NO KING BESIDES ME

Christmas

We just want to dive into another part of the Christmas story!

Pray:  “God, I just simply want to say that I love you.  You are true.  Your story is real.  Help me to daily remember this Christmas season how good You are, even with all the stuff I have to struggle with.”

Grab Your Bible:  Read Matthew 2:1-16.

Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod. About that time some wise men from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking, ² “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose, and we have come to worship him.”

³ King Herod was deeply disturbed when he heard this, as was everyone in Jerusalem. ⁴ He called a meeting of the leading priests and teachers of religious law and asked, “Where is the Messiah supposed to be born?”

⁵ “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they said, “for this is what the prophet wrote:

⁶ ‘And you, O Bethlehem in the land of Judah,
are not least among the ruling cities of Judah,
for a ruler will come from you
who will be the shepherd for my people Israel.’”

⁷ Then Herod called for a private meeting with the wise men, and he learned from them the time when the star first appeared. ⁸ Then he told them, “Go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child. And when you find him, come back and tell me so that I can go and worship him, too!”

⁹ After this interview the wise men went their way. And the star they had seen in the east guided them to Bethlehem. It went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was. ¹⁰ When they saw the star, they were filled with joy! ¹¹ They entered the house and saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

¹² When it was time to leave, they returned to their own country by another route, for God had warned them in a dream not to return to Herod.

¹³ After the wise men were gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up! Flee to Egypt with the child and his mother,” the angel said. “Stay there until I tell you to return, because Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”

¹⁴ That night Joseph left for Egypt with the child and Mary, his mother,¹⁵ and they stayed there until Herod’s death. This fulfilled what the Lord had spoken through the prophet: “I called my Son out of Egypt.”

¹⁶ Herod was furious when he realized that the wise men had outwitted him. He sent soldiers to kill all the boys in and around Bethlehem who were two years old and under, based on the wise men’s report of the star’s first appearance.

That is a lot to take in for a story today.  But look back, what emotions are running through the wise men as they approached Jerusalem?  When they went into the palace to see Herod?  When they finally saw the baby Jesus?  When they heard from God in a dream to go home a different way?

What about King Herod?  What did he feel when he heard the news that there was a new king?

Joseph and Mary.  What emotions do you think they felt when the wise men came to visit?  Later, when they had to get up in the night and leave for a foreign country?  Did they get to tell their family good-bye?  They quickly found themselves as refugees in a strange land.

What is your reaction to the story?  Is it too familiar that you have no emotion?  Are you mad at King Herod?  Do you grieve with the parents who lost their young sons?  What about Joseph and Mary and baby Jesus?

Prayer:  “Father, today, begin to show me more of what it was like for You to come to earth as a baby.  I love You.”