This verse from the Bible casts light on... - All The Good Seed Daily Devotionals for 2026

When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
Matthew 2:3.

This verse from the Bible casts light on the conditions that were prevalent among the inhabitants of Jerusalem at the time of the birth of Jesus. Jesus Christ, the long promised King of the Jews, had at last been born, but the upper class of the nation were unaware of it. King Herod's ignorance of the fact need not surprise us, for he was not an Israelite, but an Idumean, a descendant of Esau, Jacob's brother. Shouldn't the Jewish scribes have known of this great incident? Weren't they expecting the birth of their Messiah?

In Luke 2 we read that the Redeemer's birth had been made known to some simple, God-fearing persons long before. Indeed, "the secret of the LORD is with those who fear him" (Psalm 25:14). It was for those who believed in and honoured God. Such were the shepherds of Bethlehem and also other God-fearing individuals. The religious leaders in Jerusalem were no such persons. What was worse: they, too, were "troubled", just as King Herod had been, when they heard that "the king of the Jews" had been born (Matthew 2:2).

That was the situation at the time of the Saviour's incarnation: shock, not jubilation. The Roman ruling class was hated by the Jews, and Herod's despotic rule terrorised them. Yet they preferred it to the reign of the Son of God. Why?

Jesus Christ had come to them to free them from every yoke that oppressed them. But they preferred living under foreign rule and the power of sin to acknowledging Jesus as their Lord.

However, then, just as today, there are individuals who personally accept Christ's liberation and serve the Saviour with joyful hearts.

Today's reading: 2 Chronicles 33:12-25 · Revelation 20:1-6