The Story of the Wise Men, Part 2 (Matthew 2:1-12)

The wise men from the East had asked King Herod, “Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the East and are come to worship him?” Right away, Herod gathered together all the chief priests and scribes of the people and demanded that they tell him where Christ was to be born. These men had studied the scriptures, and they knew without question that Jesus would be born in Bethlehem of Judea, and that’s what they told the King. Yesterday, we discussed that Herod was an evil man and that he would come up with an evil plan to destroy Jesus. He met with the wise men from the east a second time and told them that the new born King was somewhere in Bethlehem and he said to them, “Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also.” Did King Herod really want the wise men to find Jesus so he could worship him? No, he was telling a big fat lie; he really wanted to destroy Jesus, but the wise men did not know it at the time. As soon as the wise men left Herod to go to Bethlehem, another miracle happened that caused them to become very excited and happy. The Bible says that when they left the King, “the star which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.” Wow! What will happen next? Do you think the wise men will get to see and worship Jesus, and what do you think will happen to King Herod’s evil plan to kill Jesus? That’s for tomorrow, and it is probably the most exciting part of this Bible Story.