When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet, And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.
Matthew 2:3-6
In this passage in the book of Matthew, there is one small part of the story of Herod and the wise men that I had never noticed before this year. We all know that when Herod heard about the coming King, he was angry. We all know what Herod did to try to eliminate this newborn King. But what I had never noticed was this verse: “When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.” “…and all Jerusalem with him.”
Herod wasn’t the only one troubled by the thought of another King of the Jews. “All Jerusalem with him” was troubled. They were likely living well in the regional capital and probably didn’t want anything or anyone coming in and disturbing their routine. They probably didn’t want anyone rocking the boat.
It wasn’t just Herod who was disturbed at the coming King. It was all of the people around him, too. The two ways in which people respond to the coming of Jesus cannot be more clear: there were those excited about his coming and who worshipped Him, and then there were those who were troubled at His coming. Hopefully, we find ourselves in the correct group during this Christmas season!
Justified Freely 