The Significance Of Bethlehem Is Very Important And Detailed

Hello and welcome to Social Media Ministries. My name is Spencer Coffman. Thank you so much for being here this Christmas. We’ve got a great message for you, so I hope that you are following Social Media Ministries on all of our social media accounts, sharing our sermons, subscribing to the channel, liking the videos, and all of that stuff.

If not, take the time now to do that. Hit the subscribe button or the follow icon or find us on any social media platform you can and follow us there as well. So today, it is going to be a good message relating to “Christmas,” since it is Christmas time.

I hope you are having a Merry Christmas and your relatives aren’t getting on your nerves yet. Remember, it’s only a couple of times a year you get together with some of these people, so make the most of it. What would Jesus do?

He would take the time to hear the needs and the desires and get to know every person, even if you only see them a couple of times a year and even if you don’t like them. So, “The significance of Bethlehem,” is what we are talking about today.

Bethlehem is a central city throughout the whole Bible. It’s all over in the Old Testament it’s in the New Testament as well. As you know, or hopefully know, that is where Jesus was born through the story of “Mary and Joseph traveling and fleeing,” and Jesus ended up being born in an inn—not even in an inn, He was born in the stable behind the inn, or a cave.

I was there, I saw it. Not then, I’m not that old, but I went to Israel, and we went through the place that they believe to be where Jesus was born. Now, although we couldn’t go into that exact little chamber, we were able to look through kind of a, they put a piece of glass there, probably bulletproof and ballistic glass, that we could look through.

And then some of us kind of crept around the side, and there was like an opening that didn’t have any glass. It was almost like a little ship window that you could look in and see kind of the spot where they believed that Jesus was born. But it was in a cave on the side of a hill, a dugout, and this is where all the animals would have been.

It was kind of a dingy, wet, damp place. I don’t know how much it would have changed over the last few 1000 years, 2000 years, but Jesus was born there in Bethlehem. So, Bethlehem is a very significant place. We see it all over in the Bible. And why? Why is Bethlehem so significant?

Well, we need to think about God. Who is God, what did He do throughout the Bible, and what is He doing now? There’s so much, but what we’re going to focus on today is that God is very detail-oriented. God has a plan for everything. We’ve talked about this before.

Many of our sermons have talked about how God has a plan for you, how you have a purpose, and how you need to be a planner as well because God is a planner. And if you want to be like God, you need to make plans, and they need to be by God’s will.

So if you need to find any of those sermons, there will be a card that you can see here that’s going to link to some of them, or maybe even a playlist if I want to group them all together. But navigate to our YouTube channel and search. You can search all the videos on our channel. You can go to our website and find them there.

You can search on our website for the word “plan,” and you will see all of the sermons relating to plan or search “purpose,” and you can find those as well. But God is a planner. He is very detail-oriented. Jeremiah 29:11. If you have your Bible, turn there. 29:11, great verse.

I use it all the time: “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” His plan goes down, down, down to the slightest detail. Nothing is left to chance with God.

Everything is planned down to the slightest detail, so there is no coincidence that Jesus was born in Bethlehem. It was all part of God’s plan. Everything that happens not only happens for a reason, but it also happens for a significant reason. God chose Bethlehem to be the birthplace of Christ for a very significant reason. Let’s go way back to, the Old Testament.

King David grew up in the town of Bethlehem. Okay, why are we going to King David? Well, you’ll get there. Stay with me. King David, 1 Samuel 17:12. Okay, 1 Samuel 17:12. This is the David and Goliath passage. 17:12 says, “Now David was the son of an Ephrathite named Jesse, who was from Bethlehem in Judah.”

So Jesse was from Bethlehem. David was a son of Jesse; therefore, David would also be from Bethlehem. David grew up there. David grew up in Bethlehem. Now, what else? Jesus was a descendant of David.

Hmm, interesting. How do we know that? Let’s go to Luke 2:41. Most of you probably already know Jesus was a descendant of David. You’ve heard the Bible stories, but we’re still going to the Scripture because we want to know for sure.

We like Scripture. I just love it. Luke 2:41, “Every year his parents went to Jerusalem,” Wait a minute, I’m skipping ahead of us here. Matthew Chapter 1 is the genealogy of David and Jesus. So the genealogy of Jesus, Matthew 1:1. “A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.” So Jesus is related, a descendant of King David.

Now, at the time of Passover, every year people traveled to Jerusalem to sacrifice at the temple. We’ve talked about this before when we had another sermon about Jesus when He was born. We talked about the Passover, we talked about the shepherds, so you can watch that in a card here. Now, Luke 2:41. “Every year His parents went to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover.”

Every year people go to Passover. Now, who are we talking about? His parents, this is Jesus. When Jesus was 12 years old, they went up to the feast. This is the story of how Jesus got left behind one year ago. He was tending to his father’s business.

They traveled for three days. They thought, “Where’s Jesus? Where’s Jesus? Oh my gosh, we don’t know where He is.” You say three days, how could they have traveled for three days and not known their kid was missing?

Well, because they thought He was with the relatives that traveled in a big caravan. There could have been 50, 100, or more people traveling at this time. So then finally, they went back. There was Jesus in the temple. But they would go there on Passover, and why? To sacrifice at the temple.

All right, stay with me now. We have King David born and raised in Bethlehem. Jesus, a descendant of David. Every year people would go from Bethlehem to Jerusalem, to sacrifice at the temple. And what did they sacrifice? They needed a lamb, a lamb without blemish, without defect.

Now, if they had several days of traveling, these people didn’t bring the lamb with them. Most of them didn’t; some of them might have. But if you have a perfect lamb without defects that you have been raising, generally, you know, maybe less than a year old or a year old, you have this lamb, okay? And you have many days of travel through the wilderness.

It’s not like you jump in your car and you stay in a hotel, and it boards your pet and all this kind of stuff. No, they were walking, riding camels or donkeys or carts. Now, if they brought a fragile little lamb with them all this way, the odds were pretty good that something would happen to it. It might get dirty, maybe it would get injured.

Something could happen, and then now it’s not perfect anymore. So, to limit this risk, these people would stop at Bethlehem, which was on the way to Jerusalem every year, and they would buy their perfect lamb. Bethlehem was a town of shepherds.

The perfect lambs were raised there. So, as people would travel to Jerusalem, they’d stop in Bethlehem, they’d stay the night, whatever they’d do, they’d buy their sacrifice, and then continue to Jerusalem to go to the temple to make their sacrifice for their sins.

Bethlehem was the source of the sheep that were used for these sacrifices to pay for the people’s sins. In the same way, Jesus was born in Bethlehem, just like these sheep. Jesus didn’t grow up in Bethlehem remember they had to flee to Egypt, and then they say Jesus of Nazareth, but He was born in Bethlehem.

He spent some time there. He grew up passing through Bethlehem on the way to Jerusalem. Eventually, Jesus became the sacrifice for your sins, for my sins. I no longer need to fly over and go to Bethlehem, purchase a sheep or a lamb, a perfect lamb, and travel to Jerusalem and sacrifice it for my sins.

Jesus already was the sacrifice for my sins. Jesus was the Lamb of God, born in Bethlehem, sacrificed for my sins. The perfect lamb, just like how sheep were raised in Bethlehem, purchased and sacrificed for their sins. God had a plan. He knew everything that was going on. He planned it to the slightest detail. Bethlehem was very significant.

Now, Bethlehem is a town of shepherds. We’re going to keep going. This isn’t it, even though you’re sitting there like, “Wow, this is cool.” David grew up in Bethlehem. Jesus, a descendant of David, was born in Bethlehem.

Sheep was raised in Bethlehem. Sheep, perfect lambs were sacrificed for your sins. Jesus, the perfect Lamb of God, sacrificed for your sins. It’s more than a coincidence. We’re going to keep going. Bethlehem is a town of sheep; thus, it must be a town of shepherds.

King David was a shepherd. Alright, when Jesus was born, angels appeared to shepherds who were out tending their flocks. This is why we know Jesus must have been born in the fall because if he had been born in the middle of winter, the shepherds would not have been out in the fields with their flocks.

If you need more on that, we have that whole sermon I referenced before, so you can check that out. Jesus was born in a shepherd town. Angels appeared to shepherds, so we know Bethlehem is a town of shepherds. King David was a shepherd; he grew up in Bethlehem, a town of shepherds. But guess what? Jesus is also a shepherd.

He said, “Wait a minute, Jesus was the perfect lamb, a sacrifice for our sins. How is He a shepherd?” Well, Jesus is your shepherd. Jesus has the unique ability that He was both a sacrifice for your sins, the perfect Lamb of God, but then after He was that sacrifice, He is your shepherd.

You say, “Well wait a minute, wasn’t He a shepherd before? He had those apostles. Wasn’t He a shepherd here on the earth?” He never.

Maybe He was their teacher. He was their Rabbi. He was their friend. He is your shepherd. Jesus was the perfect Lamb of God. He is still your perfect lamb. He is your sacrifice for your sins and your Shepherd, exactly like the Trinity: Father, Son, Holy Spirit—three in one.

Jesus, perfect lamb, and shepherd in one. Now, King David was a shepherd; Jesus is your Shepherd. There are so many correlations here. How do we know Jesus is your shepherd? I like to back everything up with scripture.

Turn with me to Psalm 23:1 “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.” Very, very good passage. If you don’t know it, most people have to memorize it. Psalm 23:1; “The Lord is my shepherd.” He’s your shepherd. Not only that though, you are the sheep of his pasture.

This is how we know Jesus is your shepherd. People are sheep. We are. If you need to know more, we have a sermon about that, how people are sheep and sheep are stupid. They’re so dull. Yeah, I know, pretty humbling. If we are sheep and sheep are stupid, yeah, most people are. We’re dull. We don’t get it.

We cannot take care of ourselves. We need a shepherd. Who is our shepherd? Jesus. Right here, “The Lord is my shepherd.” This is capital L-O-R-D, “Yahweh.” Yahweh is my shepherd. I need to rely on him just like the sheep rely on the shepherd, just like King David’s sheep relied on him, exactly like the shepherd’s sheep relied on them when the angels came when Jesus was born, exactly like we rely on Jesus.

Born in the town of Bethlehem, the Shepherd will lay down His life to save His sheep. We’re going to go to another psalm. I like psalms, alright. Psalm 100:3; “Know that the Lord, Yahweh, is God. It is He who made us; we are His people, the sheep of His pasture.” We are sheep. Like it or not, you are a sheep.

That’s how we’re born. We are born sheep. Now, that doesn’t mean that we are born to be a sacrifice. No, Jesus was the Lamb of God. There’s a difference between lamb and sheep. Sheep are older, lambs are younger.

Jesus was the Lamb of God, the sacrifice. The people who traveled to Jerusalem had to stop in Bethlehem and purchase a lamb. Sometimes they referred to them as sheep or lamb or ewe and ewe lamb, year-old without defect, young.

Jesus was the Lamb of God, He was our sacrifice. We are His sheep. We are dumb. We need a shepherd. We need Jesus. We have to rely on Jesus for that. And now a shepherd. There are so many verses throughout the Bible describing what a shepherd would do.

There are stories of King David before he was king when he was a little shepherd boy. A lion would come up, and he would fight off lions, or bears would come and try to eat the sheep, and he would fight off bears. He was willing to die to protect those sheep.

We have stories of Joseph being a shepherd with his brothers, and a sheep would wander off from the herd, and he’d be looking from the flock and he’d be like, man, we’re missing one. And there are stories in the New Testament.

Jesus gives us parables: “Will the shepherd not go searching and searching and searching for the one? And when he finds it, he will be so happy about that one. He’s happier about the one than he is about the 99 that were still there.”

Doesn’t make sense. You’d rather have one than 99? No, it’s that a shepherd will search, find, and lay down his life for his sheep. Jesus is your shepherd. He will lay down his life for you, and guess what? He did. Remember, Jesus laid down his life and died for you.

He was the perfect sacrifice. He paid for your sins, so you no longer have to sacrifice sheep. Let’s go to 1 John 2:2; “Jesus Christ, the righteous one, He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.”

Let that sink in. Jesus was the sacrifice for the sins of the whole world. In the Old Testament days and the New Testament days, when people traveled and stopped in Bethlehem, went to Jerusalem, and sacrificed, it wasn’t, “Hey everybody, buy one sheep, buy one lamb, and we’ll sacrifice it for everyone.” No, each family, maybe even each person, had a lamb.

Over 10,000 lambs were being sacrificed for the sins of these Israelites traveling, and going there. They had over 1000 sacrifices, and the Old Testament tells us that if people couldn’t afford a lamb, then they could do this and then this or this or this, and so they had all of these different things.

If someone couldn’t afford it, there was another option. But a sacrifice had to be made. Someone had to die, “For the wages of sin is death.” Something had to die for their sins, whether it was a lamb, or whether they couldn’t afford a lamb and it had to be a dove, or two doves, or something else. Or, for certain sacrifices, maybe certain sins, it was a goat.

Someone had to die; something had to die. But Jesus was perfect enough that He covered the sins of the whole world. So, this Christmas, think about that. Think about the reason for the season; Christ. Miss Christ. Originally Christ mass, the mass of Christ, like we’re worshiping Christ.

So, if you go to a candlelight service, or a midnight mass, or whatever you decide to call it, remember, though, the reason: it’s Jesus. He was the sacrifice for your sins. What does that mean?

That means that because of Him, you can go to Heaven. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the light. No one goes to the Father except through me.” You have the option. You can trust in Jesus and accept Him as your Savior, accept that He is your sacrifice, and say thank you.

Accept that He died for your sins, and you can be forgiven. And if you do that, guess what? You’re going to Heaven. “He is the way, the truth, and the light. No one goes to the Father except through me.” That means He is the only way.

One way. There is one way to the Father. The disciples said, “Lord, how do we know what it is?” He said, “I am the way, the truth, and the light.” If you need help with that if you need to think about that a little bit more, if you want to ask Jesus to be your Savior, now’s the time.

It’s very simple; “Dear Jesus, thank you so much for being the perfect sacrifice for our sins. Thank you for dying for me. I want to live my life for you. Come into my heart, be the Savior and the Lord of my life. In Jesus’ name, amen.”

Pray that prayer, and if you have questions, or you need someone to talk to about it, reach out to someone you know who’s been talking to you about Jesus. Or, comment below, and send us a message; we’d love to pray with you.

Have a Merry Christmas this year. Remember that Jesus is the reason for the season. Let’s pray; Lord Jesus, thank you so much for this message. Thank you so much for the significance of Bethlehem.

Thank you, Father, that you planned everything to the slightest detail, that we can take a look at the Bible and draw all these correlations back and forth and, and like, wow, something with so many ties back and forth, with so many things connecting, must be true. And we thank you for that.

Thank you so much for verifying all of it, providing all of this information, and correlating everything together so deeply, interconnected and woven, that we believe it. Thank you for sending your son Jesus to be the perfect sacrifice, the Lamb of God, to die for the sins of the whole world.

I pray that every person out there would think about that, that they would accept Jesus, that they would understand that He died for them, for their sins, and that they can go to Heaven through Jesus. In your name, we pray, amen.

Have a Merry Christmas, and we’ll see you next week for a New Year’s message.