Footprints of the Savior: Part 1

Bethlehem shows us how small a place can carry a world-changing promise, and Nazareth shows us how God can put His Holy One in the middle of a town everyone looks down on. We open a new series called The Footprints of the Savior and start where the gospel story gets painfully specific: a real journey, a real birth, and a real fulfillment of prophecy that no human planner could have staged. As we trace Jesus’ steps, we keep coming back to one steady truth: God’s purposes always come to pass. 

We walk through Bethlehem’s biblical history and the way Scripture points forward, then we slow down and stare at the wonder of the incarnation. The eternal God enters time, the Lord of glory lies in a manger, and the Savior comes in poverty so ordinary people can draw near. That tension between sovereignty, mystery, and humility is not meant to be solved like a puzzle. It is meant to lead us to worship. 

Then we shift to Nazareth, a name people used with contempt. We unpack what it means that Jesus is called “Jesus of Nazareth” again and again through His ministry, His rejection, His arrest, His crucifixion, His resurrection, and even the conversion of Saul of Tarsus. We also draw a clear line between praise and worship: thanking God for what He has done, and thanking God for who He is. Subscribe for the rest of the series, share this broadcast with someone who needs Christ, and leave a review that tells us what line or truth stayed with you.

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Transcript

Welcome And Series Purpose

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And a very pleasant good day to one and all. I'm Brother James. I greet you in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world, and I welcome you to the Preaching of the Cross Radio Broadcast, a 30-minute program in which we try our best to be a help and a blessing to God's people, and to be a uh witness to those that are not truly saved and not born again, in hopes that we can, by the preaching of the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ, his death, his burial, his resurrection, that we can draw you to a saving knowledge of and a saving faith in the person of God's own dear Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, who uh truly is the way, the truth, and the life, and no man cometh unto the Father but by him. We want to begin a series of broadcasts on the uh program today entitled The Footprints of the Savior. The Footprints of the Savior, and what we'll be doing in this study is talking about some of the different places where Jesus ministered during the three and one half years of his public ministry here on earth. We are going to talk about Bethlehem, Nazareth, Cana, Sikar, Olivet, Bethany, Mount Hermon, Galilee, and Jerusalem, the Emmaus Road, the return to Galilee, and then the ascension to the third heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ now sits in all his glory at the right hand of God the Father. So it'll be our desire and our intention in the will of God to trace that pathway which has brought so much pleasure to the Father. From Bethlehem where Jesus Christ was born, to Bethany where loving hearts made him welcome. Sychar and Emaeus, Olivet and Hermon, Gethsemane, Galgotha, the upper room, the garden tomb, the Galilean shore, all these places we will take a look at. These are the things that we have in mind to study in this series of broadcasts. CH McIntosh said this The study of himself, speaking of Jesus Christ, bows the heart in worship and fills the soul with wonder. May we behold the glory of God as we follow in the footsteps of the Lord Jesus Christ from place to

Bethlehem In Scripture And History

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place. Beginning with Bethlehem. The little town of Bethlehem lies about five or six miles south of Jerusalem, on the way to Ebron. It is known locally as Beatlam, B-E-I-T-L-A-H-M, and is one of the two Bethlehems in Israel. The other is Bethlehem Hagilit, Bethlehem of Galilee, situated a few miles west of Nazareth in the country of Zebulun. With inspired accuracy, the prophets and evangelists always speak of Bethlehem of Judea in the scriptures, or Bethlehem Ephrata, or Bethlehem in the land of Judah when referring to the birthplace of the Lord Jesus. They carefully distinguish for us the correct Bethlehem. Now this town of Bethlehem is first mentioned in our Bible in Genesis chapter thirty five, in the tender story of a baby boy whose mother, Rachel, died when giving him birth. She named her baby Benoni, which means son of my sorrow. But his father changed the name and called him Benjamin, which means son of my right hand. So in its first mention, there are anticipations in Bethlehem of a babe who would be born to be a man of sorrows, but who would eventually sit down in glory at the Father's right hand. You know, it's interesting that our New Testament begins with Rachel's tears at the time of the birth of Jesus Christ. In Matthew chapter two and verse eighteen. But when all tears are ultimately wiped away, then Israel will rejoice in the Lord Jesus Christ. There are several references to Bethlehem in the book of Judges, particularly in a sad story of sin and shame so vile that we're happy to pass it by. But even this is a reminder that the sinless one who came to Bethlehem came indeed because of iniquity such as this. How refreshing it is to turn to the book of Ruth and find happier mentions of Bethlehem. Here is that delightful story of Naomi, of Boaz and Ruth, and eventually of a shepherd boy destined to be king. Did David play and work and sing and tend the flock in the very fields where one day other shepherds with their sheep would stand in the presence of the glory, and hear the angels announce the advent of Messiah? How little did the boy David realize that one day Bethlehem would be called the city of David, and the babe of Bethlehem would be called the Son of David.

God’s Sovereignty Brings The Birth

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In the birth of the Savior at Bethlehem we see the workings of God's divine sovereignty. Who would ever have imagined that Mary's child would have been born there? You see, Joseph and Mary live some seventy miles away at Nazareth. It hardly seemed logical or even sensible that Mary in such a condition of advanced pregnancy should or could undertake the journey to Bethlehem. Travel would be difficult, if not dangerous. Such a journey at such a time would be uncomfortable, undesirable, and most inconvenient. But God had purposed that the son of Mary must be born at Bethlehem. It was prophesied in the Old Testament scriptures, and so God accordingly arranged the circumstances. There is a Caesar in Rome, and a carpenter in Nazareth, and God will use them both to fulfill his will. The emperor is Caesar the August, or Caesar Augustus, as the Bible calls him, who thinks himself sovereign. In Rome he is accorded divine honors. When he speaks, people must listen. When he issues decrees, his subjects must obey. He decrees that all his world must be taxed, and to facilitate this taxation, men must register in the city of their fathers. The carpenter therefore must register at Bethlehem. Now the Bible says the most high ruleth in the kingdoms of men, and surely we see in this circumstance ample proof and evidence of that fact. They the heart of Caesar is in the hand of God. The decree that brings Joseph of Nazareth to Bethlehem is not Caesar's decree, but God's decree. And so the journey is made. They arrive at Bethlehem in obedience to the emperor, and says Luke, so it was that while they were there she brought forth her firstborn son. God's purposes always come to pass. The Savior is born as promised in the Old Testament scriptures in Bethlehem of Judea.

Mystery Poverty And Glory Of Christ

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Now there is not only God's oversight here, but there's mystery too, and we bow in wonder. The infant of the manger is the ancient of days, and we cannot understand this. The God of eternity has come into time. The Lord of the universe has come to Bethlehem. The God of heaven is laid in a manger bed, all the fullness of the Godhead in a tiny infant body. He whose train filled the holy temple of glory is wrapped in swaddling clothes. The eternal one is born of a woman. The God of Sinai is born under the law. He upholds all things, but is upheld by Mary. Worlds are dependent upon him, but he is dependent upon a Hebrew maid and a Galilean carpenter. Here is the apparent weakness of a Jewish infant embracing all the omnipotence of the God of creation. And all we can do, my friends, is bow at the wonder of it. It is forever beyond our understanding. But when we cannot comprehend, we can still worship. And the Bible says, without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh. We stand reverently at his manger bed and adore Emmanuel, God with us. With sovereignty and mystery, there is also poverty. How poor they must have appeared, for whom the crowded inn would not make room. How poor was that virgin mother who herself alone wrapped her newborn in swaddling clothes and laid herself herself she laid him down all by herself, no female companion at such a time as this, no nurse, no maid, no physician, no doctor, no human help. How poor. And it was this poverty that later brought to the temple at Jerusalem two doves, two pigeons as an offering. The same poverty made Christ approachable, even to humble shepherds of Bethlehem who came to behold. In his poverty, he has come very near to man. Though he was rich, the Bible says, yet for our sakes he became poor. O ever homeless stranger, thus dearest friend to me, an outcast in a manger, that thou mightst with us be. But mingled with the sovereignty, the mystery, and the poverty, there is glory. One is born who has no link with Adam. He is virgin born, he alone came forth from the Father. Only the Son of Mary came voluntarily into the world. There is no Adamic nature in him. The children may be partakers by common lot of flesh and blood, but he took part of the same, in a manhood that was unique and apart from all others. It is this that assures the glory of his sinlessness, his incorruptibility. He is the incomparable, upon whom neither death nor disease nor deformity of any kind have any claim. Well might we say with the shepherds, let us now go even unto Bethlehem and see this thing which has come to pass. Who is he in yonder stall, at whose feet the shepherds fall? 'Tis the Lord, O wondrous story, tis the Lord, the King of Glow. At his feet we humbly fall, crown him, crown him, Lord of all.

Nazareth’s Shame And Jesus’ Name

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Then we shift the scene of our focus and our attention to Nazareth. And the Bible says in John chapter 1 and verse 46, can any good thing come out of Nazareth? And what was the answer of the witness that brought news of Jesus in that day? Come and see. Come and see. Now well might Nathaniel ask such a question as can any good thing come out of Nazareth? For he lived at Cana, only a few miles from Nazareth, and he knew Nazareth quite well. He knew its reputation, its sin, its physical and material and moral squalor. Nazareth. Never mentioned one time in the Old Testament writings, Nazareth, that place of narrow streets from whose higher ridges can be seen Nain and Andor, Tabor and Gilboa. Even Carmel and Herman and Megiddo can be seen from this place. Nazareth was the stopping place of southward traveling merchants and traders. And as with any transient city or community where men are separated from wives and families, pretty soon it becomes a nest of immorality and vice, and that was the case of Nazareth. It was just a wicked town. And it was so wicked that the expression had come up, a proverb was actually spoken in those days. Can any good thing come out of Nazareth? It was so filthy, so corrupt that that just being in that city would defile a man. And you know it's of wondrous, matchless grace that we may come and see that for thirty years there has lived in this city of Nazareth a child, a boy, a youth, a man, whose footprints have endeared Nazareth to the heart of millions. Except for one brief but beautiful glimpse, there hangs a veil over these years, but enough has been afterwards recorded to help us see and to adore. Twenty times in our New Testament, twenty times. In the New Testament scriptures, the Savior is called Jesus of Nazareth. He is the prophet of Nazareth, too, and also called the carpenter of Nazareth. Luke described the town as where he was brought up in Luke 4.16 and the authorized King James Bible using the up-to-date modern terminology still used in modern-day street language and conversation, even in this Laodicean church age, he was brought up in Nazareth. Our Lord became known as the Nazarene. Some people confuse this and think that Jesus was a Nazarite and therefore he had long hair because of the Nazarite vow. The Bible never says Jesus was a Nazarite. He was a Nazarene because he was raised in the city of Nazareth. Now, this name, the Nazarene, has an appellation of some stigma and contempt. The inhabitants of Galilee were not regarded favorably by their Judean neighbors, in whose eyes they were but peasants, unpolished and even uncouth. The northern dialect, the speech of the people from this region, drew taunts from the people of the South, and there was a reproach for being a Galilean. Even in Galilee there was a general contempt for Nazareth, so that the question of Nathaniel, the guileless Galilean in John I, can any good thing come out of Nazareth? Is well it's quite understandable. But the holy footprints which we trace in Nazareth are a pathway of mystery and beauty and glory, as inscrutable and incomprehensible as those at Bethlehem. How can the all wise one increase in wisdom and stature? How can the sovereign omnipotent one become subject to earthly guardians? How can the omnipresent one confine himself for thirty years to a Galilean village? And again, where we cannot understand, we bow in worship that he whose name is called wonderful should be called a Nazarene for us. I don't know about you, one of my favorite hymns begins in this way I stand amazed in the presence of Jesus the Nazarene and wonder how he could love me, a sinner condemned unclean. When in the early days of his ministry our Lord confronted the powers of darkness, the unclean spirit cried out, Jesus of Nazareth, I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God. Mark chapter one and verse twenty four, that this devil saw what most men did not see that behind the guise of the carpenter there was God head glory in all its holiness and fullness. The humble one was the holy one. The carpenter was the creator. Jesus of Nazareth was the Lord God of eternity, and this spirit that was present long before Adam ever showed up on planet earth, this spirit said, I know thee who thou art, the holy one of God.

Jesus Of Nazareth In Rejection And Triumph

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In Nazareth the Lord Jesus Christ began his spoken ministry. How often during those thirty years of upbringing he must have quietly and reverently listened while others read his prophets and expounded his law in that same synagogue. But then on that memorable historic Sabbath he stood up to read. Calmly he found the place and read the portion, handed the scroll to the attendant, and sat down to teach, and then said those great words, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears. Their redeemer, their emancipator, their healer of broken hearts had come. He was their prophet, he was their priest and king, and he was Jesus of Nazareth, their very own Nazareth. But you know it's sad but true. The door which had been closed against him at Bethlehem was closed at Nazareth too. Again, men said, No room. There's no room for you here. And he was rejected. The synagogue at Nazareth, like the inn at Bethlehem, was closed to him. And so our blessed Lord endured increasing reproach and contempt. He was despised by Judeans for being a Galilean. He was despised by Galileans for being a Nazarene, and now despised by the men of Nazareth for his interpretation of divine truth from the Holy Scriptures. And so he left Nazareth and came and dwelt in Capernaum. And though Capernaum became his own city, his place of residence during his ministry of three and one half years, yet still he was known as Jesus of Nazareth. How often during the busy years that followed the cry must have gone out, Jesus of Nazareth passes by. And burdens one burdened ones where'er he came, brought out their sick and deaf and lame, the blind rejoice to hear the cry, Jesus of Nazareth passeth by. But you know as as well as I do, if you've spent any time reading carefully Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, you know the envy and the venom of the religious leaders of the nation of Israel increased against him. And eventually they came to the garden to arrest him. He took the initiative, he went forth to meet them and said, Whom seek ye? And what did they reply? Jesus of Nazareth. That's what they referred to. That's how they uh titled him, that's how they named him, that's what they called him. But Jesus of Nazareth is the I am of eternity. And when he speaks that word in all its power with all the holy authority of his person, they fall backward to the ground, become as dead man. They involuntarily recognize him, the deity, which the devil had earlier seen, and they must bow in the awful presence of God Almighty. But he allowed them to take him, and he took them nevertheless. I don't know about you, there's things in the Bible that I really wonder about. There are things in the scriptures that just bogg my mind. And don't you wonder haven't you ever wondered about the hardness of the hearts of those soldiers? How they could fall backward to the ground as dead men at the power of the word of Jesus Christ, and then continue to carry out his arrest? Oh, who can fathom the hardness of the human heart? In the hours that follow his sorrows deepen. Bold Peter quails before a young man who simply suggests Thou also wast with what did she say? Jesus of Nazareth. The Lord looks and Peter weeps. The night drags on, and the morning comes, and with it the condemnation of the Lord Jesus Christ. They crucified him. And Pilate wrote a title, a superscription, an accusation. And the writing was this is Jesus of Nazareth. He wrote it in the language of Jerusalem. He wrote it in the language of Athens. He wrote it in the language of Rome. The kingship of Jesus of Nazareth was proclaimed all. Pilate preaching that Jesus Christ was king. But the real vindication had to wait for three days. And on that glorious resurrection morning, you know, and I know the tomb was empty. An angel sits on the stone and declares, ye see. What did the angels say? Jesus of Nazareth. He is risen. He is not here. And on that same day, as two disciples make their way to Emmaus, their conversation concerns Jesus of Nazareth. Afterwards, in the early days of the gospel triumph, when Saul of Tarsus was blinded on the Damascus road and asks, Who art thou, Lord? The answer is simple. Paul said in Acts 22 and verse 8, in recounting this uh great day of conversion, that the word that was spoken unto him in response was, I am Jesus of Nazareth. The links with Nazareth, then, persist, even in the Lord's glory, which means that in his humility, in his deity, in his ministry, in his agony, and in his glory, the Savior is content to be known as Jesus of Nazareth. And how grateful we ought to be that he ever became a Nazarene. He took my sins and my sorrows, he made them his very own. He bore the burden to Calvary and suffered and died alone. When with the ransomed in glory, his face I at last shall see, 'T' will be my joy through the ages to sing of his love for me.

Praise Versus Worship In Daily Life

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My friend, praise, praise. It's a good thing, it's a great thing, it's a wonderful thing. That we should praise the Lord who born us again. We should praise the Lord who by his power has made us sons of God. We should praise the Lord who by his power has given us everlasting life. That's praise, that's good, that's wonderful. Praise is thanking God for what he has done. But my friend, there's something even greater, and that's worship. And worship is not an emotional thrill or a uh carrying on uh service in the church house. Worship is thanking God for who he is. Praise is thanking God for what he has done. Worship is thanking God for who he is. And my friends, how our hearts ought to be filled with worship, how we ought to express worship for the Almighty God, who not for any benefit of his own, but who for our sake became that babe in the manger. How we ought to worship Almighty, all powerful, pure, holy, spotless, perfect Jesus Christ, who became not just a man, not a king's son, not a prince's son, not the son of a wealthy man, not the son of an influential man who became a Nazarene, a city whose reputation was so vile, a city whose influence was so corrupting that only God manifest in the flesh could spend the formative years of his life in such a place and come out unspotted by the world. The Bible says Lot was a just man. The Bible says Lot was a righteous man. The Bible said Lot has had a righteous soul. But as good a man as he was, the wicked influence of Sodom and Gomorrah was too great for that man. He could not maintain his integrity. Now here's the Lord Jesus Christ raised in a city every bit as vile, Nazareth. But all the witnesses agree together. I find no faults in this man. Pure, holy, perfect, sinless. Why? Why did he ever subject himself to such a life, such an upbringing, such a heritage for you and for me? God became man. God became lowly man that he might someday save your soul, my soul, and give to us eternal, everlasting life in his presence. How we ought to praise our Lord Jesus Christ, and beyond that, how we ought to worship Jesus of Nathesha. This Jesus of Nazareth, he still is today what he was in that day. The King of kings and Lord of Lords, the loving Savior of all that will trust him.

A Listener Request And Farewell Blessing

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Alright, this Brother James here, as you can tell by this voice, as compared to the one you've been listening to, this study on the footprints of the Savior was made many, many years ago. But you know that's the great thing about Bible truth. It's true today. It'll be true tomorrow. It was true yesterday. Truth is always truth. Praise the Lord. What a blessing to walk in the footsteps of the Lord Jesus Christ. And I hope and pray that our radio broadcasts that come your way are a help to you in your walk with the Lord Jesus Christ. You know, there are there are radio stations from which we receive encouraging letters of testimony every single day. And then there are others. A week goes by, two weeks, three weeks, a month, and not a word. Now we don't ask for money, and you know that, and we don't solicit funds and you know that, but we cannot afford to broadcast in a place where no one is listening. And the only way we'll know if you're listening is if you let us know that you are listening. So would you please take the time? It's not hard to do. Please take the time to send us a little word of testimony to encourage our hearts to keep us on your station. You may do that by visiting our website, jameswnox.org. That's jameswnox.org. And when you do, we'll be so encouraged to hear from you. The announcer will be all now in just a moment to let you know when this program will be heard again. We hope you'll listen in to the Preaching of the Cross radio broadcast. Until then, I'm Brother James. May the Lord richly bless you, and good day.