today the direct route from nazareth to bethlehem is south on highway 6, and it can take two to three hours, depending on traffic near jerusalem. but for mary and joseph, traffic wasn t a problem. they had to worry about herod the great, bandits, and the rugged terrain. so, which route did the holy family take? that s next. i built my business with passion.
something. it s a mistranslation by people who thought that a builder always worked with wood because of the king james bible. but we have stone here. but, remember, we do romanticize about joseph in lots of ways. joseph and mary were never married. most people don t even realize that. but didn t they get married later? no, never says that they married. never in fact, he s never called anything except for her betrothed. in the first century, a betrothal was a legal contract. although it s not the same as being married, it s a much stronger bond than we would call today being engaged. the virgin birth how would that go over in a first-century nazarene town? obviously, a lot of jews would say, well, she obviously got raped by a roman. his name is pantera. and we do have those early accounts. but the claim of being born of a virgin, as unusual as it seems,
padvil pm gives you the healingu at nsleep you need, it. helping you fall asleep and stay asleep so your body can heal as you rest. advil pm. for a healing night s sleep. you don t want to live with mom and dad forever, do you? how do i check my credit score? credit karma. don t worry, it s free. credit karma. give yourself some credit. on the way to bethlehem, mary and joseph could not miss seeing herodium. it s a symbol of domination and oppression. this imposing fortress palace stands in striking contrast to the peace on earth and goodwill towards men message of the birth and life of jesus christ. [ silent night plays ]
saying, this is the time. we ve been counting, we ve been calculating, we ve worked out from the prophecies when this ought to occur, and we think it s pretty much now. in recent years, archaeologists have found facts that support that prediction. our work in the jewish villages is proving that, in the time of jesus, 80% of the jews came from judaea. that s bethlehem. we are not only people of faith we re people with minds. no one digs to get faith. so archaeology can t form faith. but archaeology is absolutely important for informing faith, and we would like to ask every question possible. what we can be certain about is that he s called jesus from nazareth. this is where he spent his early youth. the nativity story begins here in nazareth with the annunciation. the gospel of luke says the angel gabriel was sent from god to tell mary, a virgin, that she
where we are now, herodium, another fortress palace. he s respected as israel s greatest builder, but reviled as a paranoid madman who killed his wife, three of his children, and the rabbis of the jewish hasmonean dynasty. in matthew s gospel, when the magi followed their star to jerusalem and asked herod where the king of the jews has been born. [ wistful music plays, woman vocalizing ] .he commands his soldiers to kill all the babies in bethlehem the slaughter of the innocents. would mary and joseph felt oppressed, in a sense, passing by it? i would have in their position already feeling threatened just from the years of roman rule, that this would ve been a very intimidating place for them. [ soft music plays ] why are luke and matthew s nativity stories so different? different audience, different