Priests and Scribes

When the wise men from the East arrived in Jerusalem, the city was taken by surprise.  No one was expecting a Messiah, a deliverer of the Hebrew people to be born.  Of course, the writings of the prophets spoke of the coming of such a One, but no one paid any attention to the words of prophets who spoke for Lord back in the dark ages.  The priests and scribes whom King Herod consulted for advice told him rightly when they quoted the prophet Micah saying, "Bethlehem of Judea," (Micah 5:2)  but not even they seemed to put much credence in the claims of the men from the East.

 

Had they put much stock in what these strange men were saying, it surely seems that a committee of priests from Jerusalem would have at least gone to Bethlehem to see if there was any sign of such a royal birth.  If they had shown up out of curiosity, their presence would have been noted along with the shepherds and the later arriving men from the East.  Obviously, they stayed at home.  No road trip was necessary for them.  Not even King Herod thought enough about it to tell them go, but then he came up with a different plan when the men from the East ignored him and returned home by another route.

 

The truth is no one really seem to be expecting someone like Jesus to show up on the world stage in those days.  Not even those who should have known and should have been expecting bothered to check it out.  It is not so hard to understand.  There is something of them in most of us.  What we know as the authoritative Word of God tells us again and again that as believers Jesus dwells in our midst and in our hearts.  Yet, most of us go about our daily routine living as if encountering Him or hearing from Him as we make a way through this maze of life is not something which we really expect to happen.  Those scribes and priests should have known and should have been expecting as should we.