Bethlehem and Golgotha

The baby wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in a manger isn’t there just because there was no room in the inn. There was no room in the inn so that GOD’s son, the Lamb of GOD, would be lying in a manger wrapped in swaddling clothes as a sign. A sign that conveys a deeper meaning. It was by divine purpose that Mother Mary and Joseph could not find any place to stay and had no option but to take shelter where the lambs were kept. JESUS is the sacrificial lamb to whom all the prophecies of the Old Testament sacrifices are related. The mystery of JESUS’ birth in Bethlehem is tied to the concept of sacrifice itself.

Bethlehem was famous for its greenery and its proximity to the Temple. The lambs offered as sacrifices in the temple were born and raised there. Every firstborn male lamb from the area around Bethlehem was considered holy and set aside for sacrifice in Jerusalem. Generations of hereditary shepherds tended these sacred flocks. They were no ordinary shepherds; they spent many cold, lonely nights in the fields, risking their lives to protect the sheep from going astray and falling into the many ravines of the hill country. After dedicating their lives to their flocks, the shepherds would separate the lambs, choosing only the perfect firstborn males to drive to Jerusalem. There, the lambs would be purchased by those seeking to atone for their sins. On the same mountain where Abraham offered his son to the Lord, the lambs would shed their blood and lose their lives as atonement. It was an endless cycle.

In their hour of emergency, Joseph and Mary found a place that was empty—the place where the sacrificial lambs were kept because the shepherds had taken them out to the fields. There are a couple of reasons why JESUS was born in that place: it was a stairway to heaven for the angels, the place Jacob anointed and named Bethel (the house of GOD), and because JESUS was the sacrificial lamb, He had to be born where the sacrificial lambs were born for the Temple. That is why the blessed shepherds were the first to receive the news of His birth while they were taking care of the sacrificial lambs. After seeing JESUS, they knew the prophecy had come true and understood that they would no longer need to risk their lives taking care of the lambs for sacrifice. After that, they did not bring the lambs back to the place where Joseph, Mother Mary, and JESUS were.

We can see how well planned and purposeful GOD’s actions were in everything related to JESUS  the Messiah. If the place of JESUS’ birth was significant, then the place of His crucifixion must also hold great importance. That is what we are going to explore.

Golgotha means “the place of the skull.” This place got its name back in the time of David. Scholars of the Bible believe that after David beheaded Goliath in the Valley of Elah, he brought the head to Jerusalem and buried it at this place, which was then named Golgotha. There is also a mountain that looks like a skull, which some believe is the reason for its name. Whatever the reason, we know there must be a purpose behind JESUS sacrificing His precious life at Golgotha, just as we saw earlier why He was born in Bethlehem.

Genesis 3:21 states that GOD made garments of animal skin for Adam and Eve. It is obvious that GOD had to kill an animal to take its skin and make garments for them. GOD killed the animal on the hill of Golgotha. JESUS was crucified at Golgotha because that was the place where GOD performed the first-ever animal sacrifice to initiate the sacrificial system, foreshadowing JESUS’ sacrifice. The reason why JESUS’ crucifixion was fixed to be on the hill of Golgotha, the place of the skull, is that it was where GOD performed the first animal sacrifice and used the skin to prepare clothes for Adam and Eve. So, Golgotha has had prominence since the beginning.