Messiah: Born in Bethlehem

“But thou, Bethlehem, 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.” (Micah 5:2. KJV). “And thou Bethlehem, 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.” (Matthew 2:6. KJV). “And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David): To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. And so it was, that while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.” (Luke 2:4-7. KJV).

I deliberately printed today’s Bible references on Bethlehem as the birthplace of the Messiah from the King James Version of the Bible. You, as I, may have memorized these very verses when a child, reciting them in the church’s Christmas pageant, or at least in Sunday School. I love the poetic quality of this version for this announcement by the prophet, and its fulfillment noted by Matthew and Luke. But more than the poetic expression, I love the truth. Bethlehem. Birthplace of our Lord!

I had the privilege of going to the Holy Land in July, 1978 with my husband. We visited for a month with his sister, Estelle, who was a missionary to the Holy Land. We went to a store near the Church of the Nativity at Bethlehem Square where the proprietor, an elderly Christian Jewish gentleman, Mr. Tabish, became our personal tour guide to the Church of the Nativity and then to Shepherd’s Fields outside Bethlehem. I treasure seeing this church dating back to the time of Emperor Constantine in the third century, a monument to his Christian faith and that of his mother, Helena. The church Constantine built was destroyed, but Emperor Justinian in the sixth century rebuilt the church and today it is a landmark, one of the most authentic sites in all of the Holy Land. As we went to the shrine set up deep within the lower regions of the church, Mr. Tabish invited: “Come with me. It was not an elaborate place like this where my Lord was born. I want to show you a cave that more nearly represents the stable where the Lord of glory came to earth.” And so we followed Mr. Tabish through what seemed like mazes, but which he knew, the grottoes deep within the recesses of the Church of the Nativity. There, before a rather dark and plain opening, near where Saint Jerome had hidden to translate portions of the Scripture, was a cave. “A place like this is where Jesus was born!”

We stood in awe with Mr. Tabish, Estelle’s Christian friend, a converted Jew. He, Estelle, Grover and I joined hands and thanked God that He broke through time and space to come to earth as our Redeemer Messiah. We experienced there a high and holy moment.

Following our tour through the church of the Nativity, Mr. Tabish went with us as we drove out to Shepherd’s Fields outside Jerusalem. There we could walk up on a hill and imagine the glory of the angel band, the awe of shepherds, and their haste to follow the angel’s bidding to go to Bethlehem to find the newborn King. We could see the outline of the buildings of Bethlehem in the distance, past Herodian (King Herod’s stronghold). We could easily imagine how the shepherds made their way with only stars and moon to give them light until they came to the place where Jesus lay. Then we thought about how the shepherds “went everywhere, telling what they had seen and heard.” Thus they became the first evangelicals!

Bethlehem means “House of Bread.” Jesus, who is the Bread of Life, was born in David’s hometown, the very name of which means bread. A fulfillment of prophecy was, indeed, an event in the fullness of time! How we love to sing Phillips Brooks’ lovely carol, “O Little Town of Bethlehem.” There on Bethlehem’s hill that hot day in July, 1978, I sang in my heart the words that so genuinely express the spirit and wonder of the Messiah’s birth in Bethlehem. Look at all the words to every stanza and absorb them in a new and meaningful way, paying special attention to stanza three:

“How silently, how silently The wondrous gift is giv’n!
So God imparts to human hearts The blessings of His heav’n.
No ear may hear His coming, But in this world of sin,
Where meek souls will receive Him still The dear Christ enters in.”

Thank you God, for Jesus, the Bread of Life, born in Bethlehem, “house of Bread.” He is my Bread of Life, my all, my Messiah, my Savior! Amen.

c Ethelene Dyer Jones; Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Joseph, Earthly Father of Jesus

“And Jacob begot Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus who is called Christ. …Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”—Matthew 1:16; 20b-21 (NKJV)

In this month leading up to Easter, I am examining briefly the lives of some of the people close to Jesus while He lived and moved, walked and taught, suffered and died upon earth, and was resurrected. Today, we look at Joseph, earthly father of Jesus.

The Bible does not teach us much about Joseph, husband of Mary of Nazareth. As to his genealogy, Matthew states the lineage in 1:1-17. Genealogy was important to the Jewish people and was normally listed according to the father’s lineage in Jewish accounting. To go back to Abraham the patriarch from whom Joseph was descended, was very important to know in ancestry. Through Joseph, Jesus was “somebody,” for he had the ancestry to prove it. Compare Matthew’s genealogy to that given by Luke in 3:23-38. Listed in reverse, that is from Jesus to Joseph and all the way back to Adam and to God.

But the truth is, Joseph knew that the babe known as the first-born son of Mary and Joseph was really the son of God, for his beloved wife, Mary, was “ found with child of the Holy Spirit,” and Joseph followed God’s directions to take as his wife the young girl to whom he was already betrothed. Joseph was honorable.

Joseph was a carpenter by trade. When Jesus taught later in the synagogue in his hometown of Nazareth the people asked, “Is this not the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary? And His brothers James, Joses, Simon and Judas?” (Mt. 13:55). Extra-biblical accounts from ancient times about Joseph tell of how he was able, wherever they went to protect Jesus and to find work as a carpenter to support his family. Joseph was an honest worker and head-of-the household, the family provider.

Joseph was a devout man. In dreams he heard and heeded the messages God sent him by angels. “Fear not to take Mary as your wife. She is pregnant of the Holy Spirit.” And Joseph, a righteous man and not wanting her to come to public disgrace, married Mary. They were already engaged, promised to each other, betrothed. He took Mary, according to decree of the government for census-taking, to Bethlehem, his ancestral home. But this action, though mandated by law, was God’s way of working out the ancient prophecy: “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 have been from of old, From everlasting” (Micah 5:2, NKJV).

Joseph participated in the naming, circumcision and dedication of the Baby Jesus. Read this wonderful account, and God’s blessing upon it, in Luke 2: 21-38. Joseph obeyed the voice of the angel and took Mary and Jesus to Egypt to prevent Jesus’ death in the terrible decree of Herod to kill all the young male children (read about this in Matthew 2:13-23).

Joseph was a concerned father. It is evident that he brought Jesus up in the nurture and the admonition of the Lord, for the young Jesus “grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon Him” (Luke 2:40, NKJV). Furthermore, “the parents went every year to Jerusalem at the Feast of the Passover” (Luke 2:41). It was when Jesus was twelve that He got lost from his parents—that is, they lost him. Jesus was still in the Temple being questioned by the “doctors of the law” and confounding them with His understanding. Read this beautiful story of Joseph as a concerned father in Luke 2:41-52).

The account of Joseph, earthly father of Jesus, ends with this account of him helping Mary find Jesus in the Temple. Scholars believe Joseph died before the time of Jesus’ public ministry, for we have only Mary appearing from time to time throughout the earthly ministry of her son, Jesus.

Joseph had done an honorable work and set an example as an earthly father.God had this purpose for Joseph of Nazareth, son of Jacob, descendant of Abraham. He was important and necessary in the earthly life of Jesus, Son of God, whom God entrusted to Mary and Joseph to rear. “For with God, nothing will be impossible,” the angel had told Mary (Luke 1:37). With what we know about him, Joseph lived true to this belief.

c Ethelene Dyer Jones; Tuesday, March 2, 2010