Bethlehem – A Little Town but an Important One

Micah 5:2 – “But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.”
Matthew 1:23 – “‘Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call His name Immanuel’ (which means, God with us).”

Christmas is definitely one of my favorite times of the year. When I was a child, I looked forward to getting things that I had wanted months in advance as presents under the tree. When I was a teenager, I looked forward to the days I would have off from school, not worrying about homework or finals or any of those things. When I got into college, I looked forward to just being able to take a load off of the burden of the college quarter system (10 week classes, whose scheduled looked like this: 3rd week – 1st midterm, 7th week – 2nd midterm, 10th week – Papers due, 11th week – finals). But now that I am working, I just look forward to have a few days off from work to spend some quality time with family. But in addition, to just these things, I have always looked forward to the Christmas music that is playing on the radio and the Christmas movies on TV. These last two months, I have been loading up on more Christmas movies than I can count. I watched part of It’s a Wonderful Life, the Frank Capra classic where a down on his luck fella learns about the value of his life and family during Christmas time. I watched maybe 5-10 Hallmark movies which have ranged from Christmas romances to Christmas family movies. I have also seen a few Lifetime Christmas movies about Christmas dances or Christmas parties. In many of these movies, a busy high-profile professional gets stuck in some little town, where he/she relearns the “meaning of Christmas” or brings Christmas spirit back to the town. It is the typical story that uplifts the heart, where the town and the professional both thank each other for helping the other relearn the meaning of Christmas. Interestingly enough, that plot line is very similar to what actually happened on that first Christmas eve (although not necessarily in December), when Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Holy of Holies, the Prince of Peace, was born in the little town of Bethlehem. But instead of the town transforming the individual, the individual transformed the town, as well as, the whole earth.

Bethlehem was a small town located just five miles south of Jerusalem.1 It was a town in which very few people originally resided, to the point, where it was not even counted among the possessions of Judah, when Joshua was dividing out the land.2 This town definitely deserved the description given to it in Micah 5:2 – “who are too little to be among the clans of Judah.” The town was insignificant though its name would have argued otherwise – “house of bread.” Fortunately, it had at least a few things associated with its name, like the birthplace of King David, the home of Ruth and Naomi, and the burial place of Rachel, the wife whom Jacob loved.1 But even in towns with big names associated with it, eventually the town becomes of no consequence unless something in it causes history to change dramatically. For example, who can name the town where Abraham Lincoln was born? I can’t. Do you know the island of Guernsey and which famous author lived there? Bet you didn’t know that Victor Hugo, the author of Les Miserables and The Hunchback of Notre Dame lived there. What about Key West, Florida? Did you know that Ernest Hemmingway lived there? No matter who was born or lived in a town, the town is still of no consequence lest something dramatic happens in it, which is what happened on that Christmas eve. Bethlehem went from a town so lowly to a town that will never be forgotten.

What happened in Bethlehem that night that caused it to be immortalized in song, movies, and books can be found in the end of Micah 5:2, “from you shall come, forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days,” as well as, in our second passage, Matthew 1:23 – “‘Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call His name Immanuel’ (which means, God with us).” Bethlehem became the city in which Jesus Christ the Savior of the world would be born. Bethlehem became the location where the Ruler of all nature, the Lord of all Creation, would first take His breath on this earth. Bethlehem became the location where the name Immanuel became a reality – where God would physically dwell with us. But Bethlehem is not renowned for the miraculous Virgin birth or the angelic choirs that announced it, but for the person who was born – Jesus Christ. It was the presence of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, in that town that evening that has caused all of us to remember this town as one of the most important locations on earth throughout history. Jesus Christ transformed something lowly into something incredible. This is the story of Christmas; this is the purpose of His coming; this is what we all celebrated.

Christ’s presence will radically transform anything into something new just as He did that night in Bethlehem. Jesus Christ’s being carried by Mary turned a young virgin who would never have been noticed by anyone into a girl who ranks as one of the most influential women in history. Jesus Christ’s death on Calvary turned a dark horrid place of bloodshed into a place where eternal life would be bought and the penalty of death would be paid in full. Jesus Christ’s resurrection at the garden tomb would transform tears of sorrow accompanied with the death of a loved one to shouts of joy and anticipation of the resurrection. Christ’s transforming presence has also changed my half-hearted religious business contract with God into a personal, loving friendship with Him. God took a heart full of doubt and fear and made it a heart that will firmly place its faith on the Rock of Ages. God with us, Immanuel, is the great gift that was given to each of us that night in Bethlehem that not only transformed Bethlehem but continues to transform lives of people today.

We can learn three things from what happened in Bethlehem that night. First, we can learn of God’s steadfast, unbounding, uncomprehendable love for us. Jesus Christ gave up His glory in heaven to be born not as a king in a palace in Jerusalem but in a humble stable cave in a town whose name was not even put in the record of possessions. He loved us so much that He willingly went to the cross to die for our sins, while we were still His enemies, sinners rejecting His love for us. Second, we can learn that Christ is willing to come into and transform any life no matter how lowly. No matter how sinful you are, no matter how little or inconsequential or unimportant you feel – Christ came and died for you. John 3:16 says that “God so loved the world…” not just a few people in it, but the whole world including you. If you were the only person that needed saving, He still would have came for you. He loves you that much. Christ came to save the most righteous as well as the chiefest of sinners and He certainly came for you. Lastly, we can learn that Christ’s in one’s life should transform it completely. Though you may be lowly, Christ’s presence in your life once you accept Him as Lord and Savior should transform you into a person of significance in His eyes. But even more, Christ’s presence should turn your life of sin and degradation into a life of joy and obedience. I can attest that this does not happen quickly or easily and takes a deliberate choice of will, but it is worth it. Just four to five days ago, I made the decision to take the business contract of “I’m saved so I need to do this for God” into a willing obedience to Him, and I will tell you that that has turned everything around. It has given me a renewed joy, a renewed faith, and a renewed peace. The Bible says that if we are in Christ, we are a new creation, old things have passed behold all things are new – in other words, we are transformed. So we need to live that way.

As Bethlehem was transformed that night by the greatest gift the world has ever seen – God’s presence in it. Let Christ change your life today and let the name Immanuel – God with us – be true with you by allowing Him to live and reign in your heart daily, living your life for Him. May those outside see Christ living through us so much that they testify that God is with us.

Merry Christmas!
1. Youngblood, Ronald F. Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Dictionary. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1995.
2. Barnes’ Notes on the Bible. http://bible.cc/micah/5-2.htm.