Matt.2:1,2 – Now 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? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”
The story of the birth of Christ has the sense of mystery and divine revelation proving it was not contrived by man. The Lord of Creation came to live among us and he showed Himself to shepherds and foreigners. Surely he would have told the scribes and the teachers of the law but He didn’t. Those who searched the scripture all of their lives were taken totally by surprise. It was in the prophetic scripture that His story had been preserved but none of the spiritual leaders had any warning, He sent angels to shepherds in the field and a sign from heaven to strangers from a distant strange land. Here is how Charles Spurgeon describes this.
“The incarnation of the Son of God was one of the greatest events in the history of the universe. Its actual occurrence was not, however, known to all mankind, but was specially revealed to the shepherds of Bethlehem and to certain wise men of the east. To shepherds—the illiterate, men little versed in human learning—the angels in choral song made known the birth of the Savior, Christ the Lord, and they hastened to Bethlehem to see the great sight; while the Scribes, the writers of the law and expounders of it, knew nothing concerning the long-promised birth of the Messiah. No angelic bands entered the assembly of the Sanhedrim and proclaimed that the Christ was born; and when the chief priests and Pharisees were met together, though they gathered around copies of the law to consider where Christ should be born, yet it was not known to them that he was actually come, nor do they seem to have taken more than a passing interest in the matter, though they might have known that then was the time spoken of by the prophets when the great Messiah should come.”
So the Lord chose the least likely to reveal the mystery of His birth. Unlearned shepherds taking care of their flocks had an angelic visit. Gentiles who were despised by the Jewish people, had a sign in the heavens announcing the birth of the Lord. So the general population in Israel continued in their lives as normal unaware of the most important event in history taking place right under their noses. In many ways it is the same today. The multitudes hustle and bustle with their holiday plans with no understanding of the magnitude of the great day called Christmas. God has become a man, He took all of our sins in His human body to the cross. He was raised up from the dead and is seated in heaven as our mediator, and the best news of all ….. there are signs all around us that He will return to earth very soon.
