Day 27: Wise Men come to
Herod
Read Matthew 2:1-12
Matthew 2:2 - “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews?”
Soon after the Wise Men saw the star in the heavens for which they had been
searching for such a long time (see lesson 18), they began their journey to
Israel. This journey could have taken weeks or even months, depending on where
they lived. They came to Jerusalem – for where else would you expect to find a
new king to be born?
Their arrival, however, caused many people in Jerusalem to fear! Herod was
known as a very cruel man; he was so jealous of his power that he even killed
his own children because he feared they would try to take away his kingdom.
Herod was afraid of these Wise Men because they had a reputation for knowing
when leadership in a country was about to change. He called the Jewish
religious leaders to find out if they knew where this prophesied “king” was to
be born, and the leaders said it would be Bethlehem – about six miles from
Jerusalem.
Then Herod asked the Wise Men to find this king they were looking for, and
return to tell him where He was so Herod could also come worship Him. They
promised to return.
The evil one often tells us what we want to hear so he can lead us into a path
away from God. We may follow his path for a while, but God always calls us back
to Himself. Do we obey God’s voice?
*How have you been misled, thinking you were following Jesus?