‘O Little Town of Bethlehem’
“O Little Town of Bethlehem” is a favorite Christmas carol of many. But I wonder if we know why it was written? It seems that Bethlehem shouldn’t even be considered because it was just a small town when Jesus was born. As a matter of fact, there were about 30,000 people living in Bethlehem. That is about one-half the enrollment at Ohio State University. Think about that. Bethlehem is smaller in population than the student enrollment at OSU. Anyway, what makes Bethlehem so important is that is the town in which Jesus was born.
The Bible tells us in Luke 2:6 that Jesus was born there. Mary wrapped Him in swaddling clothes and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
Bethlehem is located about five miles southwest of Jerusalem and because an order for a Census was given, Joseph and Mary returned to their home town for the Census. During their stay, Jesus was born. No pomp. No pageantry. No angelic choirs. No thunder and lightning. Just the quietness of a manger under a starry, moonlit sky.
The world didn’t even know that Jesus was born. But certain others did. Joseph and Mary did. The shepherds did. Even the wise men did and they began to follow the star so they could worship the Savior of the world. What an amazing night that first Christmas night was.
The prophet Malachi predicted Jesus’ birth 750 years before it happened. Isaiah predicted Jesus’ birth some 650 years before it happened. And Jesus birth happened just like God said it would. This means that we can trust what God says is true. If God said it, you can believe it. (God has said a lot in His Word — so believe it.) Again, why was Bethlehem chosen for Jesus’ birthplace? Well, if you look at the name of the town, it actually had two names.
As far as I know, London only has one name. But Bethlehem was known as Bethlehem and also Ephrathah (Malachi 5:2) and Malachi used both names in referring to it. Why? Bethlehem means “house of bread.” Ephrathah means “fruitfulness.” Even today there are many vineyards in and around Bethlehem.
What Malachi attempted to share with us is this: Bethlehem refers to Bread and Jesus is the Bread of Life. Ephrathah refers to wine and Jesus is the True Vine. Malachi’s use of two names means that Jesus, being the Bread of Life would lay down His life so that we might be saved and that Jesus would shed His blood for the payment of our sin debt. So every time we sing “O Little Town of Bethlehem” we refer to the birth and the death of Jesus Christ. That is what Christmas is all about. Without the cradle there would not have been a cross, and without the cross, we would all be on our way to a devil’s hell.
Jesus was born, lived a sinless life, died a substitutionary death for you and for me and today, He offers freely the gift of eternal life. I am encouraging you to receive that gift this Christmas. It will be the very best gift you will ever receive.
God loves you just like you are, but He loves you too much to leave you like that.
Pastor Thad Gifford is the founding and lead pastor of the Crossroads Community Church, 62 E. Second St., London. He can be reached at (740) 852-7800, e-mail him at sermon8er@aol.com or at their website www.3c-church.org.
