Why was Jesus born in Bethlehem?

Why was Jesus born in Bethlehem?
Matthew 2:4-6
Christmas is coming soon. Christmas is the day that God sent his only Son Jesus on earth to save us. There are millions of places on earth that people live. Why God sent his only Son Jesus in Bethlehem? Let us share God's grace as we know the reasons of his birth in Bethlehem.
1. From sorrow to joy
The city Bethlehem first appeared in Genesis chapter 35. Jacob had 4 wives. But he loved Rachel very much. Rachel was pregnant when his family were on journey to Israel. On the road Rachel was in labour to give birth to the son Benjamin. But Rachel was dead due to the severe labouring.
Jacob buried Rachel in Bethlehem. The first Bethlehem in the bible is the place of sorrow and death. Some places have their special symbols. For examples, Baekdamsa reminds us of Junduwhan the Korean former president's refugee. The Rock owl reminds us of suicide of Nomuhyun the former Korean president. The first impression of Bethlehem in the bible is death and grief.
Jesus was born in that place Bethlehem and he spread the gospel which means the good news. Jesus conquered death. He came to us to give us resurrection and eternal life. Jesus wanted to change the place of death and sorrow to the place of life and joy.
2. From Israelites to Gentiles
The second appearance of Bethlehem in the bible is Ruth. Elimelech married Naomi. They had two sons Mahlon and Kilion. They went to the foreign land Moab because of a famine in Bethlehem. The two sons married Moabite women, one named Orpah and the other Ruth. But the father and the two sons were dead there. Only three widows were left.
Naomi felt lonely there. So she came back home Bethlehem with her daughter-in law Ruth. The gentile Ruth married the Israelite Boaz. She became the ancestor of Jesus. The blood of the gentile came into Jesus.
The fleshly blood of Jesus is not only from Israelites but also from gentile. That is, Jesus is not only Savior for Israelites but also the Savior for gentiles. The joy of the birth of Jesus reaches not only to the Israelites but also to the gentiles.
3. Offspring of David
Bethlehem is the hometown of David. David was born in Bethlehem. Bible tells Savior would be born as the offspring of David. The apostle John said, "Jesus holds the key of David"(Revelation 3:7) The begger Bartimaeus shouted, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"
Jesus was to be born in Bethlehem because Jesus is the offspring of David. Jesus' birth in Bethlehem means Jesus is the offspring of David and he is the Savior for us.
4. God choose the small.
The village Bethlehem is very small. Bible tells like this, "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 be the shepherd of my people Israel."(Matthew 2:6)
Israel is a small country. The size of Israel is like Korea's Kungsangdo province. We can travel the land of Israel within a day. And Bethlehem is a very small village among the many villages in Israel. At that time Bethlehem had the population of less than 1000.
The Jesus' birth in Bethlehem includes the God's message. "God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong."(1 Corinthians 1:27) God want to use us the small for His sake.
5. In the land of Judah.
As today's scripture says Bethlehem is one of the villages of Judah. When Jacob was about to die, he foretold about Judah, "Judah, your brothers will praise you; your hand will be on the neck of your enemies; your father's sons will bow down to you. You are a lion's cub, O Judah; you return from the prey, my son. Like a lion he crouches and lies down, like a lioness--who dares to rouse him? The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs and the obedience of the nations is his."(Genesis49:8-10)
Jesus had to be born in Bethlehem in order to hold the neck of enemies. That is, Jesus had to deprive devil of his power. And as you know scepter is the symbol of king. 'The scepter will not depart from Judah.' means Jesus is the king of kings forever. Therefore Jesus had to be born in Bethlehem.
6. Symbol of Jesus' work
'Bethlehem' means 'bakery'. Jesus said, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty."(John 6:35) It is so natural that bread comes out of bakery. Bread means words of God. God wants us to have the bread of words of God to sustain our spiritual life.
Conclusion : Jesus had to be born in Bethlehem. Jesus' birth in Bethlehem is to change our sorrow to joy, to save even gentiles, to testify that he is Messiah, to use the small, to break enemy's neck, to become bread for us. Amen!