The Star

                                     

My family and I  watched a DVD named The Bethlehem of Star.  The DVD gave me a lot to think about, but one thing that jumped out at me was Herod's reaction to the Magi's announcement which was written in Matthews 2:1-12:

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him."

When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. When he had called together all the people's chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ was to be born. "In Bethlehem in Judea," they replied, "for this is what the prophet has written:
" 'But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
      are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
   for out of you will come a ruler
      who will be the shepherd of my people Israel."

Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him."

I had first noticed "When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him." when I was putting together my Christmas 2008 post and then it was highlighted again in the Star of Bethlehem DVD.   Why would King Herod & all of Jerusalem be disturbed?

First I wanted to look at, "Who was King Herod?"  I did some research and although by no means exhaustive, I built this thumbnail sketch. I'd remembered watching a program about him on the History Channel and I went to their web site to get some information as well as reading some of  Flavius Josephus' works.

Herod was born of Arab parents in Palestine around 74 B.C. and made king over Judea in 39 B.C.  Herod made efforts to ingratiate himself with the Jewish people and further promote his rule by marrying Mariamne, a princess from the former Jewish Royal Family and rebuilding the Temple in Jerusalem.  Herod undoes any goodwill he may have fostered when kills Mariamne, her brother and her sons after Herod suspects them of plotting against him.  Another action that put him at odds with the Jewish people is when Herod placed an golden eagle over the main gate to the Temple.  While Herod professed to being a follower of the Jewish religion, his actions and lack of knowledge demonstrated that he was likely a follower of that faith in name only.  He does have enough belief in the religion to call the religious leaders together to ask where the Christ, or Messiah, is to be born and to send the Magi to the location of Bethlehem and his future actions would denote that he took the birth of Christ seriously.

Herod would seem to do anything to protect his position as ruler and the status quo.  Was Herod and the Jewish people disturbed by the birth of Jesus a fear of losing position, power and wealth?

It would certainly seem so since Herod sent his armies into Bethlehem to kill all of the male children who were in Jesus' age bracket, to ensure a new king would not threaten his position and life style. (see Matthew 2:16-18)

What a contrast between Herod's response to Christ and the  Magi's response to Christ.  The Magi make the statement "We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him."  They desired to worship Christ.  There's some speculation that the Magi were from the area of Babylon and if that is true, they would have traveled over 536 miles or 862 kilometers to reach Bethlehem. A camel caravan travels approximately 25 miles a day.  It would have taken the Magi around 21 days to travel from Babylon to Bethlehem.  The gifts they brought would have come at a great cost. Neither cost, discomfort, or fear from Herod's retaliation dissuaded them from reaching Jesus. 

When each of us is face with Christ and the sacrificial gift he has given us, do we push it away in fear of change to our lifestyle, family connections or position? Or as the Magi, do we seek to know more about him with a desire to worship him and accept his gift of salvation?