After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. – Matthew 2:1-4
We often read the Christmas story as though it is gently and safely wrapped in a protective bubble. A manger, a baby, a silent night… But Matthew’s account reveals something far different. Almost as soon as Jesus is born, tension and fear enter the story. Disturbance, threat, and hostility stand in the background.
Before Jesus teaches, before He heals, before He confronts anyone – His birth provokes opposition.
Herod hears the words “born King of the Jews” and is deeply disturbed. He understands something many prefer to avoid, and it’s that this child represents a challenge to existing authority. His birth doesn’t just bring comfort, but a holy proclamation.
From the beginning,Jesus’ arrival forces a question that will echo all the way to Golgotha: Who is King?
This is why Matthew places the manger and the cross side-by-side. The violence that will one day erupt at Calvary is already taking shape in Bethlehem. The hostility that will later surround Jesus’ ministry is foreshadowed here, in the fear of a ruler who senses his throne is threatened by a child he has never met.
Nearby stand the religious leaders. They know the Scriptures well enough to identify the birthplace of the Messiah, yet Matthew records no response of joy or worship. Their stillness is quite telling. From the very beginning, those closest to the promises of God struggle to recognize Him when He arrives. That pattern, too, will repeat itself.
And then there are the Magi – outsiders, Gentiles, men with incomplete understanding but genuine curiosity. They respond to the news of Jesus’ birth not with fear or distance, but with actual movement. They seek, they travel, and then they worship. Matthew is already hinting at what the Gospel will reveal in full: those far off often receive the King more readily than those who assume that He belongs to them.
This is not an interruption of the Christmas story – it is the Christmas story Matthew wants us to see! Jesus is born into a world that resists Him. The cross is not a tragic turn of events but rather the collision point between the kingdom of God and the kingdoms of men.
To separate the manger from the cross is to misunderstand both.
Matthew challenges us to read Christmas with open eyes. The child wrapped in swaddling cloths is the King who will wear a crown of thorns. The fear that is stirred here at His birth will one day demand His death. And yet – this is precisely how God chooses to save – through a King who does not cling to power, but gives Himself for the sake of the world.
So bring Him incense, gold, and myrrh,
Come, peasant, king to own Him.
The King of kings salvation brings;
Let loving hearts enthrone Him.
– “What Child Is This” by William C. Dix (1865)
Former Blackout Artist 