rl69
12-15-2016, 07:38 AM
He called a meeting of the leading priests and teachers of religious law and asked, "Where is the Messiah supposed to be born?"—Matthew 2:4 (http://harvest.us3.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=4f108f827aed8d503b5fca9fa&id=fe2625ec5b&e=3dd732485b)Imagine for a moment that you are living in first-century Israel. You hear mysterious visitors from the east speak of a star that has been leading them. Now, don't you think it might be a good idea to make the short journey of about five miles from Bethlehem to Jerusalem to check it out?
Herod was right in expecting an answer from the chief priests and scribes as to where the Messiah would be born, and they interpreted the writings of Micah properly. Yet they should have known better.
These men were the theological scholars of their day and knew the Scriptures inside and out. It was their job to study the Scriptures and number the letters and lines to ensure careful copying. They knew the Scriptures so well, but they cared so little. They knew where the Messiah would be born, but they didn't care about a baby king as much as an adult monarch who could line their pockets with gold. They were too busy to bother with Him.
Do you know one thing that can keep you from Christ more than anything else? It's religious pride. When you say, "I already know that" or "I've already heard that," it could actually dull your spiritual senses to the Word of God.
Sometimes when you hear the Word of God again and again, you can essentially enter into a place of complacency, a place of apathy. You might even find yourself asleep. I find it interesting that many of the Bible's warnings about waking up are actually addressed to believers. Believers can be asleep like these religious scholars who missed out on that epic event.
Even at Christmas, with all our celebrating of the birth of Christ, we can forget about Christ and fail to give Him a passing thought
Herod was right in expecting an answer from the chief priests and scribes as to where the Messiah would be born, and they interpreted the writings of Micah properly. Yet they should have known better.
These men were the theological scholars of their day and knew the Scriptures inside and out. It was their job to study the Scriptures and number the letters and lines to ensure careful copying. They knew the Scriptures so well, but they cared so little. They knew where the Messiah would be born, but they didn't care about a baby king as much as an adult monarch who could line their pockets with gold. They were too busy to bother with Him.
Do you know one thing that can keep you from Christ more than anything else? It's religious pride. When you say, "I already know that" or "I've already heard that," it could actually dull your spiritual senses to the Word of God.
Sometimes when you hear the Word of God again and again, you can essentially enter into a place of complacency, a place of apathy. You might even find yourself asleep. I find it interesting that many of the Bible's warnings about waking up are actually addressed to believers. Believers can be asleep like these religious scholars who missed out on that epic event.
Even at Christmas, with all our celebrating of the birth of Christ, we can forget about Christ and fail to give Him a passing thought