The Amazing Thing About Being Born in Bethlehem

This scene at Lookout Mountain's Rock City depicts the birth of Christ.

You don’t have to be a follower of Jesus Christ to know He was born in the tiny, nondescript town of Bethlehem. The well-known Christmas carol, “O Little Town of Bethlehem,” ensures that. But have you ever considered that His birth there was practically a miracle?

 

Scholars tell us Jesus’ life, crucifixion and resurrection all were foretold by many prophecies, but none was more significant than that Bethlehem would be His birthplace. In the Old Testament, the prophet Micah foretold, “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for Me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times” (Micah 5:2).

 

One of the historical marvels about Jesus is that He fulfilled every prophecy concerning the Messiah, including where He would be born. If He had failed to fulfill even one of the prophetic declarations, He wouldn’t have qualified as the promised Messiah.

But how did it come about that Bethlehem would be His place of birth? After all, Joseph – who would serve as His earthly father – and Mary, Joseph’s betrothed wife, resided in Nazareth, about 90 miles from Bethlehem. Being poor, without horses or camels available to them, and certainly not motorized transport, this trek wasn’t one they would have undertaken unless absolutely necessary.

 

Bethlehem wasn’t a vacation hotspot by any stretch of the imagination. But when Caesar Augustus decreed that everyone must return to his hometown to be counted in a census, distance and convenience didn’t matter. So, Joseph and Mary, with child by the Holy Spirit, packed up and headed for Bethlehem, the “town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David” (Luke 2:4).

 

At the time, neither Joseph nor Mary fully comprehended the magnitude of what was happening in their lives. The prophecy had clearly stated that Bethlehem, not Nazareth or any of the other towns and cities in the region, would be where the Messiah was born, but that wasn’t their reason for going there.

 

Not only was the census decree itself providential, but also its timing. Because, as preacher John MacArthur observed in one of his Christmas messages, if the decree had been issued weeks or months earlier – or later – Jesus would have been born elsewhere, thus negating the prophecy. As it happened, “While they were there [in Bethlehem], the time came for the baby to be born, and [Mary] gave birth to her firstborn, a son” (Luke 2:6).

 

Why does this matter? And what does this mean for us today? For one thing, knowing that thousands of years earlier the Messiah’s birthplace had been accurately prophesied shows that our Lord is not just the God of the big picture, but also the God of meticulous detail. There’s no room for happenstance in His divine planning. And that applies for us in whatever circumstances we’re facing.

 

Confidence in the prophecy also was why a group of wise men from the east, commonly known as Magi, undertook the arduous, time-consuming and costly journey from their homes in the Babylonian empire to Bethlehem. They understood the prophecies, dating back to the days of Daniel, so when they saw the star – God’s Positioning System (GPS) – they saddled up their camels, Bethlehem-bound.

 

No one knows for certain how long after Jesus’ birth they arrived, but what’s important is that He and His earthly parents were still there. We’re told, “On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshipped Him. Then they opened their treasures and presented Him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh” (Luke 2:11). 

 

They, as well as shepherds that angels had alerted on the holy night of Jesus’ birth, were among the first eyewitnesses to the exact fulfillment of prophecies made thousands of years earlier. It couldn’t have been a coincidence that Caesar Augustus had decreed the census at precisely the right time; that Joseph’s lineage required him to return to Bethlehem, taking Mary with him; and that the wise men had correctly calculated when and where the promised King would be born.

 

As Christ followers, we need to trust in the veracity of the Bible, from start to finish. The fulfillment of prophecies concerning Jesus’ birth was just the first of many prophetic writings He would fulfill during His life on earth, including details about His betrayal, crucifixion and resurrection.

 

During this Christmas season, whenever we glimpse a Nativity scene, it can serve as a reminder that God doesn’t make empty promises. When we read His promises to us in the Scriptures, we can have complete assurance that our Lord says what He will do, and does what He says.