Isa. ix. 6.—Matt. ii. 11.
"Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judæa, in the days of Herod
the king, behold, there came Wise Men from the east to Jerusalem"; and
as they entered the city, their first question astonished everyone.
"Where is He that is born King of the Jews?" they asked. "For we have
seen His star in the east, and we are come to worship Him."
Herod was the king then, placed there by the Romans, and he did not
like to hear that there could be another king! He sent at once for the
scribes, and demanded of them where Christ should be born. So they told
him that Micah had prophesied in their Scriptures that Christ should be
born in Bethlehem. And Herod was so anxious to make sure of this, that
he sent the Wise Men to inquire in Bethlehem, and said he would come to
worship Him.
And the Star moved before the Wise Men till it came and stood over
where the young Child was.
Then the Wise Men saw the Holy Babe, with Mary, His mother; and they
fell down and worshipped Him, and opened their treasures, and gave Him
the precious gifts they had brought from the east.
In Isaiah vii. 14 the Jews were told that the mother of the Lord should
be a virgin; and in Jeremiah xxiii. 5 that He should be of the royal
house of David.
And now comes the fulfilment of all these prophecies off seven hundred
years before.
He was born of a virgin, in Bethlehem, David's city.
Also God said by Micah He was "to be Ruler in Israel"; and in Isaiah
xlix. 6 we have this great and further prophecy which embraces the
whole world: "I will also give Thee for a light to the Gentiles, that
Thou mayest be My salvation unto the end of the earth."
So we think of our Lord Jesus Christ as the great Gift which God the
Father gave to the world.
No wonder that the angel announced to the shepherds that it was
tidings of great joy, which should be to all people! No wonder that
the multitude of the Heavenly Host came down and joined in the Song of
Praise, on that night when the glory from Heaven shone round about them
all, and the earth received the Gift of the only begotten Son of the
Father.