And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet,
The chief priests and scribes answered Herod that the Messiah, Christ, the expected King, was to be born in Bethlehem of Judea because the prophet had written it. Bethlehem is not insignificant, for from it was to come a Ruler and Governor to shepherd and rule Israel, and Jesus' birth there fulfilled this and marked Him as that promised Ruler. Though the priests and scribes knew this testimony and Herod knew the prophetic word, they did not welcome or seek the infant Christ, and Herod was determined to destroy Him while the people were absorbed in their own plans and unaware of His coming. The wise men had learned from the prophecies by searching the Scriptures that His coming was near, and God revealed Him to them in a way suited to them by a remarkable star attended by angels leading them onward, so that men from a distant foreign land found Him in Bethlehem as a babe in a manger and worshiped Him with gold, frankincense, and myrrh as the Son of God and Saviour. Their homage proves no sacrifice is too costly to offer the exalted Son of God, calling for gifts and thanksgiving to be directed to God's work and to helping those in need, for the shepherds and the Eastern magi gave heed to the light they received while the proud and unbelieving failed to recognize their time of visitation.
Bethlehem's Prophesied Birthplace
The reply given to Herod was that the expected King, the Messiah, Christ, was to be born in Bethlehem of Judea because the prophet had written it. It was the chief priests and scribes who gave this answer to his inquiry, identifying from prophetic scripture the birthplace of the infant king. They knew this prophetic testimony, yet their knowledge did not lead them to welcome or seek the infant Christ.
The prophecy means Bethlehem is not insignificant, for out of it would come a Ruler and Governor who would shepherd and rule Israel. Jesus' birth in Bethlehem fulfilled what the Scriptures foretold, marking Him as that promised ruler. The wise men searched the Scriptures and traced the prophecies to learn when Christ would come. Bethlehem was also David's birthplace, more than a thousand years earlier, and the infant Jesus was worshiped there by wise men from the East.
Priests, Herod and Wise Men
The priests and scribes gave Bethlehem in Judea as the birthplace of the Messiah in answer to Herod's inquiry, drawing the location from what the prophet had written. Their answer supplied Herod with the place of the infant king whom he feared as a rival to his throne. The chief priests and scribes knew this prophetic testimony, yet their knowledge did not lead them to welcome or seek the infant Christ.
Herod also knew the prophetic word about Christ's coming, but despite that knowledge he was determined to destroy Jesus. While wise men from a foreign land came to worship Him in Bethlehem of Judea, the Jewish people were absorbed in their own plans and unaware of His coming. In this way the prophetic identification of the birthplace stands joined to the leaders' failure to receive Him.
The wise men arrived in Jerusalem seeking the newborn King and Prince, asking about His birth. Their inquiries met surprise and fear rather than joy, and they found no one who seemed to know of Him. Yet their arrival and questions made the nation aware of the important events surrounding Jesus' coming. They had learned from prophetic writings that the Messiah's coming was near, and by searching the Scriptures and tracing the prophecies they learned when Christ would come, which guided them to search for Him. The shepherds of Bethlehem and the Eastern magi gave heed to the light they had received, and God revealed truth to them, unlike the proud and unbelieving who failed to recognize their time of visitation.
Star, Worship and Offerings
God met the Magi in a way fitted to them as readers of His works in the heavens, revealing Christ to them by a remarkable star attended by angels that moved before them and drew them onward. They studied the heavens, so a wonderful star appeared and led them, for angels appeared in the heavens in the shape of a star which the Magi saw and followed. The star in the east guided the wise men to find Jesus, and its guidance also pictures how souls who love Him can be led to Christ.
Signs and wonders were given in the heavens for the wise men from the east as they searched for Christ. His birth drew the attention of heaven, with angels announcing the Redeemer's arrival to shepherds keeping their flocks near Bethlehem and heavenly hosts praising Him over Bethlehem's plains.
Wise men from a distant foreign land in the east, guided by the star, came to Bethlehem of Judea to find Jesus and worship Him. They came to honor Him while He was but a babe cradled in a manger, bringing precious gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh and bending in homage before Him. Their precious gifts and homage showed they recognized His exalted position as Son of God and Saviour and the honor due Him more clearly and definitely than His own disciples did, even though the disciples received His instruction and beheld His mighty miracles while the Jewish people were absorbed in their own plans and unaware of His coming. Their homage proves that no sacrifice is too costly to offer to the exalted Son of God. These gifts show that Christ's birth calls for offerings to honor God, with gifts and thanksgiving directed to God's work and to helping those in need rather than diverted to selfish indulgence or human glory.
Christ's birth in Bethlehem of Judea, in the humble setting of an inn's manger, fulfilled the plan of redemption. He entered human life there and passed through its stages, temptations, and needs so that He could sanctify every part of human experience and show that people need not continue in sin.
The chief priests and scribes answered Herod that the Messiah, Christ, the expected King, was to be born in Bethlehem of Judea because the prophet had written it.
Bethlehem is not insignificant, for from it was to come a Ruler and Governor to shepherd and rule Israel, and Jesus' birth there fulfilled this and marked Him as that promised Ruler.
Though the priests and scribes knew this testimony and Herod knew the prophetic word, they did not welcome or seek the infant Christ, and Herod was determined to destroy Him while the people were absorbed in their own plans and unaware of His coming.
The wise men had learned from the prophecies by searching the Scriptures that His coming was near, and God revealed Him to them in a way suited to them by a remarkable star attended by angels leading them onward, so that men from a distant foreign land found Him in Bethlehem as a babe in a manger and worshiped Him with gold, frankincense, and myrrh as the Son of God and Saviour.
Their homage proves no sacrifice is too costly to offer the exalted Son of God, calling for gifts and thanksgiving to be directed to God's work and to helping those in need, for the shepherds and the Eastern magi gave heed to the light they received while the proud and unbelieving failed to recognize their time of visitation.
Bethlehem's Prophesied Birthplace
The reply given to Herod was that the expected King, the Messiah, Christ, was to be born in Bethlehem of Judea because the prophet had written it. It was the chief priests and scribes who gave this answer to his inquiry, identifying from prophetic scripture the birthplace of the infant king. They knew this prophetic testimony, yet their knowledge did not lead them to welcome or seek the infant Christ.
The prophecy means Bethlehem is not insignificant, for out of it would come a Ruler and Governor who would shepherd and rule Israel. Jesus' birth in Bethlehem fulfilled what the Scriptures foretold, marking Him as that promised ruler. The wise men searched the Scriptures and traced the prophecies to learn when Christ would come. Bethlehem was also David's birthplace, more than a thousand years earlier, and the infant Jesus was worshiped there by wise men from the East.
Priests, Herod and Wise Men
The priests and scribes gave Bethlehem in Judea as the birthplace of the Messiah in answer to Herod's inquiry, drawing the location from what the prophet had written. Their answer supplied Herod with the place of the infant king whom he feared as a rival to his throne. The chief priests and scribes knew this prophetic testimony, yet their knowledge did not lead them to welcome or seek the infant Christ.
Herod also knew the prophetic word about Christ's coming, but despite that knowledge he was determined to destroy Jesus. While wise men from a foreign land came to worship Him in Bethlehem of Judea, the Jewish people were absorbed in their own plans and unaware of His coming. In this way the prophetic identification of the birthplace stands joined to the leaders' failure to receive Him.
The wise men arrived in Jerusalem seeking the newborn King and Prince, asking about His birth. Their inquiries met surprise and fear rather than joy, and they found no one who seemed to know of Him. Yet their arrival and questions made the nation aware of the important events surrounding Jesus' coming. They had learned from prophetic writings that the Messiah's coming was near, and by searching the Scriptures and tracing the prophecies they learned when Christ would come, which guided them to search for Him. The shepherds of Bethlehem and the Eastern magi gave heed to the light they had received, and God revealed truth to them, unlike the proud and unbelieving who failed to recognize their time of visitation.
Star, Worship and Offerings
God met the Magi in a way fitted to them as readers of His works in the heavens, revealing Christ to them by a remarkable star attended by angels that moved before them and drew them onward. They studied the heavens, so a wonderful star appeared and led them, for angels appeared in the heavens in the shape of a star which the Magi saw and followed. The star in the east guided the wise men to find Jesus, and its guidance also pictures how souls who love Him can be led to Christ.
Signs and wonders were given in the heavens for the wise men from the east as they searched for Christ. His birth drew the attention of heaven, with angels announcing the Redeemer's arrival to shepherds keeping their flocks near Bethlehem and heavenly hosts praising Him over Bethlehem's plains.
Wise men from a distant foreign land in the east, guided by the star, came to Bethlehem of Judea to find Jesus and worship Him. They came to honor Him while He was but a babe cradled in a manger, bringing precious gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh and bending in homage before Him. Their precious gifts and homage showed they recognized His exalted position as Son of God and Saviour and the honor due Him more clearly and definitely than His own disciples did, even though the disciples received His instruction and beheld His mighty miracles while the Jewish people were absorbed in their own plans and unaware of His coming. Their homage proves that no sacrifice is too costly to offer to the exalted Son of God. These gifts show that Christ's birth calls for offerings to honor God, with gifts and thanksgiving directed to God's work and to helping those in need rather than diverted to selfish indulgence or human glory.
Christ's birth in Bethlehem of Judea, in the humble setting of an inn's manger, fulfilled the plan of redemption. He entered human life there and passed through its stages, temptations, and needs so that He could sanctify every part of human experience and show that people need not continue in sin.