According to Matthew 2:1-11 [NLTse]
Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod. About that time some wise men from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking, 2 “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw His star as it rose, and we have come to worship Him.”
3 King Herod was deeply disturbed when he heard this, as was everyone in Jerusalem. 4 He called a meeting of the leading priests and teachers of religious law and asked, “Where is the Messiah supposed to be born?”
5 “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they said, “for this is what the prophet wrote:
6 ‘And you, O Bethlehem in the land of Judah, are not least among the ruling cities of Judah, for a ruler will come from you who will be the shepherd for My people Israel.’”
7 Then Herod called for a private meeting with the wise men, and he learned from them the time when the star first appeared. 8 Then he told them, “Go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child. And when you find him, come back and tell me so that I can go and worship him, too!”
9 After this interview the wise men went their way. And the star they had seen in the east guided them to Bethlehem. It went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were filled with joy! 11 They entered the house and saw the Child with His mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped Him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
Sermon
Bethlehem was occupied territory.
The Roman Empire was known for the peace and security it brought to its inhabitants. The Pax Romana it was called: The Roman Peace. But such peace and security came at a price. Rome ruled its territories with an iron fist. And the province of Judea, and the “little town of Bethlehem”, were a part of its territories.
It was a ninety mile journey from Joseph and Mary’s hometown of Nazareth to their ancestral home in Bethlehem. A ninety mile journey in a culture where traveling ten miles a day was quite an accomplishment. The main roads would have been well-maintained by their Roman masters, and travel would have been relatively safe because of the domineering Roman presence that enforced the Roman peace: Checkpoints. Garrisons. Patrols. Raids and surprise inspections without warning…
Joseph and Mary were not traveling to Bethlehem on vacation or to visit family, of course. They were descendants of King David, and so prior to their journey to Bethlehem Joseph particularly would have been held in high regard because of being a messianic hopeful – that is, because he was a “son of David” (a descendant of King David) that perhaps Joseph would prove himself to be the long-promised messiah-king of the Jews. Or perhaps his and Mary’s children would be. But that was before their journey to Bethlehem. Although they were to some extent celebrities (at least among their own people) because of being David’s descendants, Joseph and Mary had become outcasts on account of Mary’s shameful pregnancy. Even though Joseph had married her anyway, gossip spread like wildfire in those days, and everyone knew that Mary’s unborn child was not his. Mary had admitted it, but then tried to cover her shame with what sounded to everyone like some absurd story that she’d become pregnant miraculously by the Holy Spirit coming upon her…
No, Joseph and Mary were not welcomed by their extended family members in Bethlehem. But they had to travel the ninety miles to Bethlehem anyway. It was Emperor Caesar’s order that everyone in “the occupied territories” travel to their ancestral homes as a part of a census. It didn’t matter that Mary was nine months pregnant, ready to give birth at any moment along the way: Caesar demanded that everyone be counted so that the Empire would not lose one mina – not one fragment of a penny – of tax money!
Bethlehem was indeed a “little town” in those days, just like the song says. It likely had a population of a little less than 1,000 – just a little bit bigger than Milford – most of the inhabitants being wheat farmers, livestock farmers (sheep and goats, not cows), weavers, and stone masons (called “carpenters” in those days, most of their work coming from maintaining and improving the lavish buildings and palaces in nearby Jerusalem, only a five mile walk away).
Bethlehem was a safe place to live. The huge Roman presence in Jerusalem overflowed to grant security and safety to surrounding towns, like Bethlehem, as well, under the Roman’s thumb. Of course, Bethlehem received a bit of special attention from their overlords, containing the homestead of Israel’s favorite king and being the place where their hoped-for liberator-messiah was expected to be born, as it was.
And so, when Joseph and O-so-shamefully-pregnant Mary arrived at the Davidic compound in Bethlehem, everyone else received preferential lodging: Let the whore and her duped husband get what’s left after the respectable “sons of David” and their families get their rooms. Let the embarrassments sleep with the animals, if they have to. Better than bringing shame on our glorious ancestor’s proud reputation.
Of course, there was a lot of attention being paid to the House of David during this time. Messianic-fervor was at an all-time high. With all the benefits that many of the wealthy and political leaders were enjoying under the Roman’s rule, for the common person life was hard. The Romans could beat you, the Romans could take from you, the Romans could make you carry their stuff for them, if they wanted. And though you might get a fair trial if you were to press charges, most had learned that it wasn’t worth the trouble. And, as you know, when discontent and oppression are heavy, deliverance and deliverers are on everybody’s minds!
Concerning this “little town of Bethlehem” the prophet Micah spoke these words of the Lord 500 years earlier:
“But you, O Bethlehem (Ephrathah), [you] are only a small village among all the people of Judah. Yet a ruler of Israel, whose origins are in the distant past, will come from you on My behalf,” said the LORD. 3 “The people of Israel will be abandoned to their enemies until the woman in labor gives birth. Then at last His fellow countrymen will return from exile to their own land. 4 And He will stand to lead His flock with the Lord’s strength, in the majesty of the name of the Lord His God. Then His people will live there undisturbed, for He will be highly honored around the world. 5 And He will be the source of peace.” (5:2-5)
And this Word has come to pass in the birth and majesty of Jesus Christ then and there, 2,000 years ago, in Bethlehem!
Jesus Christ: Whose origins are in the distant past! For the origin of Jesus was not Mary’s womb. In the Gospel of John Jesus prays, “Now, Father, bring Me into the glory We shared before the world began.” (17:5) Jesus – God the Son – has always existed, even before creation, in tri-unity with the Father and the Holy Spirit. We see evidence of this in Genesis 1, during the sixth day of creation, when God is recorded as having said, “Let Us make human beings in our image, to be like us… So God created human beings in His Own image. In the image of God He created them; male and female He created them.” (vv. 26, 27)
And Philippians 2:6-11 tells us how the pre-existent – the always-existent – God the Son became the Son of God and the Son of Man, when Paul writes: “Though He was God, He did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, He gave up His divine privileges; He took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When He appeared in human form, He humbled Himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. Therefore, God elevated Him to the place of highest honor and gave Him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in Heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
Yes, Jesus has always existed, with the Father, in tri-unity with the Father and the Holy Spirit. But He took off His divinity to be born a human being like us, to save us human beings.
The prophecy continues: “And the people of Israel will be abandoned to their enemies until the woman in labor gives birth to this One Whose origins are in the distant past.”
You know, by faith, the apostle Paul makes clear that we Christians have been grafted into – that we’ve become a part of – Israel, according to our faith in Christ. (See Romans 11:1-24) (He makes equally clear that some who have been born Israel have been made not-Israel because of their lack of faith in Christ.) And all of humanity’s enemy – sin – did, indeed, hold absolute power over us, until the woman in labor gave birth to the pre-existent – the always-existent – Christ, and until we put our hope and trust in Him.
Yes, now the Lord Jesus has been born. And He leads us, His flock, with the Lord God’s Own strength; with the Lord God’s Own majesty! (The strength and the majesty that was His before He took off His divinity to be born a Man. The strength and majesty that is His again now that the Holy Spirit has come upon Him with the full authority and power of the living God.)
And now, despite wickedness and violence and unfaithfulness and sin and darkness of every tint and hue, of every shape and size, we – His people – shall live undisturbed. Don’t get me wrong. I know there is much in the world that might disturb a sane and conscientious and moral person. But as we make ourselves a part of Jesus’ flock, as we let Him lead us with God’s strength and as we let Him lead us in the majesty of God’s Own name, as we trust Him and His promises, trusting that what He’s said is true and acting upon it in love, loving with His, same unconditional love, expecting nothing in return, the growing darkness and the increased uncertainties will disturb us less and less, until we are, in all its fullness, living undisturbed.
And He will be highly honored around the world. And He will be the source of peace.