Online Bible College
DJC-063
Discovering Jesus Course
63
Jesus in Sepphoris
Just a leisurely walk from Nazareth lay the dazzling city of Sepphoris, called by
Josephus “the ornament of all Galilee.” As we saw in Lesson 48, Sepphoris may
have been the city Jesus was referring to in Matthew 5:14, when he declared that
a “city on a hill cannot be hidden,” for Sepphoris was built of white limestone and
colored marble, and at night would have been seen throughout the Galilee basin.
This city was probably almost as influential on Jesus, in his formative years, as
the village Nazareth itself.
Sepphoris (called Zippori in Hebrew) had long served as Galilee’s capital, a city
second in importance only to Jerusalem. But after the death of Herod the Great,
Publius Quintilius Varus (son of one of the assassins of Julius Caesar) brutally
crushed a Jewish revolt in Galilee and in the process destroyed the city of Sepphoris,
crucifying thousands of Jews.
Throughout most of the years of Jesus’ growth into adulthood, however, Herod
Antipas was rebuilding Sepphoris as his capital. In fact, it is possible that Jesus
found steady work in Sepphoris, for James Strange observes:
Could Jesus have been a member of the construction crews that worked on
Sepphoris, rebuilding its beautiful colonnaded streets, its forum and palace, and
the many luxurious villas? There is no direct evidence from the Gospel record,
but the possibility is strong. One fact, however, is beyond question. Since Nazareth
was, in effect, a satellite village of Sepphoris, Jesus would have had plenty of opportunity to visit the city. As Shirley Jackson Case explains:
“It requires no very daring flight of the imagination to picture the youthful Jesus
seeking and finding employment in the neighboring city of Sepphoris. But
whether or not he actually labored there, his presence in the city on various
occasions can scarcely be doubted; and the fact of such contacts during the
formative years of his young manhood may account for attitudes and opinions that show themselves conspicuously during his public ministry.”2
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DISCOVERING JESUS COURSE
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“As a carpenter, Jesus would have been in a lot of demand in Sepphoris, which
was a growing city at the time.”1
Online Bible College
DJC-063
Mario Seiglie explains this further:
“Recent archaeological excavations in Sepphoris show it to have been a bustling, prosperous city during the years Jesus grew up in nearby Nazareth.
This historical record helps us better understand the background of Christ’s
teachings, which included illustrations drawn not just from farming and animal husbandry, but also construction, rulers and nobility, the theater, government, finance and other aspects of city life.”3
As we read the parables that Jesus taught, we come across numerous allusions to
larger city life, indicating that he had not been isolated in a rural backwater. Indeed,
“[t]he proximity of Sepphoris to Nazareth...undermines the notion that Jesus was
unfamiliar with sophisticated urban culture.”4 Take a look at these examples in
Jesus’ teaching:
 Matthew 6:5-6 – The word Jesus uses – hypocrités – actually describes Greek
actors who entertained in a theater. He thus describes the Pharisees as “play
actors,” with plenty of outward shows of piety, but little inward reality. Although scholars still debate the issue, there may have been a Greek theater in
Sepphoris during the time of Jesus. If this is the case, then Jesus would have
been familiar with the hypocrités of Sepphoris, although as an observant
Jew it is doubtful that he would ever have actually entered the theater.
 Luke 16:19-31 – The story of the rich man and the beggar is probably a
true story, not a parable, for Jesus specifically calls the beggar Lazarus. If
this is the case, then the residence of the rich man was not in a small village. The setting may have been in Sepphoris or a similar large town.
Given the proximity of Sepphoris to Nazareth, and the likelihood that Jesus visited
there on numerous occasions, why doesn’t the Gospel record ever make mention of
Sepphoris? And why didn’t Jesus ever visit Sepphoris during his messianic ministry?
The pattern of Jesus’ travels, as recorded in the Gospel accounts, makes it
abundantly clear that Jesus, after he embarked on his messianic mission, purposely
shunned the large population centers of Galilee in order to avoid undue political
attention. And so as important as Sepphoris may have been in the childhood and
early adulthood of Jesus, it played no role in his ministry years.
1
2
3
4
James Strange, cited by Lynn Rothman, “Strange Digs,” http://www.tfba.org/projects/sepphoris/body_sepphoris.htm.
Shirley Jackson Case, quoted by Richard A Batey, Jesus & the Forgotten City: New Light on Sepphoris and the Urban
World of Jesus, pp.70-17.
Mario Seiglie, “Jesus Christ: The Early Years,” published on http://www.ucg.org/articles/gn24/jesus.html.
Mark Chancey & Eric M Meyers, “How Jewish Was Sepphoris in Jesus’ Time?” http://www.bib-arch.org/barja00/
sepphoris1.html.
Unless otherwise indicated, all quotations from the Bible are from the New International Version, copyright © 1973,
1978, 1984 International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers.
The Online Bible College can be accessed at www.online-bible-college.com
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DISCOVERING JESUS COURSE
Copyright © 2002, The Online Bible College.
 Luke 18:1-5 – The story of the unjust judge is not set in a village such as rural
Nazareth. It is set in a larger town, and although Jesus speaks of “a certain
town,” indicating that he may not be referring to Sepphoris specifically, it
is likely that in his youth Jesus heard of instances similar to this in Sepphoris.