DESIGNED FOR IMPACT: BETHLEHEM Selected Verses
Pastor Dennis Bone
12/7/14
We live in a culture where bigger is always better and where that more spectacular an event is the far greater impact it will have on people. We see this in concerts, parades, firework shows, and football half-time shows. Event planners design their events or shows for this kind of impact because they know that their event will be measured by how exciting, dramatic and even extravagant the experience is for people. When we think about and consider the greatest of all historic events – the Advent of Jesus Christ – we see a very different design and approach. The One who planned this event designed it for impact, yet not in human way but in a divine way.
So this morning as we come to the second Sunday in Advent I want us to consider together the impact of Bethlehem, the birth place of our Savior Jesus Christ. Thus the first point to consider is the worldly insignificance of Bethlehem. We of course as Christians view the city of Bethlehem as significant because we understand it after the fact and appreciate what happened there. But this would not have been the logical choice in the minds of a Jewish event planner for the coming of the Messiah. For the vast majority of people living in the first century Bethlehem was not politically, socially, economically, culturally or even religiously significant. In fact it would be considered insignificant and not the place for a coming Messiah, who people looked forward to making a significant difference and impact upon them.
From the beginning, God’s design for impact is in contrast with the worlds; and Bethlehem points us to this contrast between the insignificance of the place and the great significance of the person born there. Thus as we examine this a little bit further we see the surprise impact of Christ’s coming. We see this surprise in three ways. First, Israel’s weakness demonstrates God’s power.
Israel was under the Roman rule; they hadn’t had a king in over 500 years and from a human perspective they had nothing going for them. They were totally dependent upon a foreign power and in a position of weakness. The impact of Bethlehem demonstrates God’s power because Israel’s deliverer arrives in the most unexpected place and in the most unlikely way. From a cultural perspective it couldn’t have happened in a more insignificant place. Among other things it teaches us that salvation is God’s achievement, not mans’ achievement or their ability. God comes to us when we know we are weak and surprises us with His power. Many people miss out on God’s impact when they are looking for Him in the wrong places or for the wrong reasons.
We are reminded of Paul’s words in I Corinthians chapter 1 when he writes: “God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; and God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of the world . . . so that no one may boast before Him.” This is no more evident than in Christ’s Advent, for secondly we see that the Messiah arrives is a little town; not a great city. We sing “O Little Town of Bethlehem” reminding us of its small, quiet and out of the way nature. Even the prophet Micah, whose prophecy we will look at in a few minutes, emphasized Bethlehem’s lack of significance. Micah points out that it was not worthy to be counted among the other clans. Even though Micah was clear about the place of the Messiah’s coming, the scribes and Pharisees did not see the connection between Jesus and this prophecy.
This leads to a third point about this surprise impact: God reveals His glory in humility; and He reveals His salvation in a baby. Surprise! The Messiah not only arrives in Bethlehem, but He comes as a baby born in a manger. He is not met by religious or political leaders, but by lowly shepherds, who surprisingly and amazingly convey the divine impact of this humble birth.
This impact conveys the character of God and the plan of salvation that runs counter to the pride of the religious leaders and the institutional power of government. This is the impact of Luke’s words in verse 7 of Luke chapter 2: “Mary gave birth to her first-born son and wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.” This is God’s design and it was an absolute surprise to man, even to those who were looking for His coming. God’s ways are not man’s ways; and whether or not we realize it or appreciate it, God’s ways are impactful. We may not see His impact unless God opens up our eyes to see it.
This brings us to a second major point about the impact of Bethlehem: the prophetic inspiration of Bethlehem. From a prophetic perspective the Messiah being born in Bethlehem was not the biggest part of the surprise. Most Jewish leaders knew that the prophet Micah had said this about the Messiah in Micah chapter 5. Clearly this was a part of God’s design and should have been one of the many Old Testament passages that formed the religious leader’s understanding of the coming Messiah. Although they were aware of it, they failed to make the connection because of the way Jesus came. His coming became insignificant to them because it didn’t meet their interpretation of Micah’s prophecy. Their expectation of a Messiah was not focused on the spiritual realm or their need for a Savior. This prophecy about Bethlehem should have helped them understand God’s design.
This prophetic passage from Micah chapter 5 is a key text when it comes to understanding the spiritual impact of Christ’s coming. Listen to what Micah says and the impact it has upon Bethlehem and the coming of Christ: “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 days of eternity.”
The first thing that is significant about this prophecy is that it comes at a time of Israel weakness and judgment. Micah is reasserting God’s promise of a coming Messiah at a time of great weakness, letting God’s people once again know that God will act; and His power will overcome their sin and weakness. The prophecy is about God’s ability to save His people, despite their inability to obey Him. It is not man’s ability or strength that will bring victory but God’s; and this victory is based upon His covenant promise to His people.
Jesus’ arrival in Bethlehem at Advent is the fulfillment of God’s certain promise to David, which is being reaffirmed by Micah. He is the Christ. He is the King who God told David would be the successor to the throne; and this rule would not only be a physical kingdom but a spiritual one that would encompass the ends of the earth. Micah goes on in chapter 5 to tell us about this spiritual impact that the one born in Bethlehem will bring in verses 4 & 5:
“He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they will live securely, for then his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth. And he will be their peace.”
The imagery of these verses is fulfilled at Advent because Jesus comes to do these things for His people. Jesus is the ruler to be born in Bethlehem – the eternal ruler – who comes to redeem His people, as well as to reign or rule over His people. Jesus comes to stand for us by providing our redemption; and He also stands with us as the one who protects us and gives us security. The great spiritual impact of this truth is that the Messiah has not come to just be the king of Israel or one group of people, but He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords – Jesus is the eternal one, who was in the beginning with God and who is God – and the greatness of His redemption will be to the ends of the earth. This is the impact of Christ’s coming to Bethlehem. The eternal king has come to redeem and save His people.
Jesus is not only the ruler over us but He is also the shepherd who guides us and directs us. Jesus is the Good Shepherd, who serves His people and gives His people peace. The imagery of a Shepherd conveys that he will not leave those who he is in charge of alone. He will give us what we need, as the Psalmist so eloquently says about God, “The Lord is my Shepherd I shall not want.” Our biggest need is peace. Certainly Micah is also looking forward to a permanent and perfect peace, when God defeats all of our enemies, but the most important peace – that leads to this final peace – is the peace of reconciliation with God.
This is why Jesus comes to be the Shepherd, the Good Shepherd, who as He tells us in the gospel of John: “I lay down my life for the sheep.” The way God serves us and saves us is by sending His Son Jesus to Bethlehem. The impact of His birth is the spiritual peace that He has come to secure for His people. The angels declare this truth when they give the shepherds the good news about this peace. They in turn spread this message of peace, even as we do as those who have experienced this spiritual impact as well.
The message of the angels and the ongoing message of the gospel is that there is a spiritual peace that must happen before there is peace on earth. There must be peace between us and God. Man’s unbelief and God’s wrath for it must be removed; and this is the prophetic inspiration that Micah and many other Old Testament prophets spoke about, and it’s exactly the impact God designed when Christ was born in Bethlehem. This is the great work of the Messiah; and it’s Jesus who comes to conquer the real enemy called sin and judgment, in order to grant us peace. When we understand the impact of Advent through the lens of both the Old and New Testaments we then see a third major point: the divine inevitability of Bethlehem.
If we look at Bethlehem strictly from an historic perspective it will seem insignificant; if we look at it from an Old Testament prophetic perspective it is inspirational; and when we see Bethlehem from God’s perspective – the divine perspective – we see its inevitability. We refer to something as inevitable that we believe is certain or unavoidable, yet without God’s Word of revelation we can not see or even understand the sovereign impact of Christ’s coming to Bethlehem. It’s inevitable not because man planned it or figured it out but because of God’s sovereign providence.
This is the wonder and beauty of God’s impact; the divine and perfect way that God has designed Christ’s coming. The sovereign impact of Bethlehem is seen first in God’s providential timing. When you begin to read Luke’s account of the birth of Christ the first thing you see is why Joseph and Mary were in Bethlehem. It was based upon the census decree from Caesar Augustus who never heard of Micah and didn’t know who Joseph and Mary were.
They lived a long way away in Nazareth; and Joseph hadn’t planned to take his 8-month pregnant wife on a 90 mile journey, but God had things under control. In Luke 2:6 we read these words: “While they were there (in Bethlehem) the time came or the days were fulfilled; and Mary gave birth to a son.” Sounds very much like Galatians 4: “When the time had fully come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman.”
The sovereign impact of Bethlehem is seen second in God’s providential place. Bethlehem is David’s city, thus inevitably is the place of David’s greatest Son Jesus Christ. It’s also the city where Joseph was from and it was Herod – no friend of the Jews – who for political reasons allowed the people to go back to their home town for this census. Bethlehem means “house of bread” thus the impact of Bethlehem continues in the ministry of Jesus as the Bread of Life, who comes to satisfy our most basic need of communion with God.
And then third, the sovereign impact of Bethlehem is seen in God’s providential manner; or His method of bringing His Son and the Messiah into this world. It was inevitable that our Savior would be born in a manger, not a palace; and that He would be born in Bethlehem not Jerusalem because God does things His way; and this is the way that God saves sinners. “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich for our sake He became poor, so that through His poverty we might become rich.”
The humble impact of Bethlehem upon Christ is what God used to make the saving impact upon us. And He does it this way so we will trust Him, not ourselves; and give glory to God and God alone.
©You’re welcome to recycle these resources for your church free of charge. However, if you find them useful, please consider making a donation to the ministry of GCC
Pastor Dennis Bone
12/7/14
We live in a culture where bigger is always better and where that more spectacular an event is the far greater impact it will have on people. We see this in concerts, parades, firework shows, and football half-time shows. Event planners design their events or shows for this kind of impact because they know that their event will be measured by how exciting, dramatic and even extravagant the experience is for people. When we think about and consider the greatest of all historic events – the Advent of Jesus Christ – we see a very different design and approach. The One who planned this event designed it for impact, yet not in human way but in a divine way.
So this morning as we come to the second Sunday in Advent I want us to consider together the impact of Bethlehem, the birth place of our Savior Jesus Christ. Thus the first point to consider is the worldly insignificance of Bethlehem. We of course as Christians view the city of Bethlehem as significant because we understand it after the fact and appreciate what happened there. But this would not have been the logical choice in the minds of a Jewish event planner for the coming of the Messiah. For the vast majority of people living in the first century Bethlehem was not politically, socially, economically, culturally or even religiously significant. In fact it would be considered insignificant and not the place for a coming Messiah, who people looked forward to making a significant difference and impact upon them.
From the beginning, God’s design for impact is in contrast with the worlds; and Bethlehem points us to this contrast between the insignificance of the place and the great significance of the person born there. Thus as we examine this a little bit further we see the surprise impact of Christ’s coming. We see this surprise in three ways. First, Israel’s weakness demonstrates God’s power.
Israel was under the Roman rule; they hadn’t had a king in over 500 years and from a human perspective they had nothing going for them. They were totally dependent upon a foreign power and in a position of weakness. The impact of Bethlehem demonstrates God’s power because Israel’s deliverer arrives in the most unexpected place and in the most unlikely way. From a cultural perspective it couldn’t have happened in a more insignificant place. Among other things it teaches us that salvation is God’s achievement, not mans’ achievement or their ability. God comes to us when we know we are weak and surprises us with His power. Many people miss out on God’s impact when they are looking for Him in the wrong places or for the wrong reasons.
We are reminded of Paul’s words in I Corinthians chapter 1 when he writes: “God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; and God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of the world . . . so that no one may boast before Him.” This is no more evident than in Christ’s Advent, for secondly we see that the Messiah arrives is a little town; not a great city. We sing “O Little Town of Bethlehem” reminding us of its small, quiet and out of the way nature. Even the prophet Micah, whose prophecy we will look at in a few minutes, emphasized Bethlehem’s lack of significance. Micah points out that it was not worthy to be counted among the other clans. Even though Micah was clear about the place of the Messiah’s coming, the scribes and Pharisees did not see the connection between Jesus and this prophecy.
This leads to a third point about this surprise impact: God reveals His glory in humility; and He reveals His salvation in a baby. Surprise! The Messiah not only arrives in Bethlehem, but He comes as a baby born in a manger. He is not met by religious or political leaders, but by lowly shepherds, who surprisingly and amazingly convey the divine impact of this humble birth.
This impact conveys the character of God and the plan of salvation that runs counter to the pride of the religious leaders and the institutional power of government. This is the impact of Luke’s words in verse 7 of Luke chapter 2: “Mary gave birth to her first-born son and wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.” This is God’s design and it was an absolute surprise to man, even to those who were looking for His coming. God’s ways are not man’s ways; and whether or not we realize it or appreciate it, God’s ways are impactful. We may not see His impact unless God opens up our eyes to see it.
This brings us to a second major point about the impact of Bethlehem: the prophetic inspiration of Bethlehem. From a prophetic perspective the Messiah being born in Bethlehem was not the biggest part of the surprise. Most Jewish leaders knew that the prophet Micah had said this about the Messiah in Micah chapter 5. Clearly this was a part of God’s design and should have been one of the many Old Testament passages that formed the religious leader’s understanding of the coming Messiah. Although they were aware of it, they failed to make the connection because of the way Jesus came. His coming became insignificant to them because it didn’t meet their interpretation of Micah’s prophecy. Their expectation of a Messiah was not focused on the spiritual realm or their need for a Savior. This prophecy about Bethlehem should have helped them understand God’s design.
This prophetic passage from Micah chapter 5 is a key text when it comes to understanding the spiritual impact of Christ’s coming. Listen to what Micah says and the impact it has upon Bethlehem and the coming of Christ: “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 days of eternity.”
The first thing that is significant about this prophecy is that it comes at a time of Israel weakness and judgment. Micah is reasserting God’s promise of a coming Messiah at a time of great weakness, letting God’s people once again know that God will act; and His power will overcome their sin and weakness. The prophecy is about God’s ability to save His people, despite their inability to obey Him. It is not man’s ability or strength that will bring victory but God’s; and this victory is based upon His covenant promise to His people.
Jesus’ arrival in Bethlehem at Advent is the fulfillment of God’s certain promise to David, which is being reaffirmed by Micah. He is the Christ. He is the King who God told David would be the successor to the throne; and this rule would not only be a physical kingdom but a spiritual one that would encompass the ends of the earth. Micah goes on in chapter 5 to tell us about this spiritual impact that the one born in Bethlehem will bring in verses 4 & 5:
“He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they will live securely, for then his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth. And he will be their peace.”
The imagery of these verses is fulfilled at Advent because Jesus comes to do these things for His people. Jesus is the ruler to be born in Bethlehem – the eternal ruler – who comes to redeem His people, as well as to reign or rule over His people. Jesus comes to stand for us by providing our redemption; and He also stands with us as the one who protects us and gives us security. The great spiritual impact of this truth is that the Messiah has not come to just be the king of Israel or one group of people, but He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords – Jesus is the eternal one, who was in the beginning with God and who is God – and the greatness of His redemption will be to the ends of the earth. This is the impact of Christ’s coming to Bethlehem. The eternal king has come to redeem and save His people.
Jesus is not only the ruler over us but He is also the shepherd who guides us and directs us. Jesus is the Good Shepherd, who serves His people and gives His people peace. The imagery of a Shepherd conveys that he will not leave those who he is in charge of alone. He will give us what we need, as the Psalmist so eloquently says about God, “The Lord is my Shepherd I shall not want.” Our biggest need is peace. Certainly Micah is also looking forward to a permanent and perfect peace, when God defeats all of our enemies, but the most important peace – that leads to this final peace – is the peace of reconciliation with God.
This is why Jesus comes to be the Shepherd, the Good Shepherd, who as He tells us in the gospel of John: “I lay down my life for the sheep.” The way God serves us and saves us is by sending His Son Jesus to Bethlehem. The impact of His birth is the spiritual peace that He has come to secure for His people. The angels declare this truth when they give the shepherds the good news about this peace. They in turn spread this message of peace, even as we do as those who have experienced this spiritual impact as well.
The message of the angels and the ongoing message of the gospel is that there is a spiritual peace that must happen before there is peace on earth. There must be peace between us and God. Man’s unbelief and God’s wrath for it must be removed; and this is the prophetic inspiration that Micah and many other Old Testament prophets spoke about, and it’s exactly the impact God designed when Christ was born in Bethlehem. This is the great work of the Messiah; and it’s Jesus who comes to conquer the real enemy called sin and judgment, in order to grant us peace. When we understand the impact of Advent through the lens of both the Old and New Testaments we then see a third major point: the divine inevitability of Bethlehem.
If we look at Bethlehem strictly from an historic perspective it will seem insignificant; if we look at it from an Old Testament prophetic perspective it is inspirational; and when we see Bethlehem from God’s perspective – the divine perspective – we see its inevitability. We refer to something as inevitable that we believe is certain or unavoidable, yet without God’s Word of revelation we can not see or even understand the sovereign impact of Christ’s coming to Bethlehem. It’s inevitable not because man planned it or figured it out but because of God’s sovereign providence.
This is the wonder and beauty of God’s impact; the divine and perfect way that God has designed Christ’s coming. The sovereign impact of Bethlehem is seen first in God’s providential timing. When you begin to read Luke’s account of the birth of Christ the first thing you see is why Joseph and Mary were in Bethlehem. It was based upon the census decree from Caesar Augustus who never heard of Micah and didn’t know who Joseph and Mary were.
They lived a long way away in Nazareth; and Joseph hadn’t planned to take his 8-month pregnant wife on a 90 mile journey, but God had things under control. In Luke 2:6 we read these words: “While they were there (in Bethlehem) the time came or the days were fulfilled; and Mary gave birth to a son.” Sounds very much like Galatians 4: “When the time had fully come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman.”
The sovereign impact of Bethlehem is seen second in God’s providential place. Bethlehem is David’s city, thus inevitably is the place of David’s greatest Son Jesus Christ. It’s also the city where Joseph was from and it was Herod – no friend of the Jews – who for political reasons allowed the people to go back to their home town for this census. Bethlehem means “house of bread” thus the impact of Bethlehem continues in the ministry of Jesus as the Bread of Life, who comes to satisfy our most basic need of communion with God.
And then third, the sovereign impact of Bethlehem is seen in God’s providential manner; or His method of bringing His Son and the Messiah into this world. It was inevitable that our Savior would be born in a manger, not a palace; and that He would be born in Bethlehem not Jerusalem because God does things His way; and this is the way that God saves sinners. “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich for our sake He became poor, so that through His poverty we might become rich.”
The humble impact of Bethlehem upon Christ is what God used to make the saving impact upon us. And He does it this way so we will trust Him, not ourselves; and give glory to God and God alone.
©You’re welcome to recycle these resources for your church free of charge. However, if you find them useful, please consider making a donation to the ministry of GCC
