Micah 5:2; Luke 2:4
Why is it significant to know Jesus’ place of birth? There are three significant reasons why we need to know and understand Bethlehem as a unique place where Jesus was born:
1. Message about Satisfaction
All of us have needs. Everyone longs for fulfillment and satisfaction. But many people are experiencing unfulfilled life. They are never satisfied.
Bethlehem means “house of bread,” and Ephrathah means “fruitful,” because the land around Bethlehem was very productive. The prophet Micah prophesied, many centuries before Jesus was born, that Bethlehem is His birthplace. It is not a coincident that Jesus has been born in the “house of bread” and the Apostle John describes Him as the “bread of life” (John 6:33-40).
When we eat a bread in this world today, we still get hungry tomorrow. There is unending dissatisfaction. However, when we receive Jesus as the Bread of Life, we will never go hungry again.
Bethlehem is not only a house of bread but also a place where spiritual thirst is quenched. Jesus said to the woman at Jacob’s well in Samaria, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst” (John 4:13).
2. Message about Love
A portion of a famous Christmas song that says “why don’t you give love on Christmas day” can get our attention. This is because Christmas season is a “season” of love. Let us travel back to one of the greatest love stories in history: Ruth and Boaz. It is interesting to note that it happened in Bethlehem. They got married, and God gave them a baby boy whom they named Obed, who ultimately was the grandfather of David.
Jesus’s birth in a manger is a “low profile” kind of birth but full of love. It is because of love that God himself became human in the person of Jesus Christ so that we can experience freedom. Christmas time is a celebration of love.
3. Message about Hope
The story about the captivity of Judah by the Babylonians speaks of hopelessness to the whole Israel nation. According to prophet Jeremiah, the captivity is a judgment to them because they refused to turn away from idols. For so many years, Jeremiah has been giving warning to the people and those were destructive prophecies.
Jeremiah gave them this message from the Lord: “A voice is heard in Ramah, mourning and great weeping, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted because her children are no more” (Jer. 31:15). But Jeremiah didn’t stop simply by just recognizing the sorrow of the exiles. He also promised them that Israel would return to their land and establish the nation and the temple again. “This is what the LORD says: ‘Restrain your voice from weeping and your eyes from tears, for your work will be rewarded,’ declares the LORD. ‘They will return from the land of the enemy. So there is hope for your future,’ declares the LORD. ‘Your children will return to their own land’” (Jer. 31:16–17). God kept His promise and the nation was restored.
There is a sense of hope in the midst of hopeless situations. Faith and hope are developed when we put our trust in God. The “muscle” of hope within us is stretch when we are in tough times. It is been proven that those who have been in difficult circumstances became stronger as they came out. Bethlehem is a place of hope for all of us. We were once hopeless because of sin but Jesus has been born as the Savior of the world.
