Jesus Messianic Claim - The Grand Entrance

Psalm 119:130 "The entrance of Your words gives light..."

John 1:14 "And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. And we beheld His glory..."

Humble Beginnings 

Micah 5:2 "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting."

We all know the Christmas story by heart. Mary and Joseph were newly-married.  Mary was very pregnant with a miraculous Child when they were required to visit Bethlehem. While they were there, she gave birth to Jesus and laid Him in a manger...because there was no more room in the inn. It's easy to assume we know everything about this story, and stop paying attention to it...but let's look a little closer to the details.

Bethlehem was a tiny town.

Think about this, Mary and Joseph didn't even live there at the time! There's not even any reason to assume that these two had ever visited this town before. The only connection they had to Bethlehem was that Joseph was a descendant of David, who was born there more than 1,000 years before. In order to get them to this place, God had to manipulate an entire empire. He gave the Roman emperor an idea to register people in their ancestral cities.

When you stop to think about this, the census was really a ridiculous plan...and it laid a huge burden on the entire Roman empire. Why couldn't Augustus simply count people where they were living? It certainly would've been much easier for everyone! But Mary and Joseph had to get to Bethlehem before Jesus was born...and this is what it took. Everyone in the European-Mediterranean area was required to travel to their ancestral home-town and register their names there. 

Be clear about this, Jesus was not born in a stable because Mary and Joseph were poor. Jesus father was called a "carpenter" in Matthew 13:55 - "tekton" in the Greek. This was not just a poor little wood-worker who had a shop behind his house. A tekton was a construction supervisor, someone who plotted out a site, developed building plans, and supervised the construction. Joseph was a skilled tradesman, a man who was probably well-compensated for his work. Remember, they went to the hotel first. But because of the census, the only hotel in this tiny town was full, so the couple had to make do with the stable.

Micah 4:8 "And you, O tower of the flock, the stronghold of the daughter of Zion, to you shall it come, even the former dominion shall come, the kingdom of the daughter of Jerusalem."

Bethlehem was famous for raising sheep. It was very close to Jerusalem, only five miles away. Since Jerusalem housed the temple complex, it was the city that everyone would visit to worship and sacrifice. Because of this, the nearby village of Bethlehem was mostly made up of shepherds who were raising sheep for the rituals in the Temple. It is interesting to note that the majority of the Passover lambs at that time were born in Bethlehem. Thirty-three years later, God's gave His own Passover lamb - also born in that Bethlehem.

In a field on the outskirts of Bethlehem was a tower that was built by these shepherds to watch over their flocks...it's name was "Migdol Eder", the Tower of the Flock. It is possible that this was where some of the shepherds were that night, "keeping watch over their flocks." But this was not going to be an ordinary night for them.

Hebrews 1:6 "But when He again brings the firstborn into the world, He says, 'Let all the angels of God worship Him.'" (This was a quote from Deuteronomy 32:43. Although the King James Bible lacks this phrase, The Hebrew scrolls found near the Dead Sea had these exact words.)

Do you remember who announced Jesus' birth to the shepherds outside of Bethlehem? It was an angel, right? After the one angel announced this great news to these shepherds, the Bible says that the sky was was filled with angels declaring the glory of God and worshiping the Son. Apparently, according to these verses, all the angels of God were involved in this heavenly declaration, "Glory to God in the highest! And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!" What an awesome sight this must've been!

Exotic Visitors

Hosea 11:1 "When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called My Son."

As the Son of God, the Messiah had to be called out from Egypt. This was a little confusing: How could the Scriptures say that He was to be born in Bethlehem and still be called out of Egypt as a child? The answer comes from God's infinite knowledge of future events. God knew where the Messiah would be born, but He also knew what Satan's response would be...

Mary and Joseph must've enjoyed life in the small town of Bethlehem. After Jesus was born, they purchased a house and took up permanent residence there. For two years, Mary and Joseph lived in Bethlehem their with their baby. This was the house that Jesus' diapers were changed in. This was the home where He learned to walk. This was house where He learned to talk to His parents. (Can you imagine the immortal King of the heavens purposely humbling Himself to this point?)

The night that Jesus was born, some type of light appeared in the sky. More than likely, it was visible to everyone, but only a handful of people were paying attention to it. A continent away, a group of astrologers in the orient (possibly as far away as China) realized the meaning of this new "star". These men didn't just study the stars for a hobby. They were wealthy men of influence..."wise men" who were known and paid for their wisdom. When they saw this light appear, they loaded up a caravan and began to follow it.

We know these were not men from the Middle East (like they are so often portrayed) because of the amount of time they spent traveling to Israel. For two years they followed the star heading due west. This was comparable to the amount of time it took merchants to travel on the "Silk Road" route, from Rome to Korea. These were not Persian Magi, but wise men from the Far East.

Imagine the buzz in Jerusalem as this caravan of people arrived from the Orient. This buzz would've grown into a full-blown uproar when the wise men's herald announced, "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him." (Matthew 2:2) No wonder verse 3 says the whole city was "Troubled"!

You need to understand, by this point in history King Herod had already murdered his own wife and at least one of his sons - accusing them of trying to take his throne. The Roman rulers (the same rulers that placed Herod on the throne as king) had a saying about Herod the Great; "It's better to be Herod's swine that to be his son." Of course, you can't t blame the wise men for coming to the palace, they had no way to know what kind of man they were about to speak with. And when you think about it, where else would you go to see a new king?

Herod knew exactly who the wise men were referring to. We know this because he specifically asked the priests where the prophesied Messiah was supposed to be born. King Herod deduced that the Messiah must've been born recently, and he fully intended to kill Him! He called the wise men and sent them five miles away, to Bethlehem. Herod pretended to be excited about the fulfilled prophecy, and he asked the wise men to return to Jerusalem and let him know where the child was.

The men may have arrived at Bethlehem that same evening. In addition to Herod's direction to Bethlehem, the "star" continued to lead them along the way. This is how we know it wasn't an ordinary star, because this light stopped over Mary and Joseph's house. When it came to rest over the roof, the star signaled the end of their two-year journey. Can you imagine these parent's surprise as an entire entourage from a far-off land arrived at their front door?

Coming into the house, the wise men fell on the floor and worshiped the child. Then they unloaded their treasures: gold and spices and fragrances. Think about this: These wealthy men traveled for two full years to come and worship this child...there is no way that they brought along little trinkets to give Him! Mary and Joseph were not poor before they came to Bethlehem...and these gifts surely would've made this family very wealthy.

Out of Egypt...

And it was a good thing they were given this wealth, because they were about to be sent on an expensive "getaway". In the same night, an angel appeared in a dream to both Joseph and the wise men. He told the wise men not to go back to Herod, but travel back home using a different route. He told Joseph to leave Bethlehem and go to Egypt, because Herod was looking for the child to kill Him.

The wise men listened and took a different route home. They never set foot in Jerusalem again. After the wise men left, Joseph also gathered their belongings and skipped town during the night...traveling to Egypt. When the morning came, the house was empty and the family gone.

Herod heard that the caravan of wise men had left, but had no intentions of returning to Jerusalem. He was furious! He sent his men of war and executed all of  the young boys in the town of Bethlehem; any of them that were two years old and under. This man was literally "hell-bent" on killing the Messiah before He could begin His mission. 

Matthew 2:17 "Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying: 'A voice was heard in Rama, lamentation, weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, refusing to be comforted because they are no more."

Up to this point, every time a prophecy was fulfilled in Jesus' life, the Bible said these words: "That it might be fulfilled..." This is to say, God did it specifically to fulfill a prophecy. But notice what Matthew 2:18 says about Herod's execution of these children..."Then was fulfilled..." Although God knew of this slaughter, and He warned of its coming, He was not the author of it. The fact that this happened fulfilled a prophecy, but it wasn't done to fulfill that prophecy. God simply knew what the Devil's move would be long before he made it. And this is why Jesus was sent to Egypt for several years.

But then, after Herod died, God sent an angel to speak to Joseph. God called His Son out of Egypt...exactly like He said He would.

Jesus' place of birth, His heavenly and earthly visitors, and His flight to Egypt all directly fulfilled ancient prophecies of the Messiah. What's more...none of it was in that little baby's control. Jesus didn't do these things so He could claim the Messiah's throne. No, they happened because Jesus was the fulfillment of God's Messianic promise!