"And when Herod the king heard it, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he began to inquire of them where the Christ was to be born. And they said to him, 'In Bethlehem of Judea'"
Matthew 2:1-4a
As I read this passage this morning I asked myself how come the scribes and chief priests didn't immediately go to Bethlehem to see Jesus? Then I read it closer and it seems Herod asked them about where Jesus was supposed to be born without telling them why he was asking. So maybe they didn't know.
But then there is a question that needs asking: why didn't they notice the star? Why didn't they realize what had just happened? These were men who knew the scriptures in the original language! These were men who should have seen it just as the foreign men did.
But maybe they are just like we are (or can get) -- numb to what the scriptures are saying. We think we know so we subconsciously close our hearts in smugness and we then totally miss God! He often (well, maybe all the time) comes to us in unexpected ways. And if we aren't looking we are going to miss Him. Or, if we are set on a way we think Scripture will happen, we will definitely miss God like these learned men did.
Lord, open our hearts this Christmas to receive you in a new way!