The aberrations of unbelief - All The Good Seed Daily Devotionals for 2023

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, Where is he who has been born King of the Jews? … When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
Matthew 2:1-3.

The aberrations of unbelief
In the account of the visit of the Magi who came to worship the Child Jesus, the cruelty of Herod is equalled only by his lack of logic.

Here the unbeliever takes the announcement of the Magi seriously. He already sees in the Child a usurper to the throne. If he exists, Herod thinks, he must disappear at once. Immediately he summons responsible religious leaders. Do the holy scriptures state where the Messiah is to be born? The reply is formal: In Bethlehem. Why does an ungodly king pay attention to prophecies 700 years old? He instantly sends the Magi to Bethlehem. Does he have doubts when those visitors return home without warning him? Did they find that Child whose birth was accompanied by cosmic phenomena? Does he believe it or not? If he doesn’t, why does he have all the young boys in that village killed? What madness, what incoherence, what cruelty in a monarch who died shortly afterwards! Indeed, that God whom he denied he wished to kill. Such are the aberrations in the mind of a man under the domination of Satan, God’s enemy.

Do we wish to be delivered from that satanic power that governs the world and manipulates people’s hearts? The very One whom Herod wanted to kill, Jesus, the Son of God, today definitely saves people from Satan and the power of darkness. Whoever believes in the Lord Jesus and His work of redemption and forgiveness is joined to Him for ever.

Today’s reading: Zechariah 14:6-21 · Mark 15:16-28