Matthew 2:3–6 (ESV) —
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.’ ”
NOTE: Herod shows an unusual lack of knowledge for a "King" of Israel since God had commanded each King to read through the scriptures. Additionally, other versions translate the word for "troubled" as deeply disturbed (HCSB, CSB, NLT), frightened (NSRV), disturbed and troubled (AMP). Herod died in 4BC, so these events did not proceed his death by much. And I doubt he cared for his progeny since the saying at the time was that Herod's pig was safer than Herod's sons. But this is a classic response of a person without hope and without knowledge of God. Life is insecure. The things we put our hope in do not fill our deepest needs. Power is no substitute for true love. Wealth only covers over the pain--it does not remove it. Herod's actions throughout his life show a man always worried about losing life or power to the person closest to him or some unseen event taking power away. In one sense, he was right, he died probably later that year, never realizing that the newborn king was not a threat but a savior. And still today, people see Jesus as a threat to their lifestyle and not as the savior they desperately need.
PONDER:
- How do I really see Jesus--threat, a nice person, or my Lord and Savior? Only one response is correct.
PRAYER: Father, this world does not understand what is before it. The greatest gift in history was given and humanity prefers to wallow in its sin. Open our eyes to see our deepest need.
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