One answer is that the Messiah is of the lineage of David and David was a Bethlehemite. That's true, but it misses the point of verse two. The point of verse two is that Bethlehem is small--not that it is great because David was born there. (That's what the scribes missed in Matthew 2:6). read more
The primary reason the birth of Jesus took place in Bethlehem was to fulfill the prophecy given by the minor prophet Micah. read more
The Gospel of Luke indicates Jesus was born in Bethlehem because a census was being taken that required Joseph to leave Nazareth to return to his ancestral home of Bethlehem. That census, by the way, was conducted in 4 c.e. read more