Bethlehem, you are by no means least.

Bethlehem, you are by no means least.
Luke 2:1-20
The birth of Jesus in Bethlehem were foretold by the prophet Micah 2500 years ago. Micah 5:2 said, "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."
Joseph and Mary, the parent of Jesus lived in Nazareth. But they travelled to Bethlehem even if it is winter and even if Mary was pregnant because the Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken in their own town. God used Caesar Augustus to accomplish the prophecy of Jesus' birth in Bethlehem.
Bethlehem is very small village. Why was Jesus born in such a small village? Last Sunday I told you. The reasons are 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.
We realize that even the great man can come out of such a small village. Bethlehem is the home town of David, the great second king of Israel. And Bethlehem is the home town of Jesus, king of the kings, lord of the lords. From this fact, we can realize that God can use us even though we are small and week.
Jesus was born in the dirty stable of the inn. He was wrapped in cloths and placed in the manger. How poor he was? Who is this poor man? The king of the kings, the lord of the lords. Jesus was not born is the beautiful palace. He lived in Nazareth, the poor village. At that time, people said, "Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?"(John 1:46)
Jesus is a carpenter, not precious job like a king or governor. His outward appearance is no good. In Korean word, he is no 'Jaang(great)' but 'Gaawang(terrible)' the prophet Isaiah said about his appearance, "He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him."(Isaiah 53:2)
If Jesus was born in Seoul Korea, Koreans would ignore him. Jesus would be no good bridegroom. Maybe our church's unmarried women did not want to marry him. They might say to Jesus, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me."
We must not look at the outward appearance of men. There is the word in front of the gate of Harvard university, "Stop judging by mere appearances." The reason of this word is like this ; Mr. and Mrs. Stanford wanted to donate their all money to Harvard university because their only son was dead at the age of 15.
But the gate keeper did not allow them to come in the dean's room because the appearance of Mr. and Mrs Stanford is no good. So they could not donate that money to the Harvard university. But with that money, they established a new university named 'Stanford university'. The amount of money was about $ 400,000,000. Wow!
Some times later, the authority of Harvard university knew that. They were so regretful and disappointed. After that, in front of the gate of Harvard university, the word appeared. "Stop judging by mere appearances." It gives us a lesson that if we look at outward appearance, we might lose $ 400,000,000.
When we look at Jesus, we can make same kind of mistakes like this. How could Jesus be the Messiah? Because he was born in the stable of the inn. Is here anybody who was born in the stable? Is here anyone who was placed in the manger?
Who were the first men who saw Jesus' birth? King? No. Priest? No. The owner of the inn? No. The shepherds were the first men who saw Jesus' birth. We don't know their names because they are no VIP. But the angels of God appeared to them, "Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."(Luke2:13-14)
The shepherds could not give Jesus the precious gifts like Magi. But they gave Jesus the biggest gift. That is the news that they had received from the angels, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord."(Luke 2:10-11)
My beloved, Jesus' birth was in poverty. He has no good appearance. But the great man came out of them. Likewise you and I are very small. But we don't need to have inferiority complex. God used the small. And He will use the small. The apostle Paul said, "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.