Why did Jesus leave Nazareth?
The Gospels provide some possible hints why Jesus left the village of his youth as he began his ministry. Jesus Christ was associated with Nazareth through his entire ministry. Even at the end, Pilate placed above his cross a sign, “Jesus of Nazareth the King of the Jews” (John 19:19; emphasis added). He is associated with Nazareth at some point. Joseph and Mary (Jesus’ mother) moved to Nazareth, a small village in Galilee a few years after Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem in Judea (Matthew 2:19-23) where he apparently lived until he appeared on the Jordan River to be baptized by John the Baptist. Luke does indicate that Jesus Christ ventured beyond this village at least once, when he was twelve years old to travel with his parents, family, and friends to the Holy City of Jerusalem (Luke 2:42-51). The Gospels, as noted above, are silent on what happen next except that Jesus Christ “went down with [Joseph and Mary], and came to Nazareth, and was subject to them. . . . And Jesus increased in wi
