The Babe of Bethlehem
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We live in the most comfortable age in history. There is plenty of stuff going wrong in the world, but there are more comforts than ever before. The rapid changes in technologies have changed the way we live. Once upon a time, it was a pipe dream to have more than one television in your home. It was rare that anybody owned a personal computer, and nobody could fathom that those two things would one day be in a single device. Most of us carry around a personal computer in our pockets every single day. One of the best features on my phone is the GPS. I use it all the time. I use it to find out where places are. I use it for driving directions. I use it to find out what time the pharmacy closes. I can see the world in the palm of my hand.
But there was once a time when this stuff did not exist. Many of you know those days. Remember when you had to navigate without a machine telling you where to go? Remember when you couldn’t get instant updates on where you were going? Do you remember traveling a great distance and hoping that it was what you were expecting when you got there? The wise men who came to Jerusalem had no GPS, no turn-by-turn directions to tell them where they were going. They likely had a map of some sort and knew where Jerusalem was. We are going to look at these men today.
Last week we looked at the virgin birth prophecy and discovered that in some cases a prophecy has an immediate fulfillment in the time that it was given and also an even greater fulfillment in Christ. Not every prophecy is that way. In fact, many of the prophecies pertaining to the coming king are not that way. Today we are going to examine the prophecy pertaining to the birthplace of Jesus. How did they know he was going to be born in Bethlehem? Turn with me to Matthew chapter 2.
Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying,
“Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.”
When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
Gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born.
They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for this is what has been written by the prophet:
‘And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah,
Are by no means least among the leaders of Judah;
For out of you shall come forth a Ruler
Who will shepherd My people Israel.’ ”
Both Mary and Joseph are from the town of Nazareth which is in northern Israel. So why is it that Jesus is born in Bethlehem? We ultimately know that it was to fulfill the prophecy spoken by Micah quoted here in verse 6. Luke chapter 2 tells us that a census was decreed by Caesar Augustus. As a result, the people had to register. But why would Joseph need to register in Bethlehem? It turns out Herod the Great and Caesar Augustus were friends. Anticipation began building in Israel that the Messiah would come soon and Herod was a very paranoid man. He killed anyone who was a perceived threat to his throne. Knowing that the Messiah was going to come from the line of David, it is suggested that he required everyone to register in the hometown of their ancestor. The suggestion for the census was for taxation purposes. While taxation was probably on the agenda, it probably wasn’t the primary purpose. By decreeing that everyone had to register in the hometown of his ancestor, Herod moves all descendants of David to Bethlehem. If the word on the street is that Messiah is coming, he now has all men eligible for the throne in one city.
What Herod does not expect is this visit from the Magi, or wise men. They could have arrived anywhere between a few months to two years after Jesus was born. They did not arrive at the manger on the night of his birth like we see so often depicted in various art forms. So when they arrive in Jerusalem, they must not be familiar with Micah 5:2 or they might have gone straight to Bethlehem. So when Herod hears the reason for their arrival, his paranoia kicks in. He calls in the chief priests and the scribes, experts in the scriptures, and asks them where the Messiah is to be born. They quote Micah 5:2.
So let’s turn to Micah 5:2 for a moment. Micah was a prophet who ministered in the southern kingdom of Judah when the nation of Israel was divided. He prophesied under kings Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, placing him in the same era as Isaiah. Where Isaiah was more of the city preacher, Micah was more of a rural guy. He was out in the country more than he was in the city. He prophesies of the coming fall of the northern kingdom of Israel and warns the southern kingdom that they will meet the same fate if they don’t shape up and turn to God.
But with every warning of judgment, there is a ray of hope. Micah chapter 4 speaks of the last days where everyone will come to Israel and learn about the Lord. Listen to these words:
And it will come about in the last days
That the mountain of the house of the Lord
Will be established as the chief of the mountains.
It will be raised above the hills,
And the peoples will stream to it.
Many nations will come and say,
“Come and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord
And to the house of the God of Jacob,
That He may teach us about His ways
And that we may walk in His paths.”
For from Zion will go forth the law,
Even the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
And He will judge between many peoples
And render decisions for mighty, distant nations.
Then they will hammer their swords into plowshares
And their spears into pruning hooks;
Nation will not lift up sword against nation,
And never again will they train for war.
Each of them will sit under his vine
And under his fig tree,
With no one to make them afraid,
For the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken.
Though all the peoples walk
Each in the name of his god,
As for us, we will walk
In the name of the Lord our God forever and ever.
“In that day,” declares the Lord,
“I will assemble the lame
And gather the outcasts,
Even those whom I have afflicted.
“I will make the lame a remnant
And the outcasts a strong nation,
And the Lord will reign over them in Mount Zion
From now on and forever.
There is coming a day when God will reign from mount Zion and there will be peace among all nations. The perfect and righteous judge will be here. But before that takes place, Israel’s enemies are coming. Chapter 5 verse 1 calls Judah to arm themselves. We know from history that they lose the battle and Babylon exiles them. But it is within this context that we get Micah. 5:2.
“But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
Too little to be among the clans of Judah,
From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel.
His goings forth are from long ago,
From the days of eternity.”
Did you catch the difference here? The ruler to come from Bethlehem is from long ago. His going forths, his activity, his work is from long ago. From the days of eternity. The Hebrew here means from days of immeasurable time. Only one qualifies: God himself. Micah 5:2 is telling the original Israelite readers that one day there will be a baby born in Bethlehem who will be a ruler and he will be from the days of eternity. The ruler to come out of Bethlehem is God himself.
So Herod hears this news and sends the Magi ahead of him:
Then Herod secretly called the magi and determined from them the exact time the star appeared.
And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the Child; and when you have found Him, report to me, so that I too may come and worship Him.”
After hearing the king, they went their way; and the star, which they had seen in the east, went on before them until it came and stood over the place where the Child was.
When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.
After coming into the house they saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell to the ground and worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
And having been warned by God in a dream not to return to Herod, the magi left for their own country by another way.
Herod sends the Magi ahead of him to see if the child is in fact in Bethlehem. He expects them to report back to him, which never happens because they are warned by God not to and took a different way home. But when they arrive, they get to do exactly what they set out to do. They get to worship the king of the Jews.
When we come to know who Jesus is, the only proper response is worship.
When we come to know who Jesus is, the only proper response is worship.
The wise men were on a journey. In the stars of the heavens it was revealed to them that a king was born in Israel. For reasons we may not fully understand, they sought out this newborn king to pay homage to him. When they arrived in Jerusalem and heard that the king was to be born in Bethlehem, they followed the star until it led them to the child. As soon as they saw him, their response was worship.
When we have a proper view of who Jesus is, the God who took on human flesh, entered into our world being born of a virgin, who lived a sinless life and voluntarily sacrificed it to pay the penalty of your sins and mine, we will worship as we should. And if that wasn’t enough, one day he will return and fulfill the words of Micah 4. All the nations will come to him and say, “Come and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord and to the house of the God of Jacob, that He may teach us about His ways and that we may walk in His paths.”