Today, we are in Nazareth, a city in Galilee…   Looking at this illustration of Nazareth, by David Roberts, we can see, Nazareth, was a small town and it is said that in Jesus time there were only forty or fifty people living there. Nazareth, set in a small basin, was surrounded by hills and was not very accessible and was limited to terraced agriculture and fields of pasture. Located roughly 55 miles north of Jerusalem, it was considered a backwater town and its lack of respect was due to an unpolished dialect, and lack of culture. The Jews held those from Nazareth in low esteem and its poor reputation caused Nathanael, himself a Galilean, (John 1:46) to question, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Nathanael was closed to the idea that the Messiah could come from a place such as Nazareth. The early church received similar scorn…..

Mary and Joseph had gone to Bethlehem to be included in the census. Jesus was born in Bethlehem, but the family returned to Nazareth (Mathew 2:23) and this was Jesus’s boyhood home for thirty years. He preached the sermon in his synagogue, that led to his rejection by his fellow townsmen. When Philip had found Nathanial and proclaimed to him that Jesus, the son of Joseph, was the Messiah, Nathanial was very skeptical. Philip told him to, “Come and see.”

Today, Nazareth, in Hebrew Nazerat, and Arabic, an-Nāsira, is one of the largest Arab cities in Israel.

Let’s take a look around the city……..

Among these neighborhoods, is Nazareth’s most famous church, the Basilica of Annunciation. It stands on the spot believed by the Roman Catholic Church to be where the Angel Gabriel appeared before Mary and told her, her son, Jesus, would be the Son of God. (Luke 1:26) The church is over the site of what is to be believed as Mary’s house. “And in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel, was sent from God unto a place of Galilee, named Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary.” Four earlier churches were built in the same location and archaeological excavations on this site revealed early Roman settlements.

Looking at the Basilica from the neighborhood……..

The signs of the Basilica…….

Our first look………this Catholic Basilica was completed in 1969. It is a two-story building, built over the site of the earlier four churches built in the Byzantine and Crusader periods. It is operated by the Franciscans and is the largest Christian Church, or sanctuary, in the Middle East.

Walking around it…….

and looking up…….

and in the courtyard………

Because early pilgrims and Christians believed this to be the place of the House of the Virgin Mary, many inscriptions to Mary were left on the grottos walls. As a result, many countries with a significant Catholic population,  have designed mosaics of Mary and they have been placed on the outside walls of the courtyard of the Basilica.

Looking at the mosaic floor pieces………

Pope Paul VI celebrated Mass in the new church, during his trip to the Holy Land in 1964, before the Basilica was completed.

The Main Doors………….

And once inside………you can see some of the ancient columns were left in place.

And, the upper level…….

The grotto’s interior, with the 18th century alter, is dedicated to the Annunciation. The Church believes the ancient column to the right of the alter (seen in the featured photo) was probably placed there in the 4th century, to mark the place where the angel Gabriel appeared. Behind this are stairs that lead up to a smaller cave, called “Mary’s kitchen,” and to an exit to the courtyard.

I found Nazareth to be very inspiring……the low view of Nazareth is important in Mathew’s claim that Jesus, “fulfilled what was said through the prophets that He would be called a Nazarene.” “Nazarene,” also represents how others would despise Him and treat Him badly. Like, judging a book by its cover.

We’re going to Mount Carmel next……see you there! Cady