Hi {!firstname_fix}
We all know the Christmas story. It climaxes with the birth of our Savior in the little village of Bethlehem of Judea. The birthplace of
Jesus Christ is one of the many places most tours visit in Israel.
Today Bethlehem overflows with 28,500 people; but when Jesus was born, it was a small village of 300. Not the likely place for the King
of kings to be born.
So why Bethlehem and not a seemingly more suitable site for His entry into this world, such as Abraham’s town, Hebron, or the city of
His Father’s House, Jerusalem?
One reason relates to Jesus’ lineage. He is a descendant of King David, and Bethlehem was David’s hometown. So Bethlehem was the most
natural place for Jesus to be born. A census, ordered by Roman ruler Caesar Augustus (Lk. 2:1–3), took Mary and Joseph from Nazareth to their ancestral town of Bethlehem at the time of Jesus’ birth. (God controlled Caesar to fulfill His promise)
But there is more to God’s choice of location that points to the importance of Jesus’ birth. In the Bible, names often have significance and help us better understand what God is communicating to us. Bethlehem, which in Hebrew is Beit - meaning house and lechem meaning bread, combined means “house of bread,” links Jesus to the basic substance of life: bread, a symbol of great significance in God’s Word. In fact, this important connection was God’s
design.
During Jesus’ earthly ministry, He called Himself “the bread which came down from heaven” (Jn. 6:41). This bread, He said, “gives life
to the world” (v. 33). Where else could the Savior be born but in Bethlehem, the house of bread? Jesus told His followers He alone is the “bread of life” and “the living bread” (v. 51) in whom men must believe to have eternal life (vv. 32–58).
