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of the Jews? For we have seen His star[1] in the East, and are come to adore Him.”[2] Herod, hearing this, was troubled[3], and all Jerusalem [4] with him. And having assembled all the chief priests[5] and scribes[6], and the ancients of the people, he inquired of them where Christ (the promised Messias) should be born[7].
- ↑ His star. This star which the Magi, before they left their home, had seen rising in the direction of Judaea, and therefore in the west, was no ordinary star, for it “went before them” from Jerusalem to Bethlehem, and there stopped over the house where the Child Jesus dwelt. It was, we may suppose, a sort of meteor, an appearance of light in the form of a star, of an extraordinary and brilliant description. The holy bishop of Antioch, Ignatius, a disciple of the apostle St. John, thus writes about it in his epistle to the Ephesians: “A star appeared in the heavens which eclipsed all the other stars; its light was indescribable, and its novelty caused astonishment.” The holy kings who, full of faith, were waiting for the promised Saviour, by divine inspiration recognised this star to be the sign which was to herald the Birth of the Messias; therefore they called it His star.
- ↑ Adore Him. The star had only directed the wise men generally towards Judaea and had then temporarily vanished. They were so firmly convinced that the Messias was born that they never thought of inquiring if He were born — but only where He was to be found. They hoped to be able to learn this at the capital of Judaea, so they travelled straight to Jerusalem. The appearance of these strangers with their servants and camels naturally caused a great sensation in Jerusalem, which was changed to a state of painful excitement, when the strangers asserted that the Messias was already born.
- ↑ Troubled. He feared, being hated as he was for his cruelty, that, if the Messias were really come, the Jews would turn against himself and dethrone him.
- ↑ All Jerusalem. The inhabitants of Jerusalem said thus to themselves: “How? The Messias born, and we know nothing about it 1 God has revealed it to these strangers and not to us l What does it mean?” And when they found out that the king was troubled by the news, they, with reason, dreaded new acts of cruelty on his part.
- ↑ Chief priests. Namely, the actual High Priest and those who had on former occasions held the office. In violation of the law, the High Priest was often deposed by the temporal authority, and consequently there were several High Priests at once, the actual and the former ones.
- ↑ Scribes. Since there had been no more prophets, these scribes were the authorized expounders and interpreters of Holy Scripture.
- ↑ Where Christ should be born. The wise men had inquired for the “newborn king of the Jews”. Herod quite understood whom this expression meant, for he asked the chief priests where the Messias, or Christ, was to be born. Herod was more of a pagan than a Jew, and was not well acquainted with the prophecies about the Messias. Therefore he sent for the appointed interpreters of Scripture, to inquire of them the place where the Redeemer should be born.
