Glad Tidings
For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. Luke 2:11 ESV
When God makes a promise, He keeps it. Throughout the Old Testament, God made many promises about the coming Savior from sin through many different prophets. From these different prophecies, God gave the people of Israel information on the Messiah’s mother, the Messiah’s name, and the Messiah’s death. Through the prophet Micah, God even pinpointed the exact city where Jesus would be born: “But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.”
Many people might figure that the angel of the Lord was talking about Jerusalem when he referred to the Messiah’s birth in “the city of David.” Jerusalem was a large, impressive, and spiritually important city to the people of Israel. It was the city from which King David had ruled during Israel’s golden age of conquest and military success.
This was not, however, what God had promised. This promise came true when Jesus was born in the small town of Bethlehem, the village where King David had been born. What mattered most wasn’t that the Messiah was born in Israel’s capital, but rather that God kept His promise.
The same thing applies to our lives. God hasn’t promised to give us what we expect, but you can count on the promises that He makes us in His Word. You can be just as sure that Jesus was born in Bethlehem as you can that He forgives every single one of your sins. Because the Savior was born in the city of David, lived a life without sin, and suffered hell for us on the cross, you can be sure that He sits in heaven at the right hand of God, waiting for the day that you come home to Him.
Almighty and Unchanging God, let Your good news of the Messiah’s humble birth bring gladness and hope to our hearts. Amen.