Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared.
Herod secretly brought the wise men to himself and carefully questioned them about when the star first appeared. Though troubled, angry, fearful and alarmed at news of a newborn king, he hid his feelings behind a courteous, calm and respectful manner. He pretended to welcome the report and claimed he wanted to know where the child was so he too could honor and worship him. His true aim was hostile, for he feared the child as a rival to his throne and sought the time and place in order to find and destroy him.
Herod's Secret Inquiry
Herod drew the wise men aside to himself in private and questioned them closely and carefully about the star, pressing to learn exactly when it had appeared and when it was first seen. His secret, diligent inquiry was aimed at fixing the time of its appearing with precision. Inwardly he was troubled and distressed, filled with anger and fear, envious and alarmed at the news of a newborn king. Yet he hid all that agitation behind a courteous and respectful bearing, keeping a calm, pleased and welcoming manner toward his visitors.
He made as though he welcomed the tidings of Christ's birth and asked to be told where the child was to be found. His stated reason was that he himself wished to go and honor the infant King and pay him worship. That profession of reverence was only pretense and hypocrisy to cover a murderous design. He regarded the child as a rival who would grow up to be king, threatening his own hold on rule and the claim of his descendants to the throne.
For that reason he wanted both the time and the place, so that he could trace and find the infant and put him to death. His careful questioning about the star served that hostile purpose of destroying the supposed rival.
The Wise Men and Star
The wise men were philosophers belonging to an influential class that included persons of noble birth and much of their nation's wealth and learning, yet while others of that class deceived the people, they were upright students of God's providence in nature and were honored for integrity and wisdom. They studied the heavens together with the Hebrew Scriptures and prophecy in seeking knowledge of the coming Messiah, and by that study determined that the time of His coming was near.
The star whose time Herod sought to learn appeared on the night Jesus was born, when the glory of God flooded the hills of Bethlehem, and as that light faded a luminous star appeared and lingered in the sky. That star was not a fixed star or planet but a distant company of shining angels, though the wise men did not know this, for God reached them through the heavens they studied, with angels appearing as a star that moved ahead of them. Impressed that the star had special meaning for them, they consulted priests and philosophers, searched ancient records, and joined it to Balaam's prophecy of a star and scepter in Israel as the harbinger of the Promised One, and having welcomed heaven-sent truth from nature and the Hebrew Scriptures they received clearer light and were instructed through dreams to go in search of the newborn Prince.
Signs in the heavens were given to them as they searched, and they began their journey from a distant country in the East, following the star as it guided them. When the star had rested above the temple and then faded from view near Jerusalem, they made inquiries in Judah that made the nation aware of their journey and its purpose, expecting the Messiah's birth to be widely celebrated but finding no one who seemed to know of the newborn King. The star recognized Christ and led them to where He lay, guiding them to Jesus in the manger. They recognized His true position and the honor due Him, bowed in homage before Him as a babe, and presented costly gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
Their heeding the light they had received stands as an example of accepting God's revealed light, in contrast to those who failed to recognize the time of their visitation. The same star guides those who seek Him so they may find the One their souls love.
Herod secretly brought the wise men to himself and carefully questioned them about when the star first appeared. Though troubled, angry, fearful and alarmed at news of a newborn king, he hid his feelings behind a courteous, calm and respectful manner. He pretended to welcome the report and claimed he wanted to know where the child was so he too could honor and worship him. His true aim was hostile, for he feared the child as a rival to his throne and sought the time and place in order to find and destroy him.
Herod's Secret Inquiry
Herod drew the wise men aside to himself in private and questioned them closely and carefully about the star, pressing to learn exactly when it had appeared and when it was first seen. His secret, diligent inquiry was aimed at fixing the time of its appearing with precision. Inwardly he was troubled and distressed, filled with anger and fear, envious and alarmed at the news of a newborn king. Yet he hid all that agitation behind a courteous and respectful bearing, keeping a calm, pleased and welcoming manner toward his visitors.
He made as though he welcomed the tidings of Christ's birth and asked to be told where the child was to be found. His stated reason was that he himself wished to go and honor the infant King and pay him worship. That profession of reverence was only pretense and hypocrisy to cover a murderous design. He regarded the child as a rival who would grow up to be king, threatening his own hold on rule and the claim of his descendants to the throne.
For that reason he wanted both the time and the place, so that he could trace and find the infant and put him to death. His careful questioning about the star served that hostile purpose of destroying the supposed rival.
The Wise Men and Star
The wise men were philosophers belonging to an influential class that included persons of noble birth and much of their nation's wealth and learning, yet while others of that class deceived the people, they were upright students of God's providence in nature and were honored for integrity and wisdom. They studied the heavens together with the Hebrew Scriptures and prophecy in seeking knowledge of the coming Messiah, and by that study determined that the time of His coming was near.
The star whose time Herod sought to learn appeared on the night Jesus was born, when the glory of God flooded the hills of Bethlehem, and as that light faded a luminous star appeared and lingered in the sky. That star was not a fixed star or planet but a distant company of shining angels, though the wise men did not know this, for God reached them through the heavens they studied, with angels appearing as a star that moved ahead of them. Impressed that the star had special meaning for them, they consulted priests and philosophers, searched ancient records, and joined it to Balaam's prophecy of a star and scepter in Israel as the harbinger of the Promised One, and having welcomed heaven-sent truth from nature and the Hebrew Scriptures they received clearer light and were instructed through dreams to go in search of the newborn Prince.
Signs in the heavens were given to them as they searched, and they began their journey from a distant country in the East, following the star as it guided them. When the star had rested above the temple and then faded from view near Jerusalem, they made inquiries in Judah that made the nation aware of their journey and its purpose, expecting the Messiah's birth to be widely celebrated but finding no one who seemed to know of the newborn King. The star recognized Christ and led them to where He lay, guiding them to Jesus in the manger. They recognized His true position and the honor due Him, bowed in homage before Him as a babe, and presented costly gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
Their heeding the light they had received stands as an example of accepting God's revealed light, in contrast to those who failed to recognize the time of their visitation. The same star guides those who seek Him so they may find the One their souls love.