Where was Jesus Christ Born?

Jesus visited earth to live with us and bless us with his divinity. The angel who sanctified Mary with Jesus told her that he would be known as ‘Immanuel’ which means ‘God with us’ (Matthew 1:23).

But what does the Bible say about the birth place of Jesus? Where was the heavenly child born?

The Bible’s answer to Jesus’s birth place is Bethlehem, which is the present day Israel. Both Matthew 2 as well as Luke 2 suggested that Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea. Matthew 2:1-2 and Luke 2:1-7 pronounce the events when Joseph and Mary left Nazareth to reach Bethlehem because of the census decreed by Caesar Augustus.

This is how each of them recorded the event in the Bible:

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Matthew 2:1, 2

“Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, ‘Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.’”

Luke 2:4-7

“Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David … And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn.”

Micah 5:2

“But you, Bethlehem, Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be Ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting.”

Prophet Micah was popularly known for foreseeing the birth and the birthplace of Jesus hundreds of years before the actual occasion took place.

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According to the chronicled incidence, the census decreed by Caesar Augustus was levied during Mary’s pregnancy, which meant that Joseph traveled from Nazareth to Bethlehem (city of David) with his wife Mary to get themselves counted in the census. The young couple ended up in the small town of Bethlehem where Jesus was born. They took refuge in stable, and Jesus was born in the manger or the feeding trough of the animals.

Though the incidents of Jesus’s birth were recorded in the bible centuries ago, lately some Biblical scholars have questioned the birth place. According to them if Jesus was born in Bethlehem, then why is he called a Nazorean and a Galilean throughout the New Testament? Why is Bethlehem not a part of any conversations (apart from early narratives in the Gospels) regarding Jesus’ birthplace?

Just like the Bible do you too agree that be it an indoor animal shelter, a separate barn, or a tower, Jesus was born in a modest environment, most likely in the town of Bethlehem? Let us know in the comment section below.

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