One of the most picturesque places in all the world is the little town of Bethlehem nestling in the Judean hills. A visit is a never-to-be-forgotten experience. Not far away are the shepherds’ fields where wondering men heard a wonderful message centuries ago. How often we enjoyed singing the Christmas carols in the same fields when we were living in the land of the Bible. Whenever the word Bethlehem (which means “the house of bread”) comes to mind, certain memories spring to life about a Sign, a Son, and a Saviour.
A SIGN
From the days of David, the man after God’s own heart, Bethlehem was like many other towns, quietly hidden away for centuries. Then one day a mysterious star appeared in the heavens over the place where Jesus was to be born. It led the way for the wise men to come to the Babe with their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. The message of the angel of the Lord was expressed in the word “Saviour,” who was the Christ, the Lord. The star went before the wise men once more, not to show them the way to the city–this they knew–but to lead them to the Babe.
The sign was a baby and in this lies the mystery of the Incarnation. Truly it is both mysterious and wonderful–the Son of God, the great Creator, the Lord of glory, humbling Himself to become the Son of Man. No one at Rome, the imperial capital, knew of His arrival, and the event was not announced in the high places of the earth.
What lessons are to be learned from the travelers in their guidance and gifts. It is obvious that when they obeyed the leading of the Scriptures and turned towards Bethlehem, the star of promise led them to the Star of destiny and deliverance. The star appeared to guide them. As we obey the light we have, God gives us more. It is still true, “The meek will He guide in judgment: and the meek will He teach His way.”
A SON
In reading the Old Testament, we are first introduced to Bethlehem in the days of Jacob. Though he lived some 1800 years before the coming of Christ, the hand of God was on him, leading him right to the house of bread, Ephrath. Coming along from Bethel a halt was made and, just on the outskirts of Bethlehem, Rachel, his beloved wife, gave birth to her last child. As she died, she cried out in pain, “Benoni,” which means, “son of my sorrow.” Jacob called the boy Benjamin, the “son of my right hand,” and built a pillar there which remains to this day. Often I have sat by the way into Bethlehem and thought about this scene. It speaks of the birth of another Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Surely He was the Man of Sorrows, but also the Son of God’s right hand (Ps. 110:1; Heb. 1:13).
He came as a babe, in the manger was laid
Christ Jesus, the blest Son of God,
He came from on high, that here He might die,
To ransom us by His own blood.
“At Bethlehem,” said Leo the Great, “two natures met together in one Redeemer. Nothing is wanting in either; entire majesty and entire littleness; His the infirmity whose is the power. The selfsame Person is both capable of dying and conqueror of death. God knit Himself to manhood in pity and power; either nature was in the other; and yet neither in the other lost its own property.”
Centuries before, Micah had assured us that He is not circumscribed by time. His goings forth, His activities, have been from old, from everlasting. These goings forth were before creation, in creation, in His appearances to the patriarchs, and throughout the Old Testament history of redemption. How wonderful to read Psalm 90:2; John 1:1, 14, and the early chapters of Matthew and Luke, and also Paul’s interpretation of them in Colossians l. Surely then His vision will fill the soul and this season of the year will be deeper and fuller, for great is the mystery of the Incarnation. The central figure in the story of Bethlehem is not Joseph or Mary, the shepherds or the sages or the angels, but Christ, the holy Child, the Son of God.
A SAVIOUR
While we gaze with adoring wonder on the birth of the little baby in a manger, we must never forget that He was of noble descent. For He was one of the family of David and of Abraham. The wise men knelt and worshiped Him and the sky shone with a wonderful light from heaven. The beautiful name, Jesus, simply means “Jehovah the Saviour.” In the Old Testament there are three books that contain the name of Jesus–Joshua, Isaiah, and Hosea. In all these books the Spirit of God has a special purpose in the meaning of the names. Joshua puts the emphasis on His Person, Isaiah on His work, and Hosea on His people. So when Matthew records, “And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call His name Jesus: for He shall save His people from their sins” (Mt. 1:21), the Holy Spirit unites these three books in testimony to the Christ of God, Immanuel, “God with us.”
Joshua means Saviour, and so the name of Jesus is the same. Isaiah makes much of the work of the Redeemer, and the meaning of His name is “Jehovah is salvation.” Thus, as Matthew says, our Lord came to save from sin. Finally, Hosea is another reference to the Saviour, and in his book we find Jehovah’s great concern for His people. So the coming of Christ was to save His people from their sins. No wonder we sing:
I cannot tell why He whom angels worship
Should set His love upon the sons of men,
Or why as Shepherd He should seek the wanderers
And bring them back, I know not how or when.
But this I know: that He was born of Mary,
When Bethlehem’s stable was His only home,
And that at Nazareth He lived and labored
And so the Saviour, Saviour of the world, is come.
Yes! He came, a Saviour long desired and long expected. And now, as the Messiah of promise, the Lord Jehovah, God Himself, we announce Him as heaven’s great gift and earth’s greatest gain. At this season, may the knowledge of His love fill our hearts with adoring worship.