A Determined Faith Seeks Christ

A Journey of Faith With The Magi Part 4

Matthew 2:3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed and all Jerusalem with him.

News about the fulfillment of the prophesy about a Messiah was not well received by King Herod or the people in Jerusalem. It’s interesting when you look at the chronology of the events in the first three verses of Matthew 2, it’s not how it’s often portrayed:

• Verse 1, the magi arrive in Jerusalem
• Verse 2, they start asking around about the “one born King of the Jews”
• Verse 3, eventually Herod hears about it

The magi do not seek an audience with Herod. They start asking about the location of the new-born king. The news about the birth of Jesus spreads through Jerusalem. Eventually, Herod hears about it from someone on the street. It demonstrates that King Herod was paranoid enough to have spies keeping tabs on what was going on in Jerusalem.

Another interesting thing in verse three is that it says they were all disturbed. Think about it. It says, “Herod and all of Jerusalem.” In a time with no cell phones, television and the Internet, the news still traveled fast. So why would they be disturbed by this news? Isn’t this what the Israelites longed for since their exile, a Messiah to save them? Or maybe it was because they said he was already born and they did even know it had happened.

The people in Jerusalem were caught unprepared for the news of the birth of the Messiah, yet they don’t respond with excitement. Contrast this to the sacrifice the magi made to travel to Jerusalem and their desire to put their faith into action. They are totally focused on Christ. Their boldness in asking about the Messiah spreads the news that Christ was born. Remember, they only asked one question and look at the response they received from all in Jerusalem.

What is your response to Christ? Are you like the magi who were bold in professing the Messiah’s birth and not worried about what others might think? Are you true to your faith even in asking a simple question that could have a major impact?

Next Post: Follow the Faith of the Magi Instead of Facts

This post originally published Dec. 13, 2010.

© 2010 CGThelen