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demands!

Matthew 2:3&4
"3 When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born."

This week we are studying the WISE MEN seeking the newborn King. This group of travelers showing up in the court of King Herod was a challenge to the King. "Saying, 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." Herod might have thought they were looking for him. Only to be embarrassed to learn otherwise. The Wise Men would be experiencing first hand the tension and wicked nature of Herod's rule.

Herod thought he was the one and only King of the Jews. And, he would NOT entertain the idea of ANY competition. He did not like this news and if King Herod was not happy, nobody was happy. "...he was TROUBLED, and all Jerusalem with him." Outsiders had come in and embarrassed him. He is assuredly making his subjects very uncomfortable by letting things happen this way. "And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he DEMANDED of them where Christ should be born."

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