Why Bethlehem?
Bethlehem also carried a deeper significance. Just outside the city were the fields long associated with shepherding.
Why Bethlehem?
Bethlehem was not chosen by chance. Long before angels sang or shepherds ran through the night, God had already written Bethlehem into the story of redemption. The prophet Micah wrote:
“But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel.” — Micah 5:2
Bethlehem was small, overlooked, and unimportant by human standards—yet it was precisely there that God promised His King would be born. Messiah would not emerge from power or prominence, but from humility.
Bethlehem also carried a deeper significance. Just outside the city were the fields long associated with shepherding. Jewish tradition holds that the sheep destined for sacrifice at the temple in Jerusalem were raised in the region of Bethlehem. These lambs had to be spotless—carefully watched, protected and prepared.
Into that setting, the Lamb of God was born:
“Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” — John 1:29
Jesus entered the world among the very animals that brought substitution, sacrifice and atonement. Before He ever taught a parable or healed a wound, His birthplace preached the gospel: a Lamb had come for sinners.
Bethlehem also echoes with the story of redemption long before the manger. It was here that Naomi returned in bitterness, empty and broken after years of loss (Ruth 1:19–21). It was here that Ruth the Moabite, an outsider, found refuge under the wings of Israel’s God. And it was here that God brought forth a son—Obed, who became the father of Jesse, the father of King David.
“Salmon became the father of Boaz by Rahab, Boaz became the father of Obed by Ruth…” — Matthew 1:5
From Bethlehem came David and from David came a greater Son—the Shepherd who would lay down His life for the sheep.
“For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed. — 1 Corinthians 5:7
Bethlehem reminds us that God weaves salvation through ordinary places, broken people and faithful promises. The town that once welcomed a grieving widow would cradle the Savior of the world.
And there, among the Passover sheep, the True Passover Lamb was born—so that death would pass over us forever.
