From Bethlehem of Golgotha

"Found as to his appearance as a man, he humbled himself, becoming obedient unto death, and to the death of the cross." Philippians 2. 8

"Unquestionably, the mystery of godliness is great : God was manifested in the flesh, was justified in the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed in the world, was raised in glory ." 1 Timothy 3. 16

Caesar Augustus, first emperor of Rome, is at the height of glory. His immense empire surrounds the Mediterranean. It was then that he decreed a census of all his subjects, the first of its kind.

This census returns Joseph and Mary from their place of residence (Nazareth) to their place of origin : Bethlehem. It is there that Jesus is born, as the prophet Micah had announced (Mic.5: 1).

The Son of God comes into the world so that we can be born again. He will give his life so that we may obtain eternal life.

He is born in a stable. He will die on a cross before returning to the Father.

No place on this earth to welcome him ! Religious leaders will reject him with hatred and malice. Before Pilate, who will call them together, they will exclaim with the people : "Deliminate this individual, and release us Barabbas !" (Luke 23. 18, NBS). He will give his life, suspended between earth and heaven.

In Bethlehem, Mary swaddles her son like any newborn baby at the time. It was thought that a baby felt safer if he was immobilized by strips. In Golgotha, stripped of his clothes, he will be immobilized by nails on a cross.

In Bethlehem, Mary puts her son in a manger, the cleanest place in the barn. At Golgotha, Joseph of Arimathea will descend Jesus body from the cross, wrap it with a pristine shroud and place it in a new tomb.

At Golgotha, Pilate will place a sign on the cross : "Jesus the Nazarene, the King of the Jews" and will refuse to change the wording, despite the protests of the chief priests.

From his genealogy inscribed in the registers of men to his title displayed in three languages ​​on a cross, what a path traveled for our salvation !

Do not extinguish the manger at the expense of the cross ! God's plan of salvation was concretized by the entry of his Son into the world in Bethlehem. At Golgotha, Jesus exclaimed : "It is fulfilled !" Let this word, recorded in the gospel, not in the annals of men, be engraved on our hearts !

Source (Pleasing the Lord)