In the time of Jesus, you couldn't just Google someone famous and find out the names of his parents, where they were born, how old they are, where they grew up, went to school, who his brothers or sisters were.
They knew that Jesus came from Galilee because of his accent. We only know this because of Peter for when he was approached by the maid servant when Jesus was arrested; she said that she could tell Peter was also a Galilean because of his accent.
So, they wouldn't know that he was born in Bethlehem unless they asked him. And why would they do that?
But what would it matter where he was born anyway? If they thought that he was a prophet, would they listen to him with more attention if he had been from somewhere else?
Do we only listen to people who come from someplace special? And who decides what is special? Does it matter if someone is from Washington, London, Amsterdam or L'Asile?
The important thing is the person, not where he or she comes from.
Perhaps the people of Jesus' time had prejudices similar to people today.
Remember when Philip brought Nathanael to Jesus, he commented, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" After Nathanael met Jesus, he believed.
This is an important lesson for us.
We know that we shouldn't judge anyone, but we should never write someone off before we meet them and get to know them. Not everyone will become a friend, but how will we know if we don't try.
I remember a scene in one of my favorite TV shows when someone impressed with himself ignores the main character. When confronted with his rudeness, he apologizes and states that he didn't realize she was "someone." He was told that where she lives they're polite to everyone.
