Title Why Was Jesus Born in Bethlehem?
Contents
Matthew 2:1-6 Why was Jesus born in Bethlehem?
Christmas was near. Christmas is the day when God sent His only begotten Son, Jesus, to the land of Bethlehem to save us. However, there are hundreds of millions of places in the world where people live, so why did God send Jesus to the land of Bethlehem? Today, I would like to share the grace of Jesus by learning the meaning of Jesus' birth in Bethlehem.
1. To change death into life and sorrow into joy.
The first mention of Bethlehem in the Bible is in Genesis 35. Jacob had four wives. Among them, he loved Rachel the most. Jacob and his whole family left Bethel and headed for the land of Israel. At that time, Rachel was pregnant. The pain of childbirth on the street began. I gave birth to a son on the street. Benjamin, the 12th son of Jacob. The English pronunciation is Benjamin. Unfortunately, Rachel died on the street due to the pain of childbirth.
Jacob buried his beloved wife Rachel in Bethlehem. Bethlehem, first mentioned in the Bible, is a place of death and sorrow. Each place name has its first impression. For example, when we think of Baekdamsa, President Chun Doo-hwan comes to mind. At the time, President Chun Doo-hwan's exile to Baekdamsa Temple due to a military rebellion after his tenure was a topic of discussion around the world. Also, when you hear the name Owl Rock, you immediately think of President Roh Moo-hyun's suicide. President Lee Myung-bak comes to mind when I think of the four major lectures.
The first impressions of Bethlehem in the Bible are death and sorrow. In Bethlehem, a place of death and sorrow, Jesus of life was born and proclaimed the gospel. Jesus came to overcome death. He came to give us resurrection. He is the Savior who came to this earth to give us eternal life. So He wanted to transform Bethlehem, which has the impression of death and sorrow, into life and joy.
2. It is to save even the Gentiles.
The second occurrence of Bethlehem in the Bible is in the book of Ruth. Elimelech, an Israeli man living in Bethlehem, also married Naomi, a Bethlehem woman, and had two sons, Kirion and Malion. But there was a famine in their hometown of Bethlehem. They fled to Moab. There, in Moab, two sons married a Moabite woman, a foreign woman. But there, both of Naomi's husband and her two sons died without children. There were only three women left as widows. It's called a widow's village.
Naomi, who lost her husband and lost a son, returned to her hometown of Bethlehem feeling lonely in a foreign land. But Orpah, the eldest daughter-in-law, did not follow her. Only Ruth, the younger daughter-in-law, came to Bethlehem with her mother-in-law. Shortly thereafter, Ruth, a foreign woman, married an Israelite Boaz. And she, the foreign woman, became the father of Jesus. This caused the blood of the Gentiles to enter Jesus.
The blood of Jesus was not only the blood of pure Israel, but the blood of Gentiles. In other words, Jesus came to this earth as the Messiah of all people to save not only the Israelites but also all of us who are Gentiles. In other words, the birth of Jesus is not only good news for the people of Israel, but it is also good news for the whole world, all of us, who are Gentiles.
Therefore, when Jesus was born, angels appeared to the shepherds and said, "The angel said, "Do not be afraid. Behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will come to all the people. Today in the city of David a Savior has been born to you, who is Christ the Lord" (Luke 2:10-11). )
3. It is to announce that we are the descendants of David, that is, the Messiah.
Bethlehem is the hometown of David, the second king of Israel. David was born in Bethlehem. The Bible prophesies that when the Messiah comes, he will come as a descendant of David. The Apostle John tells us that Jesus is the one who holds the key of David. (Revelation 3:7) When Bartimaeus, a beggar and blind, called to Jesus, he said, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me” (Luke 18:38). exclaimed. In other words, it is a confession of faith that Jesus can heal me because he is the son of David, that is, the Messiah.
Therefore, Matthew 1:1 introduces Jesus like this: "The world of Jesus Christ, the son of Abraham and David." And in Matthew 1:17, there is this verse. "Therefore, all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations. From David to the time of the emigration to Babylon, fourteen generations. From the time of the transfer to Babylon to the Christ, fourteen generations.
The Gospel of Matthew was written specifically for the Jews. The Jews still speak Hebrew today. By the way, Hebrew has individual numbers for each alphabet. Adding all the alphanumeric characters of the Hebrew name David gives 14. In other words, Jews know the meaning of 14. 14 is the number of David, and there is a hint that the Messiah will come as a descendant of David. Therefore, Matthew is saying that Jesus came as the Messiah, the descendant of David, as prophesied in the Old Testament.
Because Jesus was supposed to come as a descendant of David, Jesus had to be born in Bethlehem, David's hometown. When Jesus was born and the wise men from the East visited, there was a great commotion in Jerusalem. King Herod summoned the chief priests and scribes and asked. “Where will Christ be born?” Then they answered. "Bethlehem, the land of Judea." Ladies and gentlemen, the reason that Jesus was born in Hapil-Bethlehem among many places in Israel is to let people know that Jesus is the Son of David, the Messiah.
4. This is to make small things bigger.
Bethlehem was a very small town. So today's text says: "And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judea, are not the least among the towns of Judea, for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel" (Matthew 2:6).
Israel is a small country. It is about the same as South and North Gyeongsang Provinces combined. You can travel all over Israel in one day by car. Bethlehem was a very small town in that small country, less than 100 villages. At that time, the population was less than 1,000. But in that small town the Messiah was born. God has the intention of taking small things and making great use of them.
Regarding this, the Bible says: "Behold your calling, brethren, that there are not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble. God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to do the strong. To put to shame, God has chosen the lowly and despised things of the world, and the things that do not exist, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no flesh may boast before God” (1 Corinthians 1:26-29).
There is a novel called 'Straw' among the short stories written by the novelist Lee Kun-sook. Its contents are as follows. There was one grandmother. Now, after raising five children and marrying them, they are all old. There is no pain anywhere in the body. In addition, my grandfather collapsed from a stroke, and after five years of collecting and supporting him, he was exhausted. It was an environment in which it would be better to die than to die. I was always pessimistic that life is now like a straw.
Then one night I had a dream. He became a straw and was flying in the sky. It fell on the muddy ground and was trampled here and there. It was a scumbag straw. Fortunately, the straw was cut in two. A bird flew and flew away with a piece of straw in its mouth. And I made a nest. The birds were happily cuddling. The other half of the straw was picked up by the farmer and put in to twist the young.
5. To break the devil's neck and rule as the king of kings.
As the text testifies, Bethlehem is the land of Judah. Judah is the fourth of Jacob's 12 sons. When the Israelites conquered the land of Canaan and divided the land, Bethlehem became the land of the tribe of Judah. When Jacob died, he prophesied to Judah: "You shall be a blessing to your brother, Judah. Your hand shall take the neck of your enemy, and your father's sons will bow down before you.... The scepter will not leave Judah, and the ruler's staff will be between his feet. He will not depart, until Shiloh comes, to whom all peoples will obey” (Genesis 49:8-10).
In other words, Jesus was born in the land of Judah in Bethlehem and must take the head of the enemy. That is, we must take away all the powers of the devil. The Bible prophesies about this. “I will make you hostile to the woman, and your descendants to her offspring and enemies; and the offspring of a woman shall bruise you in the head, and you shall bruise her in the heel” (Genesis 3:15).
The devil bit the heel of Jesus who came from the virgin birth, the descendant of a woman, that is, he killed Jesus on the cross. However, it is a prophecy that Jesus, who came to Bethlehem in the land of Judah, will break the head of the devil called the serpent. And the scepter is a baton that symbolizes the power of the king. The fact that the scepter will not leave Judea means that Jesus has come as King of kings and will reign over us as King forever. That is why Jesus had to be born in Bethlehem in the land of Judah.
6. Jesus is the bread of life.
Bethlehem means 'house of bread'. But Jesus said: "Jesus said, I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst." (John 6:35) Jesus said to himself that he is the bread of life. In Korean terms, Jesus is the food of life.
Conclusion. It is inevitable that Jesus should be born in Bethlehem. Jesus came to Bethlehem to turn death into life and sorrow into joy. It is also to save the Gentiles. To prove that you are the Messiah. It is intended to be used by lifting small things into large ones. To break the enemy's neck and rule as a king forever. To become the bread of life for us. I pray that you will cultivate happiness with Jesus who was born in Bethlehem.