Matthew 2:3

NLT: 3 King Herod was deeply disturbed when he heard this, as was everyone in Jerusalem. 

I was going to copy in more translations but they don't really differ on this specific verse.

So King Herod receives news from the wise men that they had seen the Messiah's star (He'd been born), and that they had come to worship Him. The idea that he was 'deeply disturbed' by that news stood out to me as I read this passage.

This news is about as dramatic as it gets. In a culture that is so religion focussed, hearing that the messiah had been born - the centre piece of the scriptures, is bound to have a dramatic response. 

I don't see this response being like a "Kathleen Wynne actually won the election," response, this is more of a "fear for my life" level response. Herod wasn't just a disgruntled conservative, he went to the extent of killing everyone born in the last 2 years in that area he was so scared. 

What surprised me is that all of Jerusalem and Herod alike reacted this way. Not just disturbed, but doing anything to try and stop His coming. This speaks to a lot of things, and it especially speaks to how much of a grip evil had on the people back then. How messed up religion was.

The scriptures point to Jesus, as being many things, but the fact that He will bring them salvation you would imagine might be a pretty cool thing to hear, that there would be some hope. But to me it sounds like the people instinctively knew they were off base, and knew that the messiah being born meant they weren't going to be able to carry on the same way they were. Perhaps they desired that. Or perhaps they had no clue why every ounce of their being was afraid that The Messiah had come.

The only person that could save them from death had been born right there into their society, but they didn't want it. They weren't looking for Him, and He'd come to mess everything up for them.

The reaction to the news of His birth I think is characteristic of how a lot of people continued to feel towards Him throughout His life. It baffles me how the Pharisees could still go on believing what they did, after some of them seeing what they saw first hand, and it was no different right from His point of birth.

As disturbing as that is, reading how rampant evil was in that time, I think the story of His birth, and His whole life alike, are an encouragement in the sense that victory is imminent. What could ever stop what He has planned? As hard as I try I can't draw that comparison adequately. There is no comparison to what evil tries to do and God's ability, God's victory over death. It's just empty. But Herod tried to resist God's will, and all he did was kill a bunch of babies in the process, gaining nothing.

God's will is just as inevitable today, and evil is just as empty.