Nazareth is the hometown of Mary and Joseph. In 5 B.C., just before the birth of Christ, the Romans require them to travel to their ancestral home (they were both of the lineage of King David) of Bethlehem. The couple travels the roughly 80 miles (about 129 kilometers) to the city, where Christ will be ultimately born in a stable and laid in a manger (Luke 2:1 - 20).
Jesus Is Circumcised
Jesus' birth, which occurs on or around the Feast of Trumpets (September 2 in 5 B.C.) fulfills the prophecy found in Micah 5:2. Joseph, on the eighth day after Mary gives birth, takes the family to Jerusalem so that the Lord can be circumcised according to the law of God (Luke 2:21).
Presented to God
Forty days after Jesus is born, fulfilling the purification requirement of Leviticus 12, Mary and Joseph travel to Jerusalem's temple to present him before God. The trip is only 6 miles (9.6 kilometers) long. His parents make an offering to the temple of two young birds. It is during their visit that a priest named Simeon prophesied about Jesus' mission in life and blessed his parents.
Then Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary, His mother, "Behold, this Child is set for the fall and rising up of many in Israel, and for a sign that shall be spoken against,
"(And you also, a sword shall go through your own soul) in order that the imaginations of many hearts may be revealed." (Luke 2:34 - 35, HBFV).
Before Mary and Joseph leave the temple to return home a woman named Anna, a widowed prophetess who lived in Jerusalem, praises the Lord when she learns of Jesus' birth.
Now there was Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher; she was of a great age, having lived with a husband seven years from her virginity; And she was a widow of about eighty-four years . . .
And at the same time she came up, giving praise to the Lord; and she spoke concerning Him to all those in Jerusalem who were waiting for redemption (Luke 2:36 - 38, HBFV).
The family then makes the short trip back to Bethlehem.
Back to Bethlehem
In Bethlehem, Jesus' family is living in a home and not a stable (Matthew 2:11). The wise men (Magi) from the East, guided by a star (an angel), arrive to worship the King of Kings with Mary in attendance.
And when they had come into the house, they found the little Child with Mary His mother, and they bowed down and worshiped Him; then they opened their treasures and presented their gifts to Him - gold and frankincense and myrrh (Matthew 2:22, HBFV).
After the wise men leave, Joseph is told (in a dream) to flee to Egypt (verse 13). He is informed of this because Herod the Great will soon issue a command that all male children two years old and younger, in and around Bethlehem, are to be put to death (Matthew 2:16).
Now after they (the Magi) had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, "Arise and take the little Child and His mother, and escape into Egypt, and remain there until I shall tell you; for Herod is about to seek the little Child to destroy Him." (Matthew 2:13, HBFV).
Mass Murder
Herod's cruel actions fulfill a prophecy regarding the slaughter of innocent children (Jeremiah 31:15). Their journey from Bethlehem to what is Egyptian-controlled territory (which was outside the jurisdiction of Herod) was at least 65 kilometers (40 miles).
After Herod dies in early 4 B.C., Joseph has a dream where an angel tells him it is safe to return to Israel. Mary and the family's trip to and from Egypt is a fulfillment of Bible prophecy (Hosea 11:1). They soon begin their travel back to Judea and Bethlehem.
Return to Bethlehem?
However, as Mary and Joseph approach Judea, it is discovered that Herod Archelaus, the eldest surviving son of Herod the Great, is the new ruler of the area. Like his father, Archelaus rules with tyranny and cruelty. John Gills' Exposition of the Bible states that one time he sent his entire army into Jerusalem's temple, at Passover, in order to kill 3,000 men suspected of sedition.
Joseph's fears about living within Judea are confirmed when God sends him a warning in a dream.
. . . an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in Egypt in a dream, saying, "Arise and take the little Child and His mother, and go into the land of Israel; for those who were seeking the life of the little Child have died."
And he arose and took the little Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea instead of Herod his father, he was afraid to go there; and after being divinely instructed in a dream, he went into the parts of Galilee (Matthew 2:19 - 22, HBFV).
The family, instead of going back to Bethlehem, continue their journey and go northward to their hometown of Nazareth (Matthew 2:22 - 23). The city is part of Galilee, which is ruled by a another son of Herod the Great named Herod Antipas. This son had a slightly less violent disposition than Archelaus.
A Long Journey
The travels of Mary and Joseph from Egyptian territory all the way north to Nazareth is a journey of more than 140 miles (225 kilometers, see Luke 2:39 - 40)! Jesus spends his childhood and young adult years living in Nazareth (which fulfills the prophecy stated in Matthew 2:23).
After the death of his step-father sometime between his 12th and 30th birthday, Jesus continues to live in Nazareth until he journeys to Capernaum to begin his public ministry.