Welcome and thank you for taking a bible break to test your knowledge of God's word.

This week's question:

To Luke chapter one we go to find Gabriel, an angel of the Lord, visiting Mary in Nazareth of Galilee where she and Joseph lived. Gabriel tells Mary she would conceive, overshadowed by the Holy Spirit, and bear a Son and name Him Jesus. The Son of The Most High and His kingdom would have no end.

Isaiah 7:14 "Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a Son, and they

shall call His name Immanuel," which translated means "God with us." (Matthew 1:23)

In Luke chapter two Caesar Augustus sends out a decree that a census should be taken, and that each would register in his own city. Since Joseph was of the house of David, they traveled to Bethlehem, the birthplace of David. When they reached Bethlehem, Mary's time to give birth had come, and with no room at the inn, as the story goes, she gives birth in the only place available, a manger. Soon they are visited by shepherds who worship Him and tell them of the angel host who praised God to them of a newborn, the Christ, the Savior. All who heard of these things wondered about them and this Child. But Mary treasured all these things, and pondered them in her heart (Luke 2:18-19).

Before long the Magi come to Jerusalem, the great city of Israel where one might naturally look for the King of the Jews, and inquire of King Herod, a gentile, where this newborn is who has been born 'King of the Jews' for they had come to worship Him. Not only is King Herod troubled by this news, but so is all of Jerusalem (Matthew 2:1-3).

King Herod inquires of the chief Priests where this Christ is to be born. He goes to the right source for indeed they know according to Old Testament scripture He is to be born in Bethlehem.

Micah 5:2 And you Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by no means least among the

leaders of Judah; for out of you shall come forth a ruler who will shepherd my people

Israel.

This scripture was written over 600 years before the birth of Jesus. To give this a little more perspective, this country was not even visited by Columbus 600 years ago!

King Herod asks the Magi to make careful search and when they find this 'King of the Jews' to then report back to him. The Magi do find the Child and worship Him and then being warned in a dream, they return another way, avoiding King Herod.

Then Joseph and Mary are warned in a dream about King Herod desiring to destroy the Christ and are told to flee to Egypt . And indeed, Herod has all male children in Bethlehem and its vicinity two years and younger to be killed (Matthew 2:16-18).

After the death of King Herod, Joseph and Mary were again told in a dream it was safe to return to Israel and their home in Nazareth of Galilee where Jesus was raised and called a 'Nazarene' so the prophets once more could be fulfilled (Matthew 2:23).

So there we have the answer to our question. Jesus, born in Bethlehem, comes out of Egypt to be raised in Nazareth of Galilee and called a 'Nazarene'. This caused no little debate among the Jewish leaders as they tried to determine if this Nazarene could indeed be the Christ, as they ask in a discussion with Nicodemus:

John 7:50-53 Nicodemus (he who came to Him before, being one of them) said

to them, "our law Does not judge a man unless it first hears from him and knows what he

is doing, does it?" They answered him, "You are not also from Galilee, are you? Search,

and see that no prophet arises Out of Galilee." Everyone went to his home.

This was one of the many reasons used by the Jewish leaders to reject the Christ because of their misunderstanding that since he was raised in Galilee, that He was also born there. They were not diligent enough to search their current history to learn more about this man Jesus, as Nicodemus did. Jesus says in:

John 5:39-40: "You search the scriptures because you think that in them you

have eternal life; It is these that testify about me; and you are unwilling to come unto Me

so that you hay have life."