Welcome to a year in the Bible with Daily Grace.

My name is Kristen and my name is Katie,

and we want to spend a few minutes a day with you

walking through the New Testament, one chapter at a time.

This year, we will fix our gaze upon Christ so that we may know Him,

not only with our minds, but with our hearts.

Together, we will learn that who Jesus is changes everything.

Welcome back to a year in the Bible with Daily Grace. Today, we continue our study of the New Testament with Matthew Chapter 2.

My name is Kristen Schmucker, and as a reminder, I am using the free Behold reading plan and the Behold study guide from the Daily Grace Go.

And I will link those for you in the show notes.

This chapter details the account of the wise men that followed a star to come worship the young Jesus.

In this chapter, we see a variety of responses to Jesus, and through it all, we behold Jesus,

who is worthy of worship and adoration. The wise men were likely Gentile philosophers or astronomers

who arrived in Israel sometime after the birth of Jesus. They had made a long journey, which

means they probably did not show up to the manger as depicted

in nativity sets at Christmas time. The Magi came to Jerusalem to ask King Herod I where

they could find the newborn king, and Herod did not respond well to this news. Herod I was the

King of Didia under the Roman Empire, and sadly his actions in response to the news of Jesus' birth

is fitting with the rest of his reign and what we see in history about him. This is a man who

killed several of his own sons and even his wife, because of how paranoid he was about losing his

power. Interestingly, Herod consulted with the religious leaders about where the Messiah

would be born. The religious leaders who had studied the Hebrew scripture knew where to point him.

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