O Little Town of Bethlehem
Living on Every Word 2020 • Sermon • Submitted
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· 6 viewsA look at Christmas from the Perspective of the Prophet Micah 700 years before Jesus and its implications to us today
Notes
Transcript
But thou, Beth-lehem Ephratah,
Though thou be little among the thousands of Judah,
Yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel;
Whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.
Therefore will he give them up,
Until the time that she which travaileth hath brought forth:
Then the remnant of his brethren shall return unto the children of Israel.
And he shall stand and feed in the strength of the Lord,
In the majesty of the name of the Lord his God;
And they shall abide:
For now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth.
And this man shall be the peace,
When the Assyrian shall come into our land:
And when he shall tread in our palaces,
Then shall we raise against him seven shepherds,
And eight principal men.
Pre-Sermon Ice Breaker
Pre-Sermon Ice Breaker
I received this warning from my Healthcare Concierge: Immediately stop feeding your kids Rice Krispies. It is not absorbed in your body in a healthy manner. It is stored in your body, and the effects become visible when you are older. I can testify to the truth of this statement. I used to eat Rice Krispies as a child. Now as an older adult, every morning when I get out of bed, everything in my body snaps, crackles and pops.
Introduction
Introduction
5 Myths About the Christmas Story
Jesus was born the night they arrived.
There is nowhere in the Scripture that tells us this he could have been born the next day, a week later or more.
The Inn and Innkeeper
There was no Janey Lynn’s or Holiday Inn in Bethlehem. The Greek word for Inn -Kataluma usually referred to a guest room in the house.
The 3 Wise Men
There may have been 3 or Three Thousand the text does not say. 3 is often assumed because of the number of gifts, but we do not know.
Magi at the Manger
If you look at a Creche or a Manger scene you always see the Wise men next to the manger. But Matthew 2:11 says, “…when they were come into the house.” Herod, when the wise men don’t return, has all the baby boys 2 years old and under killed. So Jesus could have been a 2 year old at this point.
Jesus was born December 25th
No date is given for Jesus birth. Many believe that this date was chosen by the Catholic Church to coincide with the celebration of “Sol Invictus.” But there is little evidence to support this. Other dates have included March 21, April 15, and May 20. Many believe that conception took place on or about March 25 which would make Dec. 25th a likely date.
These 5 misconceptions remind us that sometimes our picture of scriptural stories is shaped more by popular perceptions and modern retellings that by the text itself. But when we take a closer look at the biblical clues, a wonderful and hopefully more accurate picture emerges of happened that night some 2000 years ago.
Throughout 2020 we have been reading through the Old Testament. We are currently in Ezekiel. But this week I wanted to take a break from our regular pattern and go back and take a look at a passage from Micah that speaks of the Birth of Christ.
It is a prophetic verse that speaks of the Incarnation from 700 years before the birth of Christ.
As we have read the Old Testament we have been searching to Find Jesus. This passage not only speaks of Christ birth but gives us four parameters to better understand the upcoming celebration this week.
Our Text today comes from Micah 5:2-5. Micah was a contemporary of Isaiah who wrote the passage we examined last Sunday.
Micah is a shortened form of the Hebrew name Michayahu, which means “Who is like Yahweh?”
In this passage we learn 4 truths about Christmas. Lets look at them together.
Body
Body
The Place of Christmas
The Place of Christmas
But thou, Beth-lehem Ephratah,
Though thou be little among the thousands of Judah,
Yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel;
Whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.
And they said unto him, In Beth-lehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet, And thou Beth-lehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.
And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Beth-lehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.
Just as a side note the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has a different spin on the birth of Jesus in Alma 7:10 in the book of Mormon we read, “he shall be born of Mary, at Jerusalem, which is in the land of our forefathers.”
The difference between Jerusalem and Bethlehem is like the difference between Pittsburgh and Bedford. Jerusalem is the heart of Religion, business, and Culture in the nation of Israel both then and now. The temple was in Jerusalem and was the center of the Jewish faith. Bethlehem conversely was little, insignificant, maybe like a Bedford. A small town in a rural farming community. But it would serve as the birthplace to both David the King and Jesus the King of Kings.
Which brings us to our second point.
The Person of Christmas
The Person of Christmas
Therefore will he give them up,
Until the time that she which travaileth hath brought forth:
Then the remnant of his brethren shall return unto the children of Israel.
Anytime you see the word Therefore, always ask, what is the therefore, there for. In this case it points us back to verse 2. Because of what we find in verse 2 then what we find in verse 3 is true. In verse 3 we are introduced to the person or maybe appropriately the people of Christmas.
The first Person is of course Jesus
Hath not the scripture said, That Christ cometh of the seed of David, and out of the town of Beth-lehem, where David was?
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
“Not only when we were born into this world did Christ love us, but his delights were with people before there were any of them.” Charles Spurgeon
The Purpose of Christmas
The Purpose of Christmas
And he shall stand and feed in the strength of the Lord,
In the majesty of the name of the Lord his God;
And they shall abide:
For now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth.
Look with me at the Word “feed” in our text. It is the Hebrew word Qatal it means to Shepherd his flock.
As the Shepherd of his flock Jesus seeks and saves that which is lost. Jesus is the good Shepherd. He leaves the 99 sheep to go and find the 1 lost sheep. Why?
Why do we do anything? Why do we exist?
Our text tells us: “In the majesty of the name of the LORD his God;” He does it for the Glory of God
Even every one that is called by my name:
For I have created him for my glory,
I have formed him; yea, I have made him.
Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.
If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace,
Good will toward men.
The Peace of Christmas
The Peace of Christmas
And he shall stand and feed in the strength of the Lord,
In the majesty of the name of the Lord his God;
And they shall abide:
For now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth.
The word which God sent unto the children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ: (he is Lord of all:)
Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Today we have looked beyond the myths of Christmas and looked at the facts:
The Place of Christmas
The People of Christmas
The Purpose of Christmas
The Peace of Christmas
We have learned why the birth of Jesus is so important. Because slightly over 2000 years ago, God stooped down from Heaven and became a human being. Jesus Christ as the Bible says was, “The Word become flesh and dwelt among us.” John 1:14
Think of it: God became a man! He did it because He loves us - And that is why we should celebrate Christmas.
The best way that anyone could celebrate Christmas is by coming to know Him. Have you made Jesus the Lord of your Life? Have you admitted your sin to Him? Asked for His forgiveness? and given Him control of your life? If not I encourage you to do this today!