A Little Town With a Big ImpactSample

If you and I were living in Jesus’ day, and we were to look for a place for Messiah the King to be born, where would we look? Many would point to Rome, the center of the world in that era. Rome was the center of the population of the Empire, the seat of power of the only world empire in that day.

Others might point to Athens, another important city of that time. Athens was a major urban area, known as the center of philosophy, the center of learning, and the center of arts. From a human planning standpoint, Alexandria might be the spot. An especially important port city in Egypt, Alexandria was one of the seven wonders of the world with an incredibly famous, world-renowned library.

If not Rome, Athens, or Alexandria, then certainly the Messiah, the King of the Jews, should be born in the capital of Israel, Jerusalem. This was where Israel’s famous King David had his palace. David’s son, Solomon, had built the Temple in Jerusalem. It was a particularly important and strategic city. In fact, when the Magi came looking for the newborn King, they came to Jerusalem.

None of these cities were fit for the King of Kings. God the Father had chosen Bethlehem. This was the tiny village that had been the birthplace of Benjamin, where his mother, Rachel, had died while giving birth and was buried. Jeremiah, the prophet, had prophesied that Rachel would still be weeping for her children. All this happened in Bethlehem, the little town with a big impact.

What does this mean for us today? Our plans, our strategies, and our desires do not always line up with God’s. His ways are higher than ours. His thoughts are higher than our thoughts. So, we must make sure that we seek His will in everything and seek to do things His way.