Why Bethlehem? | Dr. David Jeremiah

Message Description:

Why, out of all the cities that could have been chosen for the birth of our Savior, was Bethlehem chosen? Learn about God’s sovereign purpose in selecting Bethlehem as the birthplace of Jesus.

• The promise in the birth of Christ
• Dr. Jeremiah’s message – “Why Bethlehem?”
• Next Time on Turning Point

Hear me carefully. In the contrast of death and life is the picture of redemption that is proclaimed in the birth of Jesus.
Our god was not responsible for the massacre of those children, but he was responsible for sending one into the world who could, by his own life and death, make it possible for those who die physically to live eternally.
In the death of the babies, and the birth of Jesus is the picture of why Jesus had to come into the world in the first place.
Until we see our lord’s birth against the backdrop of the massacre in Bethlehem, we will never realize why it is so important for him to come.
He came to rid us of the ugliness of sin, and there is no picture of the ugliness of sin like the infanticide at Bethlehem.
Even today in our culture.
When we read of little children being tortured, our hearts become angry, and we are filled with sadness because it represents the ugliness of the world of sin in which we live.
And here is this picture of Bethlehem, and the birth of the baby who would put an end to all of that ugliness, the birth of the lord Jesus Christ.
What a wonderful promise it is concerning Jesus that one day he will make it possible for god to wipe away every tear from our eyes.
And there will be no more death nor sorrow nor crying, and there shall be no more pain for the former things we’ll have passed away.
And Jesus, you find life. In the world of sin.
It is the tale of death, and the story of Christmas highlights that as it’s centered in the little city of Bethlehem.
I’m gonna read to you a very familiar portion of scripture, but it’s important that you have this in mind as I speak today, It’s Luke chapter 2 and verse 1, and it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered.
This census first took place when Corinius was governing Syria.
So all went to be registered, everyone, to his own city.
Joseph also went up from Galilee out of the city of Nazareth into Judea to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem because he was of the house and lineage of David.
To be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child.
And so it was that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered, and she brought forth her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and lay him in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn.
I wanna talk with you today about the importance of the village of Bethlehem, in the story of Christmas.
On December 24th 18 65, Phillips Brooks attended a 5 hour Christmas Eve service at the church of the Nativity in Bethlehem.
He said every Christmas song that had ever been written for Christmas was sung that night, and was a wonderful time that deeply moved him.
Later he wrote in his journal about that experience.
He said, I remember standing in the old church in Bethlehem close to the spot where Jesus was born.
Where the whole church was ringing hour after hour with splendid hymns of praise to god.
How it seemed as if I could hear voices, I knew well, telling each other of the wonderful night of the savior’s birth.
3 years later, thinking about that experience, he was asked to write a song for children to help them celebrate the Christmas season.
He began to think back to that wonderful night in Bethlehem, and before he was finished reflecting on it, he wrote the words to the hymn Oh, little town of Bethlehem.
Oh, little town of Bethlehem, how still we see the lie above the deep and dreamless sleep, the silent stars go by.
Yet in thy dark street, shineth, the everlasting light, the hopes and fears of all the years, are met in thee tonight.
The question is why Bethlehem?
Why out of all the cities that could have been chosen for the birth of our savior was Bethlehem chosen.
I mean, it seems like Jerusalem would have been a much better choice. For Jesus to be born.
But Bethlehem, I I know the name has got a kind of a ring to it, but why would this unpretentious village play host to a scene that had such eternal consequences.
The book of Luke tells us, Mary and Joseph were in Bethlehem where Jesus was born because of Caesar Augustus.
The emperor had decreed that a census needed to be taken.
Every person in the Roman had to go to his own town to register.
And don’t confuse this with his desire to know how many people there were. He didn’t wanna miss any taxes.
That’s why that was done. And he had them all go to their place to register, and, of course, Joseph and Mary made the ninety mile trek from Nazareth to Bethlehem.
That first Christmas, and the story, as you know, is told in Luke chapter 2, the famous story of Christmas.
But to understand why that city was so significant, you have to reach deep into the pages of the Old Testament and discover how the history of Bethlehem made it just the right place for Jesus to be born.
First of all, Bethlehem was prepared historically.
The city of Bethlehem is mentioned in the Old Testament, men and women, forty one different times, in 12 different books over a period of 1300 years.
And we discover, first of all, as we read from the beginning that it was a place of sorrow.
One of the most important women in the Old Testament was the woman, Rachel.
The record of Rachel’s death is the longest obituary for a woman in the Bible, and it’s recorded primarily in the 35th chapter of Genesis.
And there you read the story of what happened to one of the scripture’s most beloved women as she was giving birth to her second son.
Here’s what the scripture says. And they journeyed from Bethel.
And when there was but a little distance to go, the scripture says, Rachel labored in childbirth, and she had hard labor.
Now, it came to pass that as she had hard labor, the midwife said to her, do not fear.
You will have this son also, and was, as his name, became Benoni, that his father called him Benjamin.
So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Effort, that is Bethlehem, and Jacob set a pillar on her grave, which is the pillar of Rachel’s grave to this day, Rachel died in 1700 BC, but Jacob never forgot the death of Rachel.
In all the rest of his life, In fact, before he finally died, some 30 years later, he recalled with vivid detail the moment of sorrow in Bethlehem, Genesys 48 and verse 7.
But as for me, when I came from Padan, Rachel died beside me in the land of Kanan on the way, when there was, but a little distance to go to Efra, and I buried her there on the way to Efra.
That is Bethlehem. But the story continues.
1100 years after Rachel’s death, a prophet by the name of Jeremiah, a wonderful old testament prophet by the name of Jeremiah wrote these words Jeremiah wrote, a voice was heard in Raima, lamentation, and bitter weeping, Rachel weeping for her children refusing to be comforted for her children because they are no more.
Now, that’s a really kind of obscure passage until you come to the book of Matthew in the new testament, and Matthew connects the words of Jeremiah with another time of great sorrow in Bethlehem.
Here’s what we read. Then, Harrod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry, and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all of its districts from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men.
Than was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah of the prophet saying.
A voice was heard in Rama, lamitation weeping, and a great morning, Rachel weeping for her children refusing to be comforted because they are no more.
Some ancient Christian traditions claim that the massacre of the innocence in the Christmas story involved thousands of children.
But based on the population of the small village of Bethlehem, the annual birth rate and the high infant death rate at the time, most honest historians and demographers estimate that the total number of male children under the age of two would have been no more than 50.
And the lower number makes the crime no less of an atrocity because the death of even one child is a tragedy.
Matthew connects the birth of Jesus with the death of Rachel’s son Matthew look back to Jeremiah, and Jeremiah takes us all the way back to Genesis.
It’s almost as if you start in the book of Genesis, and you have a thread, and you connect that thread all the way through the scripture from Genesis all the way to the story of the birth of Christ, and the historic city of Bethlehem.
But the question that we have to ask when we read this account is how in the world does one ever reconcile the glorious birth of our savior with the bloody massacre of all the male children under two years of age who were killed at the direction of hair.
Hear me carefully. In the contrast of death and life is the picture of redemption that is proclaimed in the birth of Jesus.
Our god was not responsible for the massacre of those children, but he was responsible for sending one into the world who could, by his own life and death, make it possible for those who die physically to live eternally.
And here is the birth of the baby who would put an end to all of that ugliness, the birth of the lord Jesus Christ.
What a wonderful promise it is concerning Jesus that one day he will make it possible for god to wipe away every tear from our eyes.
And there will be no more death nor sorrow nor crying, and there shall be no more pain for the former things will have passed away.
And, Jesus, you find life in the world of sin. It is the tale of death.
And the story of Christmas highlights that as it’s centered in the little city of Bethlehem.
So Bethlehem was a place of sorrow, the death of Rachel, the massacre of the children, but it’s also a place of selection.
Bethlehem is not just an accident. It’s not just incidental.
It’s all part of the sovereign plan of god. Watch carefully how the story continues.
In the book of 1st Samuel, we read a story that’s very familiar to most of us.
It’s the story of the selection of David to be the king of Israel.
Little Bethlehem provided Israel with its most enduring hero, Samuel, the prophet was sent by god to Bethlehem where he selected David who would replace King Saul as the king of Israel.
Saul UC was man’s selection to be king, and David would be god’s selection to be king.
First Samuel 16 records how the prophet came to the house of Jesse in Bethlehem, and he carefully sized up all of the young men of the household Samuel’s godly eye finally fell upon David, and the lord said to Samuel, arise, anoint him for this is the 1, and David became the anointed king of Israel.
Here stood one who was destined to be known as the man after god’s own heart.
And from shepherd in Bethlehem to the King of Israel, what an amazing story that was In Bethlehem, the king of Israel was selected now, watch carefully.
Bethlehem became known as the city of David.
Jesus is called the son of David through the city of Bethlehem, flowed the lineage and descent of our savior and the night that Jesus was born in Bethlehem.
Another king was selected that night. He was not to be just the king of Israel.
He would be the king of kings in the lord of lords and the king of the earth.
So Bethlehem was a place of sorrow and selection, But if you stop reading here, you won’t get the rest of the story, it’s interesting that after this story of David, there’s a long period of time where thing is mentioned about Bethlehem, and we discover a little bit later that Bethlehem was also a place of Salvation.
Watch. One of the wonderful stories of the Old Testament is the story that is found in the 4 chapter book called Ruth.
From the time that Jacob spoke of Bethlehem as he was about to die, there’s no important reference to the city for many years, and then you come to the book of Ruth, And all of a sudden, you open this book, and in this little book of Ruth, in 4 chapters, the word Bethlehem is mentioned seven times.
Bethlehem is alive again. It’s come back, and the book of Ruth presents to us one of the most perfect pictures of all the Old Testament of the redeeming work of the lord Jesus Christ.
You remember the story, trusting Naomi’s god Ruth insisted on leaving Moab and following her mother-in-law back to Bethlehem.
But Naomi and Ruth arrived at Bethlehem, and they had nothing they were pitiously poor.
And according to custom, they needed a relative to redeem or provide for them and their family.
And Boaz stepped up rescuing Naomi and Ruth from poverty and ultimately taking Ruth as his wife near the end of the book we read this blessing upon Ruth’s life.
And all the people who were at the gate and the elders said, we are witnesses the lord make Ruth who is coming to your house like Rachel and Leah, the 2 who built the house of Israel, and may you prosper in Ephrathah and be famous in Bethlehem.
Ruth became famous in Bethlehem. Now, interestingly enough, if you follow this story further, Ruth is only mentioned one time in all of the new testament, only one time, and you’d be surprised where it is.
It’s in the very beginning of the new testament in the first chapter of Matthew and what we call the genealogies Matthew 15 and 6 salmon begot boaz by Rahab.
Boaz begot obed by Ruth obed begot Jesse and Jesse begot David the king.
So what do you say? What is that all about?
Well, the whole story of the Old Testament leads us right to the birth of Jesus.
In Bethlehem was the story of Jacob and Rachel.
In the story of a selection of David comes David, and Jesus is called the son of David.
And in the story of Ruth, we meet the woman who was ultimately mentioned as being in the line of descent of our savior.
Did you see that? She’s in genealogy, one of the women in the genealogies of Jesus.
And the one thing that connects all of these stories together is Bethlehem, the little village of Bethlehem.
And just as Ruth found her redeemer in Bethlehem, we find ours there as well.
For there is born to you this day in the city of David in Bethlehem, a savior who is Christ the lord.
Bethlehem was prepared historically. Let me suggest one other thing.
Bethlehem was prepared symbolically Do you know what the word Bethlehem means?
The word Bethlehem means house of bread, and the word Ephrathra means fruitfulness.
So the city of Bethlehem was the house of bread.
That is what caused the lord Jesus to say on one occasion in John, I am the bread of life.
He who comes to me shall never hunger the bread of life was born in the house of bread.
And the fruitfulness, oh, Jesus said, by this, my father is glorified that you bear fruit, and you will be my disciples.
To a hungry time in a thirsting world came the bread of life who teaches us to have a fruitful life in his behalf.
You see, our savior was born for the hungry as their bread of life.
He was born for the helpless, and now he comes to us as our savior.
And then finally, Bethlehem was prepared prophetically.
I want to take you back to the Old Testament, and one of the minor prophets whose name was Micah.
And in Micah, 5 verse 2, he made this amazing prophecy. He said, but you, Bethlehem, Ephratha.
Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to me the 1 to be ruler in Israel whose goings forth are from old from everlasting.
Now, listen, carefully The prophet Micah wrote this in 722 BC.
Critics have tried to remove this prophecy from the Bible but they have been unable to undermine his identification of the birthplace of our lord.
To make this really work in our hearts and help us understand the miracle of it, we need to comprehend that the prediction of where Jesus was born was made centuries before he was born.
I don’t know if you understand how amazing this is, but consider this.
Micah put his finger on one of the smallest countries in the world.
And in that country, he put his finger on the 12 provinces in which the Messiah was to be born and he selected Judah from among those provinces.
And in that province, he put his finger on one small little village called Bethlehem, that had less than a thousand people living in it.
And he said, in that place, Jesus will be born. You could never have guessed that in a 1000000 years.
And if you were to have guest where a king would be born, you would have certainly guessed Jerusalem.
But you had never suggested that the king, the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem, but you see, Micah wasn’t guessing.
Micah was prophesying through the power of the Holy Spirit, he was saying what would happen centuries later?
At the time of our lord’s birth, when herod gathered the whole Jewish sanhedron together and inquired where Jesus was born, they said, in Bethlehem of Judea, they knew they had read Micah, and thus it is written by the prophet, but you and the land of Judah are not the least among the rulers of Judah.
For out of you shall become a ruler who will shepherd my people, Israel.
Here are the wise men quoting Micah from the Old Testament.
And 30 years after the birth of Jesus, the Jews were still willing to admit that Micah spoke of the coming of the Messiah, John 742 says this, has not the scripture said that the Christ comes from the seat of David and from the town of Bethlehem, where David was.
You can’t take Bethlehem out of the Bible.
You can’t take Micah out of the scenario they are part of the historic, wonderful, miraculous, prophetic announcement of the coming of our messiah.
For those who read the ancient writings, those who thought about the eternal workings of god, the clues were always there as we know, in history, the names and the surprising ways of god himself, Bethlehem was a village that bore watching So as the years went by, the rabbis remembered, and the scholars kept an eye on the little village, everyone else passed it by.
And when Joseph and Mary come to Bethlehem for the registration.
They walk into a busy town, everybody doing their own thing. Nobody even aware that anything miraculous is gonna happen.
While they went their way and did their business and didn’t care at all, who was there, the Messiah of the world was born among them.
According to the prophet right on time in the right place.
Now, some of us we hear all of this, and we say, Doctor.
Jeremiah, that was all really interesting information, but so what? What does that mean to us today?
I think Philip Brooks captured it for us in the last few words of his hymn.
He said this, the hopes and fears of all the years are met in Bethlehem tonight.
That night when Jesus was born, it was a watershed in world history.
From that moment on, even the calendar is changed Jesus came, and he didn’t just show up incidentally.
He came as prophesied by Micah.
Where he came from is an interesting fact, but that he came is an exciting truth.
Jesus stepped out of the corridors of heaven.
The book of Philippians tells us that he humbled himself, came to this earth, became a man, became obedient, even unto death, and died on the cross.
So that you and I might be forgiven.
The wages of sin is death somebody had to die, and Jesus came as the infinite son of god to die an infinite death for you and me so that we would not have to die.
Literally, Christmas is phase 1 of the redemption story the coming of Jesus into humanity.
I celebrate Christmas, and I celebrate Bethlehem because I’ve been to Calvary.
And I celebrate the cradle because I stood beneath the cross one day and accepted Christ.
I celebrate the coming of Christ because if he had not come, I would be unforgiveness, but because he came, my sins are forgiven, and I am now going to heaven as many of you.
And the wonderful message of Christmas for all of us is not about the details they’re interesting.
I’m glad I could share some of these back stories with you.
But the important thing is to know that Jesus came for a specific reason, and the most famous verse in all the Bible puts it better than any other.
For god so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Have you believed in him? Have you put your trust in the one who came for you?
He didn’t have to come. He could have stayed in heaven, but he did not He came here to be one of us in obedience to his father and then paid the penalty that we deserve to pay.
Do you know why most people don’t become Christians? Because they are unwilling to admit that they need Jesus.
They are unwilling to admit that their sinners, they come up with a long list of why they are so much better than other people they know.
And yet, the, the sad story is, as I’ve told you many times, God does not grade on the curve, he grades 100%.
You either get them all right, or you don’t get any credit for any of them.
The Bible says if you break one law, you’re guilty of all. And perfection is not in our vocabulary.
The Bible says all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.
How do you get to have it?
You have to be willing to humble yourself and admit that you are a sinner and that you need Jesus Christ.
Until you do that, you will always be fighting what Jesus wants to But what a joy it is when you finally acknowledge, okay, lord, I’m a sinner, and I have failed you.
And, lord, I’m sorry for my sin. But I want to be included in your plan of redemption.
I bow before you so that I may enter the door of heaven.
That’s how you become a Christian, and that’s why Jesus came.
He came to make heaven possible for everyone. If they will just put their trust in him.
Thank you for joining us for this special Christmas edition of Turning Point as Doctor Jeremiah explored the why behind the wonder of Christmas.
This season reminds us that Jesus Christ was God’s great gift to you.
If you have never accepted that gift, Doctor.
Jeremiah would like to send you 2 resources to encourage you to do so.
The first is a booklet called Your Greatest Turning Point which will help you begin your relationship with Christ.
And the second is our monthly devotional magazine, turning points. To give you encouragement and inspiration each month.
These resources are yours completely free. When you contact Turning Point today.
Next time, on Turning Point,
God could have gone to Jerusalem and picked out KAYFA’s daughter who was rich and fair and dressed in gold.
But god preferred a lowly maid from a mean town.
God preferred this because his plan of salvation required Jesus to humble himself, and and then be glorified.
What better way to show what he had come to do than for him to be born to a woman like Mary from a town like Nazareth.
Join Doctor Jeremiah next time for his message. Why Mary?
Here on turning point.