Matthew 2:4-6
And calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet:
‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for from you shall come a ruler
who is to shepherd my people Israel.’”
Both Luke and Matthew agree that Jesus is born in Bethlehem, although they get there from different paths. In Luke’s account, Mary and Joseph live in Nazareth, where Jesus grows us, and must travel to Bethlehem to participate in the census ordered by Caesar Augustus. While there, Mary gives birth to Jesus. As far as we can tell, Matthew assumes Mary and Joseph live in Bethlehem, and perhaps always have. He mentions no journey there and when the magi come seeking Jesus, they visit the child and his mother in their home.
As we’ve seen on numerous occasions, differences like this hardly mattered to first-century writers. They often relied upon different traditions and wove them together not to record a history in our modern sense, but to tell a story that pointed to the truth of the matters they were describing. And so what matters in this case is that Jesus is born, not in Jerusalem, the capital city, or in Athens or Rome, centers of learning or power, but rather in Bethlehem, the hometown of King David. Jesus’ connection to David is significant in the gospels because it fulfills promises God made to David and Israel.
But I think there’s another matter as well. For Bethlehem, by all counts, was a city of relatively little account in the larger scheme of things. Yet from this city God drew Israel’s greatest king and the Savior of the world. God, that is, regularly shows up in places we would least expect: a backwater town, a teenage girl, a helpless infant, a convicted criminal hanging on a cross. This is God’s way – to take what is nothing in the eyes of the world and do something – something quite miraculous – with it and through it.
With that in mind, just think what God may do in, with, and through us!
Prayer: Dear God, thank you for taking what the world has discounted and using it to reveal your mercy and grace. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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