Dearest JanH... may you have peace!
"So from where do you get the idea Jesus was a Nazirite?"
I got it from my Lord when he explained to me WHY he compared himself with John the Baptist...
"John (a Nazirite) came neither eating NOR drinking
(thus, living up to his vow), yet people say 'he has
a demon'; the Son of Man did come eating AND drinking
(yet, he was a Nazirite), still people say, "Look! A
man gluttonous and given to drinking wine, a friend
of the tax collectors and sinners (thus appearing to
contradict his Naziriteship of abstaining from wine
AS WELL AS his 'separation')".
His point? It didn't MATTER whether one APPEARED to be 'righteous' or not. Those who weren't willing to accept the works of such ones, simply weren't going to accept them, no matter HOW they 'appeared'. He went on to say that BOTH had proved their 'Nazariteship', in that 'wisdom is PROVED righteous... by its works'. The main POINT of being a Nazarite, then, was a separation to do GOD'S WILL, not a separation because one was BETTER than others. The abstinence from wine was to keep a sharp mind... as well as 'ear'... and the hair thing was simply an outward 'reminder' of the vow.
That is why Samson THOUGHT he had lost his 'power' when his hair was cut. Had he 'walked by faith', though, and not by 'sight', he would have known that he had never 'lost' anything... BUT his faith. And with his faith, went his strength. For all it took was faith 'the size of a mustard seed', and he COULD have 'moved mountains'... and not just toppled a temple.
The 'works' of a Nazirite... are obedience to GOD, by means of the spirit that resides in them: John, chosen to be a Nazirite by God before his birth in the flesh, was sent to 'prepare a way' for the one coming after him. Once grown, he could have 'begged off' and said, 'But the people won't LIKE what I am sent to say.' But he didn't; he obeyed and fulfilled his commission. Even exposing the wickedness of Herod and as a result, even to his death.
My Lord, was sent to provide a 'ransom' and a 'releasing'. And he obediently did that. He, too, could have said, "The people won't LIKE it," and they didn't, but he obeyed God, rather than men. In addition, he, too, exposed the wickedness of the Pharisees, and thus, in all things (releasing, ransoming and exposing), fulfilled HIS commission, even to HIS death.
Now, did I find it 'written' specifically that my Lord was a 'Nazir'? No, but I know what a 'Nazir' truly is, and my Lord was one. In addition, I just listened to what he told me.
However, that might also account for why he was from Nazareth. Perhaps it WAS a town of Nazirites. I don't know; I have not asked, and I have not heard. I didn't think it important.
Dear, JanH, I know that walking by faith is very difficult for some people, what with being lied to and misled so horribly by 'religion'. I absolutely understand the skepticism and the need of some folks to explain away everything by means of physical logic. I have that need, too, to some degree. That is why, before writing off God altogther after coming to know the truth about the WTBTS, I ASKED... if there WAS a 'truth'... for it to be revealed to me, that if God DID exist, for Him to reveal Himself to me. Imagine my GREAT surprise, when I 'received' exactly what I asked for.
And it is why, before I 'accepted' anything, I asked my Lord to reveal the truth to me. Since he has never lied to me, however, I have learned to trust him with what he says now. But it does take faith, something I do not possess on my own. So... I ask for that, too.
As for the things I am granted to 'see' and 'hear'... I wish NOTHING else... but the same for all others who 'wish' it, too.
I bid you peace!
Your servant and a slave of Christ,
SJ
