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ed. Thus did th e Jew ish leaders (Lk. 20 : 20 , 21 ) “ And th ey w atch ed him, and sent fo rth spies, which should feign them selves lu st men, th at th ey m ight tak e hold of his words, that so they m igh t deliver him unto the pow er and au th ority o f the govern or. And th ey asked him , sayin g, M aster, w e kn ow th at thou sa yest and teach est rig h t ly, neither acccptest thou the person of any, but teach est the w a y o f God tru ly.” He outw its th e Magi; he deceives the scribes, b u t now he has to deal w ith , God. (Psa. 2 :4 ) W hat an illu stration of God’s ene mies who hope to overcome His de clared purposés and bring to n augh t His promises. Judas-like, they would kiss Him to the death. P retend ing to be His followers, men would sell Him for a few pieces of silver. (Matt. 15:7, 8) “ Y e hypocrites, w ell did E s a ia s prophesy o f you sayin g, T h is people d raw eth nigh unto me w ith their mouth, and honoreth me w ith their Ups | but their h eart is fa r from me.” (3) Honor to th e King, vs. 9-12 “They * * * fell down and worshipped him .” The wise men go on th e ir way. Guided by th e sta r and assured by the Word of God, they follow on un til they find th e Child over whom th e sta r rests. They have come a long way, endured many trials, in order th a t they m ight worship th e King. They find Him in th e stable of th e inn. There are no signs of royalty, no pomp and splendor, no guards, no palace. Lying in a man ger and attended by H is mother, is the long sought for, long prophesied King. Their faith does not waver. They have followed the divine direction and they believe they have found Him who is to be worshipped. A lready Jesus had received the homage of th e humble shepherds to whom th e heavenly v isi tan ts proclaimed the message of peace and good will. (II Pet. 1 :19) “ W e h ave also a more su re w o rd of proph ecy; whereunto y e do w ell that ye tak e heed, a s unto a lig h t that shineth in a dark place, until the d ay dawn, and the d aystar arise in you r hearts.” Simeon had held Him in his arms, adored Him and sung His praises; Anna, the prophetess, had given th ank s for His appearing. Now the Gentiles from
chief priests; to find out where th e King was to be born. A lthough he was ru ler and an educated man he knew b u t little of th e Scriptures. Any Jew ish child should have been able to tell him where it was prophesied th a t th e King should be born, (Micah 5:2) “ Hut thou, Bethlehem Ep h ratah , though thou he little am ong the thousands of Ju d ah , y e t out of thee sh all he come forth unto me th at is to he ru ler in Israeli whose go in gs fo rth have been o f old, from everlastin g.” W hat a comment is th is on earthly greatness. We are not to expect from the g reat ones of earth much knowledge concerning the G reatest One whom to know is life eternal. The world was, a t th e season of His first advent, on the tiptoe of expecta tion, looking for some g reat event. The circumstances were most adverse, the need was very great, yet His coming was unexpected and unappreciated by the mass of the people. The people were filled w ith concern. Was this the fulfilling, of a prophecy? “Who shall abide his com ing?” (Mai. 3 :2 ). The Council could give Herod the facts of Scripture, could lay the'ir hands on the very words, bu t th eir h earts were filled w ith unbelief. They pointed the way, b u t they did not them selves seek th e young King. They were busily engaged in studying the Scriptures, bu t indifferent to their sp iritual application. Herod— finding out where th e King is to be born— seeks to hinder the ful fillment of Scripture by hum an agency. W hat strang e inconsistency,— looking up prophecy, believing it, then hoping to evade it! He poses as a worshipper, bu t h e is a pious fraud. Under th e cloak, of sanctity he proposes to slay the new-born king. He had m urdered the b ro ther and g rand fath er of his wife, his own wife, Mariamne, and her mother, and had p u t to death two of his own sons. Now he seeks to lay bis murderous hands on God’s Anoint-
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