The Bible tells us that Jesus was born in the city of Bethlehem, which is just south of Jerusalem. It’s a fact that most Christians and many non-Christians know, due to its inclusion in several popular Christmas carols and hymns. Even if someone only goes to church once a year, there’s a good chance they may hear something about Jesus being born in Bethlehem. 
 

Bethlehem was known as the city of David.

Bethlehem means “the house of bread” and is located six miles south of Jerusalem in the hill country of Judea. In the Old Testament, Bethlehem was first called Ephrath (“fruitful) and was the burial place of Rachel (Gen 35:16, 19; 48:7). It was also famously home to Ruth and her husband Boaz. Upon their marriage, Ruth was blessed with the words, “May you have standing in Ephrathah and be famous in Bethlehem” (Ruth 4:11).1 Most significantly, the book of Ruth concludes by tracing the family line of Perez through Boaz to Jesse the father of David (4:18–22). In 1 Samuel 17:12, David is identified as “the son of an Ephraphite of Bethlehem in Judah, named Jesse.” And it’s in Bethlehem that David was anointed king over Israel by the prophet Samuel (1 Sam 16:1-13) and tended his father’s sheep (17:15). Hence, Bethlehem became known as the “city of David” (Luke 2:4,11).

Bethlehem was prophesied to be the birthplace of the Messiah.

In the Old Testament, the prophet Micah prophesied that from Bethlehem shall come forth “one who is to be ruler in Israel” (Mic 5:2). As previously mentioned, Bethlehem was known as the “city of David.” And so this prophecy further connected the coming Messiah with the house and line of David. By New Testament times, messianic expectations were rising during the reign of King Herod over Judea (37–4 BC), who was appointed king of the Jews under the auspices of Rome. Hearing news of the Messiah’s birth, Herod conspired to squelch any such threat to his rule (Matt 2:1-4). It’s against this backdrop that Matthew quotes Micah 5:2, “For from [Bethlehem] shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel” (2:6). In the last phrase of verse 6 (“who will shepherd my people Israel”), Matthew alludes to 2 Samuel 5:2, which describes David’s rightful kingship over the fateful reign of Saul. By doing so, he sets Jesus over Herod as the true king of the Jews.

Joseph and Mary journeyed to Bethlehem to be counted in a Roman census.

The Gospel of Luke tells us that Joseph and Mary journeyed to Bethlehem—Joseph’s ancestral home—to register for a census decreed by Caesar Augustus in 6 or 5 BC (Luke 2:1-5). The census is a crucial element in Luke’s narrative as it explains how Joseph and Mary ended up in Bethlehem for Jesus’s birth. At the same time, Luke’s reference to this census has become the single most-discussed historical issue in Luke’s entire Gospel. Critics claim that Luke’s reference to this census represents a historical error. Scholars such as Emil Schürer argue that there is no historical evidence from Josephus or Tacitus of a Roman census in Palestine during the reign of Herod the Great; and even if there were, Joseph and Mary could have been counted in Nazareth, as there was no requirement to return to Bethlehem. However, this is an argument from silence. Our record of Palestinian history during the time of Herod is far from exhaustive. Josephus provides most of the extant information, but he was quite selective in what he recorded and wrote almost a century after the events. In addition, we know that Caesar Augustus’ rule was marked by a significant increase in census activity. Judea was a client kingdom of Rome, which means Herod was responsible for collecting his own taxes and paying tribute to Rome. Luke’s opening statement (Luke 2:1) accurately characterizes this situation. What’s more, Josephus does record the office of a “village clerk” (Greek, kōmogrammateus, a word also extant in over two hundred papyri). The main responsibilities of this official included recording census information and statistics about property and taxation. Brook Pearson contends that the role of the village clerk mentioned by Josephus could not have been “drastically different in Herod’s kingdom.”2 While the evidence is fragmentary, Pearson demonstrates that “each and every aspect of the census as it is described by Luke has close parallels in other parts of the Roman Empire.”3 Contrary to critical claims, it’s quite plausible that Luke’s account is historically accurate, especially when one considers that Luke is very reliable in information for which corroborating evidence is available.

Jesus was born in Bethlehem and raised in Nazareth.

According to Matthew 2:1 and Luke 2:4, Jesus was born in Bethlehem and returned later to Nazareth where he was raised (Matt 2:23; Luke 2:39). Skeptics, however, have questioned these accounts, arguing that Nazareth was Jesus’ “hometown” and place of birth. According to Reza Aslan, for example, the early Christians concocted the myth of Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem in order “to get Jesus’s parents to Bethlehem so he could be born in the same city as David,” in fulfillment of the prophecy of Micah 5:2.4 Interestingly, this sort of skepticism goes back as far as the days of Jesus’ ministry and the early church. In John’s Gospel, people questioned Jesus’ messianic identity based on some discrepancy over where he was born (7:41-42). Aware of the prophecy of the Messiah’s birth in Bethlehem, some individuals questioned whether Jesus could be the Messiah if he were from Nazareth in Galilee. John’s point, however, is not to affirm the accuracy of those who questioned Jesus’ identity. Rather, he ironically exposes the erroneous assertions made by Jesus’ opponents, indicating that he expected his readers to know that Jesus had in fact been born in Bethlehem. Apparently, Jesus’ supposed Galilean origin was a matter of contention for Christian apologists even in the first century. Furthermore, while it’s very clear that Jesus’ “hometown” was Nazareth (Mark 6:1; Luke 4:23), the actual term “hometown” (Greek, patris) does not necessarily include one’s birthplace. From the Septuagint (the Greek Old Testament), Charles Quarles has demonstrated that the phrase typically used to identify one’s birthplace was “his city” (Greek, polis autou; 1 Sam 20:6; 2 Sam 15:12; 17:23)5 This is the phrase used by Luke to describe Joseph’s relationship to Bethlehem (Luke 2:3). Luke even strengthens the construction by replacing “his city” with “his own city,” identifying Bethlehem as the place of Joseph’s ancestry and the eventual birthplace of Jesus.

The wise men visited Bethlehem to worship Jesus.

After Jesus’ birth, Matthew tells us that “wise men from the east” came to Jerusalem to worship the one born as the king of the Jews (Matt 2:1–11). Remarkably, these magoi had been guided by their astronomical observations. “From the east” indicates a likely homeland in Babylon where there was great interest in astrology and a large Jewish community from the time of the exile. They may have also come from Persia or Arabia. This is not the first time, however, that Jerusalem entertained special guests from the east. The Queen of Sheba visited Jerusalem to pay homage to Solomon by bringing gifts of gold, spices, and precious stones (1 Kgs 10:1–10). Her visit foreshadows that of the magoi. In this regard, the magoi stand within a larger biblical trajectory of Gentile dignitaries visiting Jerusalem to pay homage to the son of David. The story of the wise men identifies Jesus as the greater Son of David whom even Gentiles worship. Matthew himself records Jesus’ statement about the Queen of Sheba (the “Queen of the South”) later in his Gospel (Matt 12:41-42). She came “from the ends of the earth” to hear Solomon’s wisdom and will “rise up” in judgment against those who rejected Jesus as Messiah. Even if Israel won’t worship her long-awaited Messiah, the Gentiles will. The story of the wise men confronts us with this critical question: How will we respond to the news of Jesus’ birth?

1. All quotations from Scripture are taken from the English Standard Version. For a book-length treatment of Jesus’ birth, see Andreas J. Köstenberger and Alexander E. Stewart, The First Days of Jesus: The Story of the Incarnation (Wheaton: Crossway, 2015).
2. Brook W. R. Pearson, “The Lucan Censuses, Revisited,” CBQ 61 (1999): 271.
3. Ibid., 282.
4. Reza Allen, “Five Myths about Jesus,” The Washington Post, 26 September 2013 < https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/five-myths-about-jesus/2013/09/26/b08e8272-1c98-11e3-82ef-a059e54c49d0_story.html?utm_term=.44d301aa5207 > [accessed 20 September 2018]
5. Charles L. Quarles, “Why Not ‘Beginning From Bethlehem’? A Critique of Dunn’s Treatment of the Synoptic Birth Narratives,” in Memories of Jesus: A Critical Assessment of James D. G. Dunn’s Question of the Historical Jesus, ed. Robert B. Stewart (Nashville: B&H Academic 2010), 187.

Andreas Köstenberger is research professor of New Testament and Biblical Theology and Director of the Center for Biblical Studies at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City, MO. He is also the founder of Biblical Foundations™ (biblicalfoundations.org), the editor of the Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, and the author or coauthor of numerous books, including The First Days of Jesus, Jesus and the Future, and The Final Days of Jesus.

Jimmy Roh is a PhD student at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and research associate at The Summit Church in Raleigh-Durham, NC, in addition to serving as Dr. Köstenberger’s research assistant.

Jesus Christ’s Offer of Salvation:

The ABCs of Salvation through Jesus Christ (the Lamb)

A. Admit/Acknowledge/Accept that you are sinner. Ask God’s forgiveness and repent of your sins.

. . . “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23).

. . . “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one.” (Romans 3:10).

. . . “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” (1 John 1:8).

B. Believe Jesus is Lord. Believe that Jesus Christ is who He claimed to be; that He was both fully God and fully man and that we are saved through His death, burial, and resurrection. Put your trust in Him as your only hope of salvation. Become a son or daughter of God by receiving Christ.

. . . “That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. (John 3:15-17). For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans 10:13).

C. Call upon His name, Confess with your heart and with your lips that Jesus is your Lord and Savior.

. . . “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” (Romans 10:9-10).

. . . “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” (John 1:8-10).

. . . “And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. (John 2:2).

. . . “In this was manifested the love of god toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world. Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.” (1 John 4:9, 14-15).

. . . “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.” (Romans 5:8-10).

. . . “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:23).

. . . “Jesus saith unto them, I am the way, the truth, and the life, no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6).

. . . “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth.” (Romans 1:16).

. . . “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” (Acts: 4:12).

. . . “Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth for there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” (1 Timothy 2:4-6).

. . . “For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Thessalonians 5:9).

. . . “But as many as received him, to them gave the power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.” (John 1:12).

Imagine. All this, just in time for Christmas, 2019.