#43 The Christmas Story: The Birth of Jesus
Historical Context
After Jesus was born in Bethlehem, Matthew 2 tells us that a group of astrologers from the east came to Jerusalem because they wanted to find the One who was born king of the Jews. They had followed a star but now they needed more specific directions. They knew when he was born but, they didn’t know exactly where. Interestingly, these astrologers came from the land that was once called Assyria, the very place that had invaded Israel centuries earlier! Instead of coming as soldiers, these men come as seekers of truth. Herod, who was the king in Judea, was threatened by the news that another king had been born so he called together all the chief priests and the teachers of the law and had just one specific question for them: “Where is the Christ supposed to be born?” Though Herod was a practicing Jew, meaning that he observed their rituals, he was not really familiar with the Old Testament, so he had to rely on someone else to tell him what it said;
Matthew 2:5-6
5 So they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet: 6 ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
Are not the least among the rulers of Judah; For out of you shall come a Ruler, Who will shepherd My people Israel.”
New King James Version
