HE SHALL BE CALLED A NAZARENE.
By J. O. Corliss
OBJECTIONS to the Bible are numerous, and many of them upon examination appear very trivial. The above expression has been seized upon by infidels to harass the young and destroy their faith in the veracity of the Bible. Some, strange to say, after reading their rash statements, have followed in their train, loudly denouncing the Bible as a forgery, and those who believe in it as silly and stupid. But what is the objection urged against the statement that Christ was called a Nazarene in fulfillment of the prophets? Infidels say it is a gross falsehood, and challenge the world to show where any prophet has ever made such a statement. Although no prophet has stated in so many words that he should be called a Nazarene, yet we think his being called such was in fulfillment of what had been uttered by a number of them in their prophetic allusions to Christ. By taking Christ in childhood to dwell at Nazareth, and bringing him up there, his parents opened the way by which he acquired from his enemies the name of Nazarene (of Nazareth), which signifies a branch, shoot, or scion, and was in fulfillment of the prophecies of Isaiah and Zechariah, who called him the BRANCH. Had they not taken him there, he would not have been called a Nazarene (Branch) by the people, who by so doing fulfilled the prophecy and condemned themselves. Thus the text is not only relieved from its objection but becomes a decided proof of the veracity of the prophets, and a record of how a little incident in the life of Christ was shown to be a fulfillment of the prophecies concerning him, and that by his enemies.