“So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house of David.”
“But you Bethlehem, Ephratha, 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 old from ancient times.”
Last Christmas, Pam and I visited New York City. What a beautiful setting for Christmas. All the buildings are decorated, the windows are decorated, and it just felt like that City was made for Christmas. It was while we there enjoying our visit that this thought struck me: Jesus would have never been born in New York City. Why? It’s too big. It’s too significant in the world’s eyes. It has too much going for it, talent, media, culture, intellect and it’s too vast. And besides the song wouldn’t sound right if it was sung, “Come to New York City and see, Him whose birth the angels sing.” That doesn’t sound correct, right?

Of all the cities God could choose for His Son to be born in, why did He choose Bethlehem? Bethlehem was small among the clans of Judah. Bethlehem was really a nothing place. Even today there are only about 10,000 people who live in Bethlehem. You might think that Jesus was born in Bethlehem to fulfill prophecy because Messiah is from the line of David and David was a Bethlehemite. And that would be true. But there is more to Micah 5:2 than that. The Bible wants us to think about the smallness of Bethlehem not the greatness of Bethlehem. No one in those days would say, “Of course Jesus is born in Bethlehem. Look at all Bethlehem has achieved. Look at its cultural significance, look at its vastness and all its attractiveness.” There was nothing noteworthy in the world’s way of thinking about Bethlehem. God choosing Bethlehem should bless all of our lives because chooses what the world calls insignificant to put His glory on display. Let’s take a closer look at that.

1 Corinthians 1:27-29 says, “God chose the foolish things of the world (like Bethlehem) to shame the wise; the weak things to shame the strong, the lowly things and despised things and the things that are not to nullify things that are so that no one will boast before Him.”   God uses anyone that recognizes their usefulness does not come from bigness or power, abilities or position, but from His presence in their lives. What makes our lives great is the presence of God in our lives. Paul highlights this again in 2 Corinthians 4:7, “But we have this treasure (Jesus) in jars of clay (in Bethlehem) to show this all surpassing power is from God and not from us.”   A jar is meant to hold something and our lives are meant to hold Someone, Jesus. We hold Jesus in our lives not based on our own abilities but based on faith.

If I were writing news article on the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem my headline would read, “Big God is born in small town”. Have you ever felt insignificant in a big world? Have you ever felt like you don’t have what it takes to bring God glory? I’ve got good Christmas news for you from Bethlehem. God still allows His Son to be born in humble lives that will receive Him so God gets the glory and we get the joy!