1 Answer

                                             Jesus of Nazareth or Bethlehem?

Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus the Nazarene.

When we think of Jesus and his birthplace, we can easily mistaken it with the city of Nazareth. In fact, Jesus was born in small town of Bethlehem just south of Jerusalem. It wasn’t until after his birth that his family moved to Nazareth. However, you don’t see people referring to him as Jesus of Bethlehem in the Bible.

When I think “Bethlehem” I begin to imagine the Nativity scene with the three Wise Men offering gold to baby Jesus who was surrounded by angels and cute animals…it just sounds like heavenly and majestic, doesn’t it?

Not quite. Bethlehem was actually a very small, remote town that consisted of small inns for overnight travellers. Maybe that’s why there’s a Christmas carol called “O Little Town of Bethlehem.”

Then, of all the big cities at the time, why was the King of Israel born in one of the most unattractive places in Israel? Why didn’t God just choose a densely populated area for him so that he could stand out? I mean…for crying out loud, he wasn’t even born in the comfort of his own home!!

But through the prophecy in Micah 5:2, we are told that our Savior would be born in Bethlehem. Let’s take a look at this verse.

² “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.”

And through the fulfillment in Matthew 1:18-25, this ruler was in fact Jesus, the King of the Jews.

¹ After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem ² and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”

³ When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. ⁴ When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. ⁵ “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:

⁶ “‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’”

I’ve always known Jesus was born in Bethlehem from all the stories I’ve heard as a child or from church. I just thought that God just randomly chose a place for Jesus. But like many events in the Bible, God works in mysterious ways to fulfill his work. The birth of Jesus in Bethlehem was not accidental or a mere coincidence. It was a result of a promise made by God.

Let’s look in Luke 2:1-21 to see exactly how Jesus ended up being born in Bethlehem.

¹ In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. ² (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) ³ And everyone went to their own town to register.
⁴ 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 and line of David. ⁵ He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. ⁶ While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, ⁷ and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

This made a lot more sense to me. Jesus wasn’t just born there, but Joseph had a reason to take Mary to Bethlehem because of this new law. But more importantly, this birth had to have occurred in Bethlehem because of the Old Testament prophecy. It just amazes me how naturally this course of action took place!