«l am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger». John 6:35
HEROD THE GREAT, the king who ordered that all the boys under the age of two be killed in Bethlehem, was a great builder of luxurious fortresses. Today remains can be seen of the Machaerus, a fortress built in the desert; Masada, an amazing complex located close to the Dead Sea; and the Alexandrium, located in the Jordan Valley. One of his most luxurious palaces was actually located only four miles from Bethlehem, the city where Jesus was born.* There, on top of a beautiful hill, he erected the Herodium, his royal palace.
Based on archeological remains and Flavius Josephus’s descriptions, the Herodium was an architectural wonder. The palace had imposing columns, a beautiful interior garden, luxurious bed chambers, a beautiful dining hall, many rooms, and chambers for servants and Herodian guards. At the foot of the castle there was a lavish complex of buildings, pools, and gardens that made the place one of the most modern cities in the area.
The Herodium would have been a good place for the true «King of the Jews» to be born; however, Jesus was born in «a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn» (Luke 2:7). Was there really no room for Christ in the Herodium or in any room at any home in Bethlehem?
Regardless of people’s attitude toward the arrival of God’s Son to the planet, Jesus was actually born in the place God had designated. Three times the Gospel writer points out the Christ Child was laid in «a manger» (Luke 2:7, 12, 16), a sort of container where food was placed for the animals.
Jesus was laid in «a manger» because He came to this earth as «the bread of God . , . who comes down from heaven» to give «life to the world» (John 6:33). He was laid in «a manger» because there His mission was announced: «l am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger» (John 6:35). At the manger there is food for you, there is life for you; the only One who can satisfy your soul’s hunger was laid in the manger.
Jesus came to be your food, to satisfy your biggest voids, and that’s why He was not born at the Herodium, but in a manger.
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Taken from: Devotional Readings for Adults 2023
“I AM WITH YOU”
From: J. VLADIMIR POLANCO
Collaborators: Lorina Maya & Avineyda Hernández
