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.

Jan. 4—Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying .Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw ...

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 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 ...

The other significant character in Matthew’s tale is King Herod, the local Judean ruler, a puppet of the Romans. Herod’s reaction to the magi’s visit is extreme, probably unhistorical, and ...

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.

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.

But the magi were warned in a dream not to return to Herod, and so they left for their own country by another road” and were never heard from again (Matthew 2:12). Building a backstory ...

Tricked by the Magi, the wise men whom Herod had sent to determine where the infant was, a raging Herod decreed that all children 2 and under who live near Bethlehem are to be killed. The Gospel of ...