Thank you for being a part of one of three Christmas Eve services tonight. If we could travel anywhere in the world tonight to celebrate Christmas Eve, where would you want to go? Many of us might choose the house we grew up in celebrating many wonderful Christmas family celebrations. Others may choose to go to your home right now because of the warmth of family and friends. But I think a few of you would want to travel to Bethlehem. Because it’s there in Bethlehem that the Savior is born.
Now, the little town of Bethlehem has ben the subject of countless Christmas carols and Nativity plays. If you visit the little town from Israel, you’ll need to pass through a secure security check because you are moving out of Israel and into the Palestinian-controlled West Bank. Now, when you are in and around the town, you can see the outskirts of Jerusalem and Israel just across the ravine. A big wall separates the two and you can often see graffiti all over the white, tall walls as near the Palestinian side of the security check.
If you visit the Church of the Nativity as most Christian pilgrims do, you’ll likely wait in a serpentine line to descend the steps of the purported place of Christ’s birth. A reported 1.5 million people will visit the small town this year. It was there my family of five visited for the first time in 2015. We understood that three different denominations control the church: the Armenians, the Greeks, and the Roman Catholics. You will descend a narrow set of steps to visit the purported place of Jesus’ birth – they even have a star in the ground that marks the spot. Across from it, you’ll see a place where the animals were located that evening.
The Church of the Nativity was built over a cave which Helena, mother of Constantine, believed to be the site where Christ was born in AD 335. According to Hieronymus, a Christian scholar of the 4th century, the cult of Adonis (god of fertility” was practiced in the time of the Romans near the cave where Jesus was born. Whenever the Romans placed a cult place of worship, we know they probably did it to erase any thought of Christianity. In some ways, it helps historians know where the local Christians would have worshipped following Jesus’ birth.
You can even go to the outskirts of the town to visit the Shepherd’s Fields where you can sing Christmas carols such as “Silent Night” and “O Little Town of Bethlehem.” The people of Bethlehem are so kind and hospital that you will never forget you’re visit to place of Jesus’ birth.
Now, the name of Bethlehem means “House of Bread.” Bethlehem is living proof that indeed big things do come in small packages.
Take a Bible and find Micah 5 and Matthew 2. Part of our story takes places seven centuries before appearance of Jesus at Bethlehem.
Tonight’s Scripture
“Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, 2 saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” 3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; 4 and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. 5 They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet: 6 “‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel’” (Matthew 2:1–6).
“Now muster your troops, O daughter of troops; siege is laid against us; with a rod they strike the judge of Israel on the cheek. 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. 3 Therefore he shall give them up until the time when she who is in labor has given birth; then the rest of his brothers shall return to the people of Israel. 4 And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth. 5 And he shall be their peace. When the Assyrian comes into our land and treads in our palaces, then we will raise against him seven shepherds and eight princes of men; 6 they shall shepherd the land of Assyria with the sword, and the land of Nimrod at its entrances; and he shall deliver us from the Assyrian when he comes into our land and treads within our border” (Micah 5:1–6).
Note: “Ephrathah” is an older name for Bethlehem that dates back to Genesis 35:19 and Jacob’s wife, Rachel.
This passage is famous because of the prediction of Bethlehem. The amazing thing about Micah is that he reasserts the certainty of this promise not at a time when Israel is rising to power but at a time when Israel is sinking toward oblivion.
1. A Small Town Designed for a Great King
Deliverance comes at what seems to be the last possible moment. And deliverance also comes from the least expected place. Bethlehem is living proof that indeed big things do come in small packages. But before we focus on the place, look with me at …
1.1 The Description of the One to be Born
There are at least two descriptions of the One to be born that I want to call your attention to. First, He is “ruler in Israel”: “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” (Micah 5:2). These words are an echo from God’s covenant with David promised and predicted some 300 years before Micah’s predictions. God said to King David: “When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever” (2 Samuel 7:12-13). While David’s house failed, God’s covenant with David did not fail.
Second, please note the last words of verse two: “whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days” (Micah 5:2b). How can the newborn child be from old? Jesus had His birth at Bethlehem, but He did not have His beginning at Bethlehem. I remind you of John’s description of Jesus: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God” (John 1:1–2).
1.2 The Location of His Birth
There are “Bethlehems” in North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Alabama, Georgia, and even Texas. In fact, I located twenty-eight towns named Bethlehem around the globe and in the United States. They have streets named Manger Avenue and Shepherd Street. But Bethlehem hasn’t always been so prominent …
The chief priests and the scribes knew that Micah 5 was a reference to the Messiah. So they told King Herod when asked, “He will be born in Bethlehem,” without hesitation. This was the popular understanding among the people as well, because in John 7:42 they ask, “Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the offspring of David, and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David was” (John 7:42)? So both the leaders and the people knew that Micah 5 predicted the coming of the Messiah — the ruler who would be king in Israel. That is why God saw to it that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, even though his mother and Joseph were living in Nazareth when she got pregnant. Now the human reason why Jesus was born in Bethlehem is because Caesar Augustus ordered a census to be taken. You can believe one of two things: it was either coincidence or it was providence. I believe it was providence because He had to be born in Bethlehem, because He was this ruler of Micah 5. I believe God showed His invisible hands and fingers and moved the couple to the place He predicted Jesus would be born – Bethlehem!
1.3 Why Bethlehem?
But let’s return back to Bethlehem again. Why not Jerusalem?
Bethlehem was the City of David
It became known as the city of David. Because it was here that David's great grandmother, Ruth, met David's future great grandfather, Boaz. It was here that David's father, Jesse, was born (see 1 Samuel 16:1). Why Bethlehem?
Because Bethlehem was Insignificant
The point of verse two is that Bethlehem is small. Now, the Book of Micah is a small book, and this small book speaks of a small town. And, in that small town, a very small little human being is going to come into the world. But, the Bible says, “Don’t despise the day of small things” (Zechariah 4:10), because wonderful things come in small packages. God chooses something small, quiet, out of the way, and does something there that changes the course of history and eternity: “God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God” (1 Corinthians 1:28–29). God does nothing to attract attention to our accomplishments but He does everything to attract attention to His accomplishments.
1) A Small Town for a Great King
2. A Big Head for a Small Heart
I will never forget coming back home from the Middle East and Bethlehem to discover that my then 11-year-old took a “selfie” with Jesus’ birthplace in the background. The picture frame was filled with him smiling at the camera and only a sliver of Jesus’ birthplace could be seen. I remember thinking two things: he’s lot like his dad and this is the problem with teens! We both have big heads.
Let’s return to our story in Matthew’s gospel for a moment. Here was a group of religious men who were thought to be intellectually superior but spiritually complacent. Pause and consider with me that those who were far off, came near … … while those who were near, ended up being far-off. When Herod asked the experts, the priests, where the Messiah was to be born ... they immediately knew: “When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; 4 and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. 5 They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet…” (Matthew 2:3-5).
Here’s a question: If you knew the location, why wouldn’t you investigate the location? Why wouldn’t you travel to Bethlehem? Why didn’t they visit when these foreign dignitaries were prompted arrived into town? Would you not travel six miles simply out of curiosity? Surely just one of these priests… Surely just one of these preachers, would say, “Hang on a minute and I’ll go with you.” Why were the first visitors to see the baby Messiah astrologers rather than the people who knew the Bible best?
A century after the resurrection, citizens of Bethlehem knew the exact cave where Jesus has been born. Surely these priests noticed the star above. And yet, they didn’t pack a bag and they didn’t move an inch. You can have the book in your hands but not faith in your heart.
The wise men were religious outsiders who traveled a good distance while the religious insiders were sitting on the front porch of Bethlehem but failed to take another step. The religious insiders watched the religious outsiders pass them by. Israel knew precisely where the King of the Jews would be born, but it was the Gentiles who worshiped him first. Jesus would later say, “Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes go into the kingdom of God before you’” (Matthew 21:31b).
O Little Town of Bethlehem
But let me tell you the story of one who did go to Bethlehem. Phillip Brooks was one of America's greatest preachers in the 1800’s. He was often referred to as “the prince of the pulpit” and was big man standing in at 6’4” and 300 lbs. In 1865, Brooks made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. On Christmas Eve he rode on horseback from Jerusalem to Bethlehem and visited the usual sights in the village. Then he went east to the traditional Field of the Shepherds. As darkness fell, he stood for a while by the cave where the shepherds saw the angels and the glory of God. He then went to a worship service in what is now known as the Church of the Nativity, which was built in AD 326, and worshipped from 10 p.m. at night until 3 a.m. in the morning. He said it was one of the greatest experiences in all of his life. Three years later in 1868, he was searching for a new Christmas carol for his children to sing in their Sunday school Christmas program. He sits down to write a poem of his powerful experience. He gave a copy of his poem to his organist & Sunday school superintendent, Lewis Redner, and asked him to compose a simple melody that children could easily sing. Redner struggled with this for several days. Finally, on the evening before the program was to be given, he said he awakened in the middle of the night and sat down and wrote the music and the melody. He said until he died, he knew it was a gift from heaven. We now know that song as “O Little Town of Bethlehem” that song perfectly captures the beauty of Christmas.
O little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie; above thy deep and dreamless sleep the silent stars go by; yet in thy dark streets shineth the everlasting light; the hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight.
Then we all know the last stanza: O holy child of Bethlehem, descend to us, we pray; cast out our sin, and enter in, be born in us today! We hear the Christmas angels, the great glad tidings tell; o come to us, abide with us, our lord Immanuel!
Today, if you wish to visit the reported spot of Jesus’ birth in The Church of the Nativity, then you must first walk through a door that is 4 feet tall and only about 2 feet wide. It’s funny to see someone my height move through such a small door. The small door was placed to ensure that people would not drive their carts or ride their horses in the church in centuries gone by. Today, the entrance is call the “The Door of Humility” because you can truly see Jesus if you have the big head – no matter where you are, including Bethlehem.
