“BORN IN BETHLEHEM”

BORN IN BETHLEHEM

Matthew 2:1-8

December 9, 2007 Pastor Harpold

I've been to Bethlehem. It's fairly indistinguishable from many other Judean towns, except for the Church of the Nativity built over the traditional site of Jesus' birth. Bethlehem is located on a ridge some 2500 feet above sea level, and five or six miles southwest of Jerusalem. Why, with all the grand locations in the world to choose from, did God choose for His Son to be born in Bethlehem? I can give three good reasons.

1. To Fulfill Prophecy. God choose for His Son to be born in Bethlehem to fulfill prophecy. Seven hundred years earlier the prophet Micah quoted God: "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting" (5:2). Notice, besides the prophecy of Bethlehem being the host city of one of the great events of history, we are given one specific word about who Jesus is – Jesus did not have his beginning at his birth, but from everlasting.

Now, some Messianic prophecies are cryptic – having hidden meanings - they are identified and understood only after the event has occurred. Psalm 22 (My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?) and Isaiah 53 (the suffering servant) must have perplexed readers for hundreds of years as to their meaning. Only after the Savior went to the cross did the followers of Jesus realize how the first seems to be the thoughts of the Lord on the cross, and the second an eyewitness description of that event. God placed these prophecies in the Bible so that when they happened, His people would be comforted to know He had planned it from the beginning.

However, Micah 5:2 stands out there in the open. God wanted everyone to know the Savior would be arriving in Bethlehem. And everyone did know, at least those familiar with the Scriptures. When the magi arrived in Jerusalem asking at every street corner where the newborn King could be found, word filtered up to King Herod in the palace and he called in his advisors. "In Bethlehem," they all agreed, quoting Micah 5:2. Why did they not accept this later?

God keeps His word; Jesus was born in Bethlehem.

2. To Identify With David. God choose for His Son to be born in Bethlehem to identify with David. The Messiah would be a Son of David and sit on the throne of David. Old Testament prophecies emphasized both points again and again. Since both Mary and Joseph were of the lineage of David, Jesus was doubly covered. When the census of Luke 2:1 called everyone to his ancestral home, they made the journey of a seventy (or a hundred) miles south to Bethlehem.

Bethlehem was where Ruth lived - where she gleaned behind Boaz' harvesters. Boaz spotted the lovely young widow and the rest, as they say, is history. Their son, Obed, was the father of Jesse, who raised a large family of sons and daughters, the youngest son being David. Thereafter, Bethlehem would forever be known as the City of David. Even the angels called it that. "For there is born this day in the City of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord" they said to the shepherds. Doubtless many of the psalms of David which God's people have loved and sung for thirty centuries were inspired by time spent in the same fields and meadows where the shepherds met the angels that wondrous night.

One day as the Lord and His entourage were approaching Jericho, a blind beggar sitting beside the gate began to call out to Him. “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Again and again, he repeated that refrain. When our Lord came within earshot, He had the man brought to Him and restored his sight. The Son of God is the Son of David! Jesus was born in Bethlehem.

3. To Make a Connection. God choose for His Son to be born in Bethlehem to make a connection. Bethlehem in the Hebrew means "House of Bread.'' (Today, the Jews call it Beit Lahm, meaning “House of Meat.”) What more fitting place for the One who would be known as the Bread of Life to be born?

One day, the Lord Jesus fed thousands of people with the lunch of a child. Soon afterward, He taught the people the meaning of the miracle. “There is a bread that endures to eternal life,” He said. He Himself (Jesus) was the living and true Bread from heaven, "which a man may eat and live forever" (John 6).

Isaiah asked the people of God in his day: “Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread?” (Is. 55:2). That is to say, why are you working and worrying and spending your life for things that do not nourish you, do not strengthen you, and do not satisfy you? A good question for our day, also.

Jesus is the fulfillment of prophecies given hundreds of years earlier. Jesus Christ is the Son of David, born in the City of David. Jesus is the Bread of Life, born in the House of Bread. How much plainer can God make it? Jesus is Lord.

Going back to an earlier question – why did the leaders of the faith reject the Savior who fulfilled so many of the prophecies? Why indeed, do so many reject the claims of Christ even now? Why do you reject the claims?

Some cannot accept the miraculous. Thomas Jefferson was not an atheist as some would claim. He believed in God. But he couldn’t accept the miraculous - thus the Jefferson Bible. Critical scholars reject a lot of truth about the Bible because they can’t conceive of a God who can give the future to a prophet. They reject even some claims of Jesus because of future predictions. For instance, critical scholars will give a late date for the writing of the Gospels – reflecting back on the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. They can’t see that even Jesus would have any foreknowledge of future events. There may be some such rationalists sitting here today. J. B. Philips wrote a little book with a big message some years ago. The title is Your God Is Too Small.

Jesus gave perhaps the best explanation in John 3, as he spoke with Nicodemus. Men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest their deeds should be exposed. Like the woman I shared the gospel with and she responded, “I believe everything you say about Jesus, but I am not ready to accept him as Savior because there are things I want to do which I can’t do if I am a Christian.” Is that your reason?

I knew a preacher who would say, “Many are waiting until the eleventh hour, but they die at ten-thirty. Why would one choose a Christ-less eternity, in hell? Maybe not deliberately, but the choice is made none-the-less.

So, here we have the prophecy and fulfillment. Why not choose the one God sent to be the Savior of the World.