Bethlehem

Preached on Lord’s Day Morning, November 30, 2008, by

 The Rev. Dr. S. Randall Toms

 At St. Paul’s Reformed Episcopal Church, Baton Rouge, Louisiana

But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. (Micah 5:2)

Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet, And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel. (Matthew 2:1-6)

And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) (Luke 2:1-4).

            There are many villages, towns, and cities in the Holy Land with which we are very unfamiliar.  We have trouble just pronouncing the names of most these cities and towns, much less knowing their location and history.  I could say the names of many cities in Israel and most people could not tell you if these cities were in Israel, Persia, Babylon, Greece, or some other ancient kingdom.  I never realized how ignorant I was of these places until I took a course at seminary in Biblical archeology, and on every test the professor would give us a list of cities and towns in Israel, and we would have to put them on a blank map at their proper location.

            But there is the name of one town in Israel that we recognize immediately—Bethlehem.  Perhaps it is because children grow up singing, “O Little Town of Bethlehem,” that almost everyone in our culture at least recognizes the name.  Even the people outside of the Church usually recognize that Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem.  Though people may know very little about the cities and towns in the Middle East, Bethlehem is familiar because it is the place where our Lord Jesus Christ was born.

            Most cities take great delight if a famous person was born in their city.  We have a town in Louisiana that was the home of several famous people.  If you ever go to Ferriday, Louisiana you will see a sign that says that Ferriday was the home of Jerry Lee Lewis, Mickey Gilley, Jimmy Swaggart, and Howard K. Smith.  Cities take great delight in saying such things as, “Abraham Lincoln was born here,” or, “This is the birthplace of George Washington.”  But take the greatest of names and the proudest of cities, and they pale into insignificance when compared to a little city in Judah called Bethlehem, for it was there that the King of kings and Lord of lords was born.

            As we see in Micah 5, it was prophesied that our Lord would be born in Bethlehem.  The book of Micah was written 700 years before the birth of our Lord, and here it is, clearly foretold,  that he would be born in Bethlehem.  I sometimes wonder if this little town lived in constant excitement that the next child born in Bethlehem might be the Messiah, or if they were so blind that they never thought of it anymore.  Not everyone had forgotten this prophecy, for you remember when Herod asked the chief priests and scribes where the Christ was to be born, they said, “In Bethlehem of Judea,” and then they quoted this passage of Scripture in Micah.  As you can see, it was a well-established fact that the Lord Jesus Christ would be born in Bethlehem.

            This morning I want us to look at the mercy, power, and wisdom of God in ordaining that Christ would be born in Bethlehem.  It should actually thrill our hearts to think that our Lord born in this little city.  You may ask, “What is so special about Bethlehem?  Wasn’t it just mere chance or accident that Christ was born there?  Even if God did plan it this way, that Christ would born in Bethlehem, did God have any real purpose in it?  Would any other city or town have done just as well as Bethlehem?  What is so special about the fact that He was born there?”   After this morning, I hope that you will never ask such questions again, for the fact that Christ was born in Bethlehem should provide much comfort and assurance to all believers, and even hope to those who diligently seek him.

            First, it was appropriate that Christ should be born in Bethlehem, for Bethlehem was a city of great joy and sorrow.  As a matter of fact, the first time we read of Bethlehem in the Scriptures, there is great joy and sorrow mingled together.  The first time we read of this town is in connection with the birth of Benjamin in Genesis 35: 16-20:

And they journeyed from Bethel; and there was but a little way to come to Ephrath: and Rachel travailed, and she had hard labour. And it came to pass, when she was in hard labour, that the midwife said unto her, Fear not; thou shalt have this son also.  And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing, (for she died) that she called his name Ben-oni: but his father called him Benjamin. And Rachel died, and was buried in the way to Ephrath, which is Bethlehem. And Jacob set a pillar upon her grave: that is the pillar of Rachel's grave unto this day.

The birth of Benjamin was a joyful occasion, but it was also an occasion of great bitterness and sorrow, for Rachel died when Benjamin was born.   Just before she died, Rachel named him Ben Oni, which means “son of my sorrow.”  But Jacob wouldn’t have it that way.  He named him, Benjamin, which means, “son of my right hand.”  In the first mention of Bethlehem, we see joy and sorrow mingled together.

            The birth of our Lord Jesus Christ was so much like the birth of Benjamin.  Mary could have very well named him, Ben Oni, son of my sorrow.  The circumstances surrounding his birth had brought a great deal of sorrow to Mary.  The pregnancy itself caused her the sorrow of being thought of as an adultereress, and to be temporarily rejected by her betrothed.  Then, during the last stages of pregnancy she had to go to Bethlehem, and her son was born in a cave, a common cattle stall.  We don’t know exactly how much Mary knew at this time about the path of suffering that lay ahead of her son, but you remember what Simeon told Mary later  in Luke 2:34-35:

“And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against; (Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”  No doubt that sword of sorrow did pierce Mary’s heart when she saw her son crucified, having to suffer the way that he did.  Yes, she could have said named him “son of my sorrow.”

            But God, his Father, would have been like Jacob and named him Benjamin, son of my right hand, for truly he was the son of God’s right hand.  From eternity past, and throughout eternity future, our Lord Jesus Christ will have the honor and privilege of being seated at the right hand of the Father.  During our Lord’s trial, just before he went to the cross, the council asked him if he was the Christ.  He replied, “Hereafter shall the Son of man sit on the right hand of the power of God” (Luke 22:69).  He would, in a few moments, be the son of sorrow, suffering on a cross, but not long afterward he would be the son of God’s right hand.  As the apostle Peter put it on the day of Pentecost:   “Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear. For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, Until I make thy foes thy footstool.  Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ” (Acts 2:33-36). During the days of his earthly ministry, he was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.  As God, as the second person of the blessed Holy Trinity, he is Benjamin, the son of God’s right hand, clothed with majesty and power to reign forever and ever.   So, Bethlehem was a town where joy and sorrow were mingled.  How appropriate that our Lord was born in such a place, for we live a world where joy and sorrow are experienced together throughout our lives.  Being a Christian does not exempt us from feeling great sorrows when tragedies and trials come our way.  But in the midst of all our tribulations, we have joy, because we can look to heaven and see the son of God’s right hand, sitting at the right hand of the Father, everliving to make intercession for us.  What a comfort to know that in all our sadness we can go to our Advocate, the son of God’s right hand!

            Secondly, it was appropriate that our Lord was born in Bethlehem, for it was there, not for the first time, but certainly a significant time, that Hebrew and Gentile blood united to ultimately bring forth a Savior into the world who would be the Savior of both Jews and Gentiles.  You remember that it was here in Bethlehem that Ruth and Boaz were married.  Ruth, a Gentile Moabitess, married Boaz, who was from Bethlehemjudah.   In Ruth 4:11-17 we read the account of their marriage:

Notice how it is said by the elders, “Be famous in Bethlehem.”  Of course, Boaz, Ruth, and Bethlehem are famous, for from this union of an Israelite and a Gentile Moabitess, would come Obed, Jesse, David, and eventually, the Lord Jesus Christ himself.  From this union of Israelite and Gentile came the Savior of Jew and Gentile. 

            As I just mentioned, it was in this place, Bethlehem, that David was born.  After David had killed Goliath, we have recorded this conversation between Saul and David:  And Saul said to him, “Whose son art thou, thou young man? And David answered, I am the son of thy servant Jesse the Bethlehemite” (I Samuel 17:58).  It was only fitting that Christ, since he was King of kings and Lord of lords, should be born in a place where the greatest of the kings of Israel had been born.  After all, the angel Gabriel told Mary: “Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David.   And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. (Luke 1:30-33).  Jesus, born in Bethlehem, would receive the throne of his father, David, also born in Bethlehem.

            Then, we can say that the birth of Christ in Bethlehem was appropriate because of the very meaning of the word “Bethlehem.”  The word “Bethlehem” means “house of bread.”  Spurgeon said, “Ought not Jesus Christ to be born in the house of bread.  He is the bread of His people on which they feed.  Bethlehem, thou house of bread, rightly wast thou called; for there the bread of life was first handed down for men to eat.”   We read in John 6 :47-58, the account of how our Lord described himself as the bread of life:

Whenever we kneel here for Holy Communion today, think of Bethlehem, the house of bread, where the bread of life was born.   By eating his flesh and drinking his blood, we are preserved body and soul unto everlasting life.  How appropriate that the bread of life would be born in the house of bread!

            Here we have a message for those who are empty, for those who have found that the things of this world do not satisfy and leave them with that hollow feeling: Come to the house of bread, partake of the bread of life.  Only then will you be full and satisfied.  Those of us who are Christians have found this to be true.  Some of us have tried and tried to feed ourselves on the things of this world, but found they could not satisfy.  If you are someone who is weak and in a state of spiritual depression, nothing will revive you except gaining nourishment from the bread of heaven.  Go to Bethlehem, the house of bread.  Remember that it was there that the true bread came from heaven and was given to men.

            There is also significance to the word “Ephratah,” which was the old name for Bethlehem.  The Jews loved this name for the town so much that when it was renamed Bethlehem, they refused to drop the old name of Ephratah, as you can see in Micah 5:2, as it is called “Bethlehem Ephratah.”  The word Ephratah means “fruitfulness,” or “abundance.”  As we know, it is the will of our Lord Jesus Christ that we should bear much fruit.  We must bear the fruit of the spirit, and  we must bear the fruit of a holy life.  But we cannot bear fruit apart from our Lord Jesus Christ.  Jesus said in John 15:1-8:   

Our Lord Jesus was born in the place of fruitfulness for he is the true vine that gives his people the ability to be fruitful.  Had it not been for Christ coming into this world, our hearts would have produced nothing  but thorns and thistles.  But now we are like trees planted by the rivers of water, which bring forth their fruit in its season.

            Now, there is another wonderful reason why Christ was born in Bethlehem.  The prophecy in Micah said that Bethlehem was little among the thousands of Judah.  This word “thousands” refers to the villages of Judah.  The average village consisted of 1000 people, so “thousands” and “village” are the same thing.  The prophecy is stating that among the thousands, among these villages, Bethlehem was insignificant.  Even during the time of David, when Palestine was well-populated, Bethlehem was insignificant among the villages of Judah.  Why is this fact so important?  This fact shows us that once again, God is concerned with the small and the insignificant.  He is not exalting the mighty.  Christ was born in Bethlehem, an insignificant place as far as the rest of the world was concerned.  But these insignificant things are the very things that God decrees to exalt and magnify.

            According to human wisdom, the most likely place for the king of Israel to be born would have been Jerusalem.  It would have been expected that the Messiah would have been born in a palace, or in the temple, perhaps.    Since Jesus Christ is King of kings and Lord of lords, wouldn’t it have been more appropriate for him to be born in the capital of the whole world at that time, Rome?  Wouldn’t it have been better for him to have been born there with all the pomp and ceremony of a royal birth, where the news of his arrival could have traveled all around the world with the stamp of an official proclamation?  Couldn’t God have waited until the present time to have sent his son?  He could have been born in Washington D. C., or New York City, and satellites, cell phones, and the internet would have instantly flashed the news of his birth around the world in a matter of seconds.    But no, he was born in the insignificant place—Bethlehem; not a capital city or even a prominent village.  Bethlehem, the least among the villages of Judah. 

            I know what it is like to come from one of these small, insignificant places.  Whenever people ask me where I am from, the next question is always, “Where is that?”  It is a strange thing that people who come from small, insignificant places, have a tendency to think of themselves as small and insignificant.

Isn’t this a word of encouragement for the most insignificant of people?  Some of us feel just like Bethlehem--insignificant, small, unimportant, as far as the world is concerned.  But it was to poor, insignificant Bethlehem that our Lord came, and forever, the name of Bethlehem has become glorious.  Our Lord has always come to the poor and forgotten, and no matter small and unimportant you may be, Christ does not hesitate to come to such.  As a matter of fact, that is the only kind of people to whom he does come.  Christ does not come to the proud, the rich, and the mighty in spirit.  He comes only to the humble, the broken-hearted, the poor in spirit.  As St. Paul put it, in I Cor. 1:26-29:

This is also a word of encouragement to our small church.  We may be few in number, but God often uses the small and powerless to accomplish great things.  In this way, God receives all of the glory, for it could never be said that our church accomplished great things because we were numerous and well-respected in the eyes of the world.  God uses the least to achieve the greatest.

            So, if you feel small and insignificant in the eyes of God, and feel as though God could not use someone as worthless and unimportant as you, take heart.  You are the very kind the King of kings and Lord of lords uses.  Here in Bethlehem, he came to the least of the thousands of Judah.  He always comes to those who see themselves as the least.   In Isaiah57:15, we read, “For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.”

As we enter the Advent season, we celebrate the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.  This is a time of preparation, as we contemplate the first coming of our Lord and look forward to  his second coming.    But let us ask ourselves the question:  To whom does he come?  He comes to the least, the smallest, the most insignificant.  Take that posture during this Advent season.  Be humble, contrite, and this ruler who comes to shepherd his people will come to you, just as he came to Bethlehem.