1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”
3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:
6 “‘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 shepherd my people Israel.’”
I think many of us are used to a romanticized version of the Christmas story. Think: a quiet, cooing baby Jesus wrapped gingerly in clean linens, lying delicately on a bed of hay. Mary and Joseph gazing at him adoringly, completely unbothered by the aftermath of childbirth or the farm animals they are sharing a barn with. Three men in festive robes offering some extremely useful baby gear: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Angels floating in the sky under an unusually large four-pointed star. “All is calm, all is bright.”
We don’t often think about the chaos. Conception through the Holy Spirit. Lots of prophetic dreams! Mary giving birth far from home, potentially far from the support of family and community. The tyrannical reign of King Herod, on the throne at the time of Christ’s birth. The widespread massacre of infants and toddlers because Herod felt that a literal baby threatened his power.
I love how when Herod gathers the priests and teachers to understand more about the Messiah, they quote the prophecy from Micah 5:4, which says, “He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they will live securely, for then his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth.”
Jesus brought security to a shakable world. While the world may look different today than it did two thousand years ago, the chaos, trouble, and injustice we see are nothing new. In the midst of all this may we find our hope, stability, and peace in the Savior who stepped in.
