NIV, Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible CBSB_Digital Sampler | Page 37
Matthew 3:3 | 1613
reigning in Judea in p
lace of his father
Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having
been warned in a dream, j he withdrew
to the district of Galilee, k 23 and he went
and l ived in a town c alled Naza r eth. l So
was fulfilled m what was said t hrough the
prophets, that he would be called a Naz
arene. n
2:22 j ver 12,
13, 19; Mt 27:19
k Lk 2:39
2:23 l Lk 1:26;
Jn 1:45, 4 6
m Mt 1:22
n Mk 1:24
3:1 o Lk 1:13,
57-66; 3:2‑19
became ruler. Scholars often observe that Archelaus
shared his father’s vices while lacking his administrative
competence. Archelaus made many enemies, and his
inability to keep peace during the turbulence of AD 6 led
to Rome removing him and banishing him to Gaul.
2:23 Nazareth. Population estimates for Nazareth vary;
the village proper may have contained perhaps 500 resi-
dents (smaller than Bethlehem). Nazareth was a traditional
and religiously conservative Galilean town; pottery sug-
gests that many of its residents had migrated from Judea.
Ancients sometimes built arguments on wordplays,
and Jewish teachers often interpreted the OT this way.
Some think that Matthew plays on Jdg 13:5: he “is to be a
Nazirite.” Others, probably more commonly, believe that
Matthew plays on Isa 11:1, which depicts the Messiah as a
“Branch,” in Hebrew, nezer. Other Biblical passages depict
the Messiah as a branch (Isa 4:2; Jer 23:5; 33:15; Zec 3:8;
6:12), as do the Dead Sea Scrolls.
3:1 – 2 A first-century Jewish historian, Josephus, also
reports that John baptized people in the wilderness, invit-
map_41_03_jesusearlylife
John the Baptist Prepares the Way
3:1-12pp — Mk 1:3-8; Lk 3:2-17
those days John the Baptist came,
3 and In preach
ing in the wilderness of Judea
saying, “Repent, for the kingdom
o
2
of heaven p has come near.” 3 This is he
3:2 p Da 2:44; Mt 4:17; 6:10; Lk 11:20; 21:31; Jn 3:3, 5; Ac 1:3, 6
ing them to spiritual transformation. Josephus, however,
adapts his description of John to appeal to Greek readers,
as he depicts the “sects” of Judea — Pharisees, Saddu-
cees and Essenes — along the lines of Greek philosophic
sects. The Gospels, however, portray John in a way more
in keeping with authentic Judean prophets: a preacher of
the imminent new era of God’s reign. “Kingdom of heaven”
was an accepted Jewish way of speaking about God’s reign
(cf. Da 2:44; 4:26). The wilderness was one of the few places
where prophetic figures could safely draw crowds, but of
course it lacked the amenities of civilization.
3:3 Matthew quotes Isa 40:3. Some Biblical proph-
ets, including Isaiah, had prophesied a new exodus,
by which God would gather his people from exile
(Isa 11:16; Jer 23:7 – 8; Hos 2:14 – 15). He would establish
a way through the wilderness, as he had led his people
through the wilderness of old. John was a herald prepar-
ing the people for this event, and for the coming of “the
Lord” — by which the Hebrew text of Isaiah referred to
God himself.
~100 %?
JESUS’ EARLY LIFE
GALILEE
Journey of Mary and Joseph
from Nazareth to Bethlehem
for Jesus’ birth
Capernaum
Antipatris
Shechem
Jerusalem
Bethlehem
Gaza
e
it
M
ed
SAMARIA
Return of Mary, Joseph and
Jesus from Egypt on their way
to Nazareth
Sea of
Galilee
Nazareth
Jesus’ family flees to Egypt
from Bethlehem out of fear that
Herod would kill Jesus
Hebron
Dead
Sea
Pelusium
To E g y p t
0
0
40 km.
40 miles