1. Luke 2:39 (ESV)
  2. Exposition

Why do Joseph and Mary go back to Nazareth?

Luke 2:39 (ESV)

39 And when they had performed everything according to the Law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth.

Joseph and Mary return to Nazareth once they have completed the requirements of old covenant law. In this, they have shown themselves to be a godly couple, eager to honour and obey the Lord.1 We are thus comforted to know that Jesus will grow up in a family where his mom and dad will seek to teach him God’s truth (Deuteronomy 6:4–9).