A wealthy Boston family held a christening party after the baptism of their baby. Guests and friends swarmed into their palatial home. Soon the party was in full swing. People were having a wonderful time enjoying talking to one another, eating, drinking and being merry. Suddenly somebody asked, “By the way, where’s the baby?” Instantly the mother’s heart shuddered. In questioning panic, she left the room and rushed into the master bedroom where she had left her baby sleep in the middle of their large bed. There, on the bed, she found a huge pile of guests’ coats. The mother rushed to them and began to fling them aside as she clawed down to the bottom of the pile. To her horror, she found the baby dead, smothered by the coats of her guests.
Many times, we are too overcome by the stress and the outward appearances of the season that we let the true meaning of birth of baby Jesus smothered by them.
We would have heard the story of Christmas many times but often times, we miss the little details that are the key factors pertaining to His birth.
Today, we shall meditate on 4 lowly things/persons that God chose for His birth.
1. Choice of the town for the birth of the Saviour
Micah 5:2 - O Little Town of Bethlehem
“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting”
The town of Bethlehem was located about 8 km south of Jerusalem. This is actually an ancient town that dates all the way back to the patriarch Jacob (roughly 38 centuries ago).
Bethlehem has not always enjoyed much peace. On the contrary, the town is known for bloodshed and war in history. There have been archeological evidences of the Canaanite warlord asking the King of Egypt for skilled archers to help him reconquer Bethlehem. During Joshua’s conquest, the town came under the tribe of Judah. However, during king Saul’s period, it became a Philistine garrison (2 Samuel 23:14-16) until it was recaptured by king David. It later was controlled by the Greeks and then the Romans.
At present, Bethlehem lies in the West Bank – the land which is under seemingly endless dispute between the Israelis and the Palestinians.
In short, a very fragile peace pervades the birth town of Jesus.
And this makes one wonder: Why, of all places, did God chose Bethlehem for the birth of Jesus? The answer is found in Micah’s prophecy foretold about 700 years before the birth of Jesus Christ.
a. Sign of His humility
Micah 5:2 - But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah
There were other more prominent cities in Judah that God could have chosen.
Hebron – famous as the place where our patriarchs lived before; or better still, Jerusalem– the place where Solomon built the Temple and where the Kings of Judah had reigned. In fact, this place seems to be a fitting one for the birth of the One destined to be our Great High Priest and the King of kings!
However, God deliberately chose Bethlehem. This town was so insignificant in the tribe of Judah that we do not find it in the list of Judah’s towns in Joshua 15 or in Nehemiah 11. It was not even one of the 6 cities of refuge in Israel. Neither was it included in the list of Levitical cities (48) where the priests would reside.
The only reason Bethlehem became famous was that King David belonged to this town. Now, David’s humble beginning also lies in the fact that he came from this town of no importance.
When Saul offered to make David his son-in-law, David replied, “Who am I, and what is my life or my father’s family in Israel, that I should be son-in-law to the king?” (1 Samuel 18:18)
Likewise, the Lord chose the insignificant town of Bethlehem to represent his humble beginning on earth. Oh, not just in Bethlehem, but in a lowly stable in Bethlehem – where donkeys and cows give birth! Can there be any place of lesser importance? No! Out of the many thousands of towns in Judah, God deliberately chose the least for Christ to be born.
Philippians 2:7 - but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.
‘No reputation’ here literally means ‘nothing’. The humble path that began with Christ being born in Bethlehem made this even more obvious continued throughout His earthly life and ultimately ended at the cross to die the worst kind of death reserved for the worst criminals of the society.
Why did Jesus humble Himself to such an extent? He did it to save even the lowliest of all sinners, the despised and the outcast.
b. An appropriate Birthplace for the Man of Sorrows
Preceding the prophetic verse of the Saviour’s birth was the prophecy of Bethlehem in trouble due to attack by the enemies.
Micah 5:1,2:
Now gather yourself in troops, O daughter of troops; He has laid siege against us; They will strike the judge of Israel with a rod on the cheek.
“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah,
Yet out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be Ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting.”
Since ancient times, Bethlehem has been associated with pain and sorrows. Rachel’s tomb that is found at the entrance of the town is one of the landmarks in Bethlehem today. According to Genesis 35, Rachel, the beloved wife of the patriarch Jacob, had hard labour Jacob’s caravan approached Bethlehem. As she was dying in labour, she gave birth to a son and called him Ben-Oni – which means, ‘Son of my sorrow’ because of the hard labour she had gone through. But Jacob changed his name to Benjamin (Son of my right hand).
Matthew 2:16-18 - “Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men. Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying, In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not.”
Can you imagine the extreme sorrow and pain of the mothers in Bethlehem on loosing their children?
Yes, there is one who can understand it all – He is the One whom Isaiah called, “a Man of Sorrows and acquainted with grief.” (Isaiah 53:3)
2. Choice of the people to first receive the message from the Angel
Luke 2:8-12 – the lowly shepherds
Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.”
Just imagine this.
When God wanted to send his angels to announce the news of His Son’s birth, there were several important people to first break the news.
- The High Priest in Jerusalem
- The scribes, preachers and teachers in Jerusalem
- The Sanhedrin, supposedly ruling the theocratic Israel
- The strictest sect of the Jews – the Pharisees
Least of all would have one thought that this news would be first announced to a group of shepherds on a Judean hill.
The Jewish community always looked down on the shepherds for two reasons:
a. Shepherds were unclean – Because of the kind of work they did, they were were generally considered “unclean” in the community of God’s people. Their day to day work involved contact with smelly and dirty sheep, their manure, their blood from scrapes and cuts, and needless to mention the insects that buzzed around them. This undoubtedly meant that shepherds were ceremonially unclean enough according to the Jewish standards and so banned from entering the courts of the Jerusalem temple. They were despised. But the Lord chose those lowly, unclean and despised shepherds and filled the place where they were gathered with the host of his heavenly angels and His presence. The lowly shepherds were the first to hear the good news from the angels. What a glory!
b. Shepherds were not trusted –
Shepherds were often the victims of cruel stereotypes. They were stereotyped to rob from others, so much so that people would comment whether the sheep being herded along the side of the road really belonged to them, or whether they had been stolen in the middle of the night.
According to a Jewish book called the Mishna, which was familiar in the first century and so during the time of Jesus’ birth, food and clothing were forbidden to be bought from shepherds because they were probably stolen.
By Jesus’ time, they were considered utterly untrustworthy and held in such low esteem that they were forbidden from giving court testimony in civil or judicial.
Our Lord trusted the shepherds whom no one trusted. He trusted that they would go seeking the child and spread the word and they did so.
Luke 2:17 - Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child.
3. Choice of the Gentiles over the Jews
Matthew 2:1 – wise men from the East
Matthew 2:1 - 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
These wise men were supposedly men who studied the stars.
They were from East (probably Arab/Persia); some even say India/China.
They were not Jews. They were Gentiles whom the Jews hated.
God guided them through a star to see Him manifest in flesh.
Let us not forget that there was evidently a fervent expectation of the Messiah among the Gentiles also at that time because of Jews in dispersion.
Matthew 2:1
They were wise men, men who studied the stars.
They were from East (probably Arab/Persia); some even say India/China.
They were not Jews. They were Gentiles whom the Jews hated.
God guided them through a star to see him manifest in flesh.
There was evidently a fervent expectation among the Gentiles at that time because of Jews in dispersion.
The earnest seekers of the Messiah arrived at Jerusalem with the question, “Where is he who is born King of the Jews?” (Matt 2:2)
They were not just there in number, as believed by many. The Bible doesn’t specify that. In fact, there should have been many thousands of wise men – so many in number that disturbed king Herod.
King Herod, half Jew and half Idumean, called together the Jewish religious experts of his day, the chief priest and scribes and consulted on the question of the birth place of the Messiah.
Matthew 2:4 - And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.
They unanimously concluded that He would be born in Bethlehem in Judaea (Matthew 2:5).
Hearing this, the wise men who travelled several miles to see the king continued their journey to Bethlehem and the star went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was (Matthew 2:9). Sadly, the chief priests and the scribes knew the biblical answers well but showed no interest in the reality of the birth of the King. They would not travel few miles to Bethlehem to Bethlehem to greet Him and yet the wise men, , travelled several miles of inhospitable terrain to worship the newborn King of whom the Old Testament prophets spoke.
Matthew 2:11 - On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.
God chose the Gentiles who were strangers to the covenant and the promises and who were looked down by the Jews, rather than the chief priests and the scribes, and guided them through the star to the house where He was in flesh.
4. Choice of a poor family
Luke 1:26, 27 – Choice of Mary and Joseph
Luke 1:26, 27 - Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.
Mary was bethrod to Joseph. Joseph was a carpenter. They were not a rich family.
Luke 2:22-24 - When the days of their purification according to the law of Moses were fulfilled, they brought him up to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every male who opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”), and to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord, “A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.”
According to Leviticus, only those who couldn’t afford to bring a lamb could bring pigeons/turtledoves.
Lev 12:6 - ‘When the days of her purification are fulfilled, whether for a son or a daughter, she shall bring to the priest a lamb [c]of the first year as a burnt offering, and a young pigeon or a turtledove as a sin offering, to the door of the tabernacle of meeting.
Lev 12:8 - ‘And if she is not able to bring a lamb, then she may bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons—one as a burnt offering and the other as a sin offering. So the priest shall make atonement for her, and she will be clean.’
We find that Mary and Joseph sacrificed pigeons/turtledoves.
Mary hailed from Nazareth where Jews believed that nothing God would ever come from (John 1:46). However, the greatest good ever came through a woman from Nazareth.
God could have chosen wealthy families in Judah for his child to be born. He could have chosen families of Jewish religious leaders. Rather, he chose to be born into a humble family. He chose Mary and Joseph because they were faithful.
It would have not been easy for Mary. You can imagine. Not all would have believed her when she said she was conceived by the Holy Spirit.
She had to pay the price for Jesus to be born.
Same with Joseph.
God chose
- A humble place
- Despised shepherds
- The outcast Gentiles
- Poor family
Christ was born miraculously. But greater miracle is when Christ is born in sinners heart like us. True Christmas is when Christ is born in our hearts. Thank God for the birth of Christ in our hearts.
Christ still needs to be born in many hearts. Let us spread the good news like the faithful shepherds
