A Nazarene is someone who comes from the town of Nazareth. Nazareth was a town in the southern part of Galilee during the time of Jesus.
Why Was Jesus Called a Nazarene?
Jesus lived in Nazareth for the first 30 years of his life, so people called him a Nazarene. The name Jesus was a common name among the Jews. Surnames were not used, so identifying Jesus as a Nazarene may have differentiated him from others with the same name (see Greek texts of Matthew 27:16–17; Acts 7:45; Colossians 4:11; and Hebrews 4:8, where the name Jesus refers to other men).
In original texts, the designation Jesus the Nazarene (or Jesus of Nazareth) was used by:
the crowd outside Jericho (Mark 10:47; Luke 18:37)
a servant girl (Mark 14:67)
soldiers (John 18:5–7)
Pilate (John 19:19)
the two disciples on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:19)
The apostles in Acts use Nazareth to identify Jesus:
Peter speaks of "Jesus of Nazareth" in his sermon on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:22).
Peter speaks of "Jesus Christ of Nazareth" while healing someone at the temple gate (Acts 3:6; 4:10).
People sometimes used "Nazarene" in a negative way when talking about Jesus. For example, in Acts 6:14, some people brought false charges against Stephen, one of Jesus's early followers. They took Stephen to the Jewish religious court (called the Sanhedrin) and said, "This Nazarene, Jesus, will destroy this place [temple] and alter the customs that Moses handed down to us."
There is another negative use of the word "Nazarene" in Acts 24:5. This is the only place in the Bible where Jesus's followers are called "Nazarenes." In this passage, a man named Tertullus accused Paul in front of Roman leaders. He said, "We have found this man to be a pestilence, stirring up dissension among the Jews all over the world. He is a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes."
What Does Matthew's Prophecy About a Nazarene Mean?
The Bible's use of the name "Nazarene" raises an interesting question in Matthew 2:23. The verse says, "And he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophets: 'He will be called a Nazarene.'" No Old Testament prophecy says that the Messiah would be called a Nazarene.
Scholars have different explanations for what Matthew meant. Some scholars look at Isaiah 11:1 in the Old Testament, where it describes the Messiah as a "Branch." In the Hebrew language, the word for "Branch" is similar to the word "Nazareth." These scholars think Matthew was showing this connection.
Other scholars have a different explanation. They point out that the Old Testament said people would reject the Messiah. During Jesus's time, people looked down on anyone who came from Nazareth. This was especially significant because everyone knew the Messiah was supposed to be born in Bethlehem, the hometown of King David.
Jesus was born in Bethlehem, but he grew up in Nazareth. People called him a Nazarene because he came from Nazareth, and they often made fun of him for this. Many people in Jesus's time treated anyone from Nazareth with disrespect. When people treated Jesus this way because he was from Nazareth, it showed that the Old Testament prophecies were coming true (John 1:46; compare Matthew 13:54; Mark 6:2–3; Luke 4:22).