“‘Don’t be afraid!’ he said. ‘I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!’” –Luke 2:10-11
The people of Israel had a rocky history with their kings, with a stream of conflicted rulers who did both great good and terrible wickedness.
The greatest of the kings was David. He had been specially chosen by God to rule His people, and to him He made an incredible promise. The Savior of the world would come through his line. One of David’s own descendants, born in his hometown of Bethlehem, would be the one through whom God redeemed the world.
It just so happened that at the time Mary was about to give birth to her God-conceived son, the Roman emperor called for a census of all his people. This required everyone to return to their hometown to be counted. Joseph, Mary’s betrothed, was from Bethlehem, and since according to Jewish law they were legally married, Mary had to go with him.
So there they were in Bethlehem when God entered the world in the form of Jesus, firstborn son of Mary. This son of kings was not born in a palace, with a host of trumpeters waiting to announce his birth. The spectacular event was really nothing spectacular at all—just another baby born to another unwed mother in the dark of night, with only an animals’ feeding trough for his first bed.
But God wouldn’t let the birth of His Savior go entirely unnoticed. He sent His messengers to announce the news to a group of shepherds, minding their own business as they stayed awake long into the night to watch over their sheep. They were the first to learn that the hope of David had been fulfilled in their own city.
For hundreds of years, David’s people had waited for the birth of his great heir. Now He had come at last.
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