Lenten Journey with Jesus Week 2: Tour of Nazareth and Sepphoris

Driving up to Nazareth is like driving up to many pilgrimage sites in the Holy Land, the roads are narrow and the cliffs are steep. Plenty of dust floats in the air too. You’ll hear plenty of cars honking at busses and tourists everywhere taking pictures of Churches and others sites of interest. The one thing you’ll notice about the Holy Land that it is not quiet, there is always some type of noise being heard at every part of the day!

As you’ll see from your reading there isn’t much about Nazareth mentioned in the Scriptures really. Nazareth is a village and even during the time of Jesus it wasn’t very important. Located in the central part of the Galilee area the area around it is very fertile. Lush green fields along the valley produce plenty of crops; bananas, grapes, cotton, and wheat. Fields and fields of wheat are still grown today on both sides of the highways.

According to the Scriptures we know that the angel Gabriel came to the Virgin Mary at Nazareth and told her about the good news of her future birth. There is today in Nazareth a Church of the Annunciation as well as a famous Spring of the Annunciation where the Angel was said to have met Mary.

After Jesus’ birth we know from the scriptures that Joseph had to flee from Bethlehem to Egypt in order to escape Herod and his troops, Joseph later relocated to Nazareth: When Herod died, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, ‘Get up, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who were seeking the child’s life are dead.’ Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was ruling over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And after being warned in a dream, he went away to the district of Galilee. There he made his home in a town called Nazareth, so that what had been spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, ‘He will be called a Nazorean.’ (Mt. 2:19-23)

It is in Nazareth where Jesus was raised and lived. The scriptures tell us that Joseph was a carpenter which in Greek is teknon which really means master builder or mason. Most likely Joseph was an artisan craftsman who worked with stone rather than wood. The one thing you’ll quickly notice in the Holy Land is the vast amount of stone buildings. Wood is very hard to come by in this large dry desert area. Almost everything is made from stone, limestone, basalt rock, and other indigenous stone. It is in Nazareth that Jesus grew up and worked with Joseph. Nearby Nazareth, only 4 miles away was the great Roman city called Sepphoris which was being built during the time of Jesus. Of course scholars cannot know exactly but it is highly likely that Jesus and Joseph may have worked on buildings in Sepphoris since it was being built during Jesus’ early childhood.

Sepphoris (modern day Tzippori) is not mentioned in the Bible but the ancient city, unearthed earlier this century, is a testament to the engineering quality of the Romans. The city is approximately 4-5 miles from Nazareth and was the largest city in the Galilee. We are of course not certain but it is highly likely that Jesus either worked in Sepphoris or at least traveled through there, it would have been hard to avoid the area since it was a large area for trading, bartering, and a religious center as well.

Sepphoris is a classical ancient city with several main roads that lead into and out of the city. It is hard to believe that Romans constructed the roads with large hewn rocks that are still there today. The sidewalks have colonnades on them which were covered walkways, a way to keep the sun and rain off pedestrians. The city, like all Roman cities, has a large amphitheater where local artists put on plays and productions. Also the amphitheather was where religious ceremonies were held as well in conjunction with the cultural plays. Archeologists also unearthed a synagogue in the city as well. When walking through Sepphoris you immediately feel like you are walking through an ancient city, most of which is still intact today. The Romans were really genius in their construction and it is amazing that their buildings, even 2,000 years old are still around, well, at least partially.