3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; 4 and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. 5 They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet:
6 “‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for from you shall come a ruler
who will shepherd my people Israel.’”
7 Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.”
When the Wise men came to Jerusalem and told Herod about the star and who they were in search of, why was he troubled? Why was Jerusalem in an uproar? I am sure there are many reasons but I wonder if part of it was jealousy? Herod did not want to share his kingdom with anyone. The people might have been upset because they did not want to upset status quo although they hated being ruled by Rome. I wonder if the city was upset because for centuries they had heard the prophecies and were supposedly looking for this Messiah that was to be born. The teachers of the law told them about this one to be born King of the Jews and yet He had come and they did not even know. For foreigners to come and tell them they were following His star must have been a slap in the face to the religious leaders. They were aware of all of the prophecies and yet they had missed what was so bright that people from other lands had seen it and known.
As I pondered these things it made me wonder how many of us today are missing Him as well. Maybe we are looking for a different kind of king like Herod was. We may be looking for someone who will swoop in and fix all of our problems when Jesus wants to mend our heart not all of the challenges we face. The king you are looking for may make life easier or better and make you wealthy or happy, but Jesus uses painful things and even times of famine to bring us into closer relationship with Him and to teach us about ourselves. You may be a Christ follower and have given your heart to Him, but have you ceased to look for His second coming? The signs are all around us. We too have an opportunity to watch and see because He will be coming again. When He does everyone will know but not everyone will be ready. Then it will be too late. The second time He comes He will judge the earth. Our challenge is to be ready and to help others be prepared as well.
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4 thoughts on “December 15, 2015, Matthew 2:3-8”
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Great line of thought about the second coming, Page. I think this year, more than ever before, the thought of Christ’s return has been been on the forefront of my mind! I cannot count the many times I have looked in that eastern sky and said out loud, wouldn’t this be a wonderful day for the Lord to come back? The signs are definitely there, especially as the world becomes more enveloped with darkness with each passing day. I agree that the Lord is giving Christians one more opportunity to bring hope and light to those who do not know Him yet. As Page Hughes would say, we need to take as many people to heaven with us!
Looks like the Lord gave someone a few states away the same message He laid on your heart today, Page! This Facebook post from a Pastor in TX just came across our newsfeed 🙂
This is how the baby in the manger is coming back!
“Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one siting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.” – Revelation 19:11 – 16
So there’s two that did not join in the most exciting news ever – the arrival of the Messiah: The scribes and Herod the king. So sad.
“Lord, please continue to do a work in my heart so that I am not only excited about Jesus’ second coming, but even more so that I am telling others about it and living in expectation every day – no matter the cost!”
Matthew 2:5 They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet:…
So why didn’t the scribes and leaders go themselves to see the Babe? This is the most exciting news ever and prophecy was being fulfilled! Why wouldn’t they want to be in on the BIGGEST event in history thus far? I would hope that I would have been so excited and immediately joined the Magi on their jouney! The scribes (primarily Pharisees, authorities on Jewish law), knew exactly where the Messiah was to be born, but lacked the faith to accompany the Magi to the place where He was.
So much for head knowledge. It’s all about having a heart for Jesus.
2:8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the Child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.”
Herod actually wanted to kill the Child (vv.13-18), whom He saw as a potential threat to this throne. His was actually the extreme opposite of excitement.
Lacey and Priscilla you are both so right. Great insights!