Jesus Grows in Nazareth

Joseph, Mary and little Jesus were living in Egypt, far from home. They had gone there because God had warned Joseph that King Herod wanted to harm Jesus. Now they were waiting for God to tell them when it was safe to go back.

Then King Herod died. One night, an angel of the Lord came to Joseph in a dream again. “Get up,” the angel said. “Take the child and his mother and go back to the land of Israel. The people who wanted to harm the child are gone.”

So Joseph got up, and the family began the long journey home. Mary held Jesus close, and Joseph led the way. God had guided them into Egypt, and now He was guiding them out again.

But on the way, Joseph heard that Herod’s son was now ruling in Judea. Joseph was worried, and God warned him in another dream not to go there. So the family took a different road, north to Galilee.

They came to a small town in the hills called Nazareth. Mary and Joseph had lived there before, and now it became home. This was the town where Jesus would grow up.

Jesus grew just like any child grows. He learned to walk and to talk. He played in the sunshine, helped at home and listened to the stories of God. He watched Joseph work with wood in the carpenter’s shop, and He learned to use the tools with His own hands.

“And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was on him.”

Luke 2:40

Those years in Nazareth were quiet years. Nothing dramatic seemed to happen. But God was at work in the ordinary days, in the meals and the chores and the prayers. Jesus was growing, little by little, for the beautiful mission that was waiting for Him.

God still guides families today, one step at a time. And He cares about our ordinary days too.