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angels did in Old Testament. A chorus of angels joined him and gave an anthem of praise. The glory of
God had returned to earth for the first time in 400 years!

“Good tidings of great joy” is better translated, “GOOD NEWS”. This is the same word for “good news”
in Book of Acts where they preached the gospel. The good news was that salvation was available for
everyone!

Shalom (peace) means more than peace from war. It means well-being, health, prosperity, security,
soundness, or completeness. It has more to do with character than with circumstances. Life was
difficult for Joseph and Mary, taxes were high, unemployment high, morals were slipping, and Israel was
under military control. In this setting, God sent His son to give peace.

“Even unto Bethlehem” suggests some distance away or a trip! They probably arranged for others to
care for their flocks while they hastened to Bethlehem. The shepherds found Jesus. The word, found,
implies that they had to search for the baby. It may have taken them a while to find a baby lying in a
food trough.

We know little about the wise men. The word translated “wise men” or Magi refers to a group of
scholars who studied the stars from probably Persia (Gentiles) or Parthia, northeast of Babylon. There
were certainly more than three of them, as their entourage entering Jerusalem caused quite a stir.
Besides, with gold and valuable gifts in their caravan, they would have traveled with the protection of
many soldiers.

The star initiated their journey and appeared again to lead then to a specific house in Bethlehem. Stars
move east to west in the sky, but the direction from Jerusalem to Bethlehem is north to south. This was
a miraculous star of guidance, perhaps the Shekinah glory of God which led the children of Israel for 40
years in the wilderness.

Herod was born in 73 BC. He was a madman who murdered his own family and a great many rabbis. He
was married 10 times. He sent away some of these wives and executed his favorite wife and two
brothers accusing them of treason. He destroyed the monastery at Qumran and all living there were
killed. Two teachers, Judas and Matthias, asked their pupils to remove the golden eagle from the
entrance of the Temple (his signature). The teachers and the pupils were all burned alive. He executed
two of his sons to keep them from succeeding him. It was said of Herod, “It is preferable to be Herod’s
pig than his son”. (This is a very insulting remark for any Jew.) Herod ordered the killing of all male
children two years and younger in the vicinity of Bethlehem. Bethlehem was a very small town. It is
estimated that in the vicinity of Bethlehem, there were no more than 20 boys living two years old or
younger, which is certainly no less a crime, but that explains why no historian reported the event.

It is no surprise that Herod tried to kill Jesus. Herod was not a Jew, but a descendant of Esau. Again, we
have a picture of the old struggle between Esau and Jacob that began even before the boys were born.
It is the spiritual versus the carnal, the godly versus the worldly.

The Priests in the Temple were only 6 miles from the very Son of God, yet they did not go to see Him!

The gifts the wise men gave to Jesus are significant and meaningful. All of them were luxury items and
very symbolic gifts. Gold is a pure metal and stands for the deity or purity of Jesus. Frankincense and
myrrh were very costly spices. They were resins or gums taken from plants that grow in Arabia or the

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