While Nazareth, hidden away by encircling hills in its own little valley, is far from what are now the main streams of travel, at the beginning of the Christian era, it was not far from the chief highway between Egypt and Damascus, between the sea coast and the East.... Over this route the ten cities of the Decapolis, populous and flourishing, had their chief communication with Rome, the Imperial City. The populace of the prosperous cities and towns of Galilee also passed this way; so that Nazareth was just beside one of the busiest arteries of travel in the East, if not of the whole world of that time.
It should not be forgotten that Palestine and the adjoining territory were vastly more populous then than they are today; and that this territory which is now politically and commercially insignificant, was at the beginning of the Christian era, a rich and busy section of the world.
Beside this bustling activity and within sight of much of it, the boyhood and young manhood of Jesus was passed; not in isolation from the affairs of the world, but in full view of much that was transpiring he spent his youth. To be sure his immediate surroundings were rustic; but within easy reach were cities of prominence, with all the culture and pomp, with all the glitter and pride which characterized the pagan civilization of the time. May we not conclude that it was by contact with a varied and active populace that he learned to know the human heart—knowledge which gave him a depth of sympathy above all others....
