prophet Isaiah, would be accomplished for everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, sent to redeem us unto Our Lord God Almighty. Isa 53:1-11 Who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, And like a root out of parched ground; He has no stately form or majesty That we should look upon Him, Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him. He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; And like one from whom men hide their face, He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him. He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He did not open His mouth; Like a lamb that is led to slaughter, And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, So He did not open His mouth. By oppression and judgment He was taken away; And as for His generation, who considered That He was cut off out of the land of the living, For the transgression of my people to whom the stroke was due? His grave was assigned with wicked men, Yet He was with a rich man in His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was there any deceit in His mouth. But the Lord was pleased To crush Him, putting Him to grief; If He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, And the good pleasure of the Lord will prosper in His hand. As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied; By His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, As He will bear their iniquities. 
	The Apostle Peter announced this truth of God’s way of salvation in Jesus Christ, the Nazarene, with all boldness to the people in Jerusalem. Acts 2:22-24, "Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know — this Man, delivered up by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death.” And God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power. 
	And Jesus, Himself, proclaimed His prophesied roots as He dealt with Saul on the road to Damascus. Acts 22:6-8, "And it came about that as I was on my way, approaching Damascus about noontime, a very bright light suddenly flashed from heaven all around me, and I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ' Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?' "And I answered, 'Who art Thou, Lord?' And He said to me, 'I am Jesus the Nazarene, whom you are persecuting.' 
	Therefore, as we celebrate the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, the foretold Christ child, let us do so with hearts that rejoice in the given shoot of Jesse, the Branch of the Lord. Let our joy in the Lord serve to draw others to the truth that was so adamantly declared by all those prophets throughout the Old Testament. Teach our children of the hope and the fulfillment that is ours in Jesus of Nazareth, the Only Begotten Son of God. So be it!
	And being warned by God in a dream, he departed for the regions of Galilee, and came and resided in a city called Nazareth, that what was spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, "He shall be called a Nazarene." Amen. 

	Laura and I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone and every family a most blessed and wonderful Christmas, filled with all the glory and the majesty and the honor of the celebration of the birth of Our Lord Jesus Christ. May every home be filled with the joy and recognition that He is our life and is to be pleased in the daily manner in which His life is manifested in our moment-by-moment walk on this earth. Jesus is not a seasonal consideration; He is life everlasting and is to be honored by His people in full obedience and accord to the guidance of the Holy Spirit, in absolute line with His Word. Let each one of us so honor Him today, on Christmas Day, and always. Amen. 

	This morning’s final reading is Luke 18:37-43, And they told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by. And he called out, saying, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" And those who led the way were sternly telling him to be quiet; but he kept crying out all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!" And Jesus stopped and commanded that he be brought to Him; and when he had come near, He questioned him, "What do you want Me to do for you?" And he said, "Lord, I want to regain my sight!" And Jesus said to him, "Receive your sight; your faith has made you well." And immediately he regained his sight, and began following Him, glorifying God; and when all the people saw it, they gave praise to God. Amen.