Page 18 - BACK TO BETHLEHEM

But what about His journey? We say in Micah 5:2, that
it’s Bethlehem, “But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrata, too little
to be among the clans of Judah, from you One will go forth for
Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago,
from the days of eternity.” He went to Bethlehem but that
wasn’t His goal. That’s part of the journey. He was nine
months in Mary’s womb but he didn’t stay there. He went to
Bethlehem but he didn’t stay there. You might say his goal was
Nazareth. That was his boyhood town. He didn’t stay there
very long. Remember how they tried to throw Him over the
cliff?
The Father sent the Son into the wilderness to be
tempted. That was only forty days. That’s part of the journey
but it’s not the goal. Luke 4:14&15, “And Jesus returned to
Galilee in the power of the Spirit; and news about Him spread
through all the surrounding district. And He began teaching in
their synagogues and was praised by all.” You might say that
His goal was Galilee. That’s where He did His teaching and
where He let the Father do His miracles. That wasn’t His
destination. That was three and a half years. Well, you might
say that His destination was the cross. He came to save the
world.
Listen to Luke 19:10, “For the Son of Man has come to
seek and to save that which was lost.” When we talk about His
goal, I don’t want to take the cross, His death, and His
resurrection and just say, “That’s part of the journey.” In
Gethsemane He sweat drops of blood for us. There I think He
became sin for us. On the cross He shed His life’s blood. He
took what we deserved. He crushed eternity into three hours.
And when He rose again from the dead, that was part of His
journey. “The wages of sin is death.” If one sin was not
forgiven He would still be dead.
I don’t want to play with this but I want you to
understand God’s plan. On the journey, He had to go to
Gethsemane but He was only there for a few hours. He had to
go to the cross but He was only there for six hours. He had to
go into the grave but that was only three days. He’s still on a