The Magi likely assumed that the newborn King would be related to the current king, so Herod’s surprise may have confused them. And Herod seems more than surprised; he seems threatened and agitated.

Herod meets the Magi and immediately lies to them about wanting to worship this child. The first readers in Matthew’s time, and we today, know it’s a lie, even if the Magi did not.

The magi have the freedom to visit, but Herod knows that if it is true that God is now working anew, surprisingly, without prior authorization, then his throne is no longer safe.

King Herod had heard rumors of the birth of a new “king” and jealously sought out the baby. In the Book of Matthew, the magi stopped at Herod’s palace on their way to Bethlehem, and the king ...

Herod, on the other hand, is more familiar thanks to biblical references: according to the New Testament, he was the king who ordered the Massacre of the Innocents (the killing of all male infants in ...

The Magi likely assumed that the Newborn King would be related to the current king, so Herod’s surprise may have confused them. And Herod seems more than surprised; he seems threatened and agitated.

It was known by this name until 1838, when the American scholar Edward Robinson was the first to identify it as the palace-fortress of Herod the Great. Archaeological excavations at Herodium did ...

The Gospels depict many of these interfaith connections. The first is here in the second chapter of Matthew, as the Magi—usually thought to be Babylonian or Persian astrologers, perhaps of the ...

“Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east ... The Story of the Magi. Nelson Price; Dec 28, 2024 Dec 28, 2024; 0; 3 min to read.

And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed for their country by another way. — Matthew 2:1-12 (NAB) Pope Francis: ‘Admirabile signum’ In his apostolic letter on the ...

The Magi were troubled into action, too. They chased the star that didn’t make sense, halfway around the world, until they found the God of galaxies and peasants, and then they threw him a shower.