Day 343
Matthew 2:4-6 Amplified Version
"So he called together all the chief priests and learned men (scribes) of the people and anxiously asked them where the Christ was to be born. They replied to him, In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet: And you Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, you are not in any way least and insignificant among the chief cities of Judah: for from you shall come a ruler (Leader) who will govern and shepherd My people Israel"
When King Herod became concerned that strangers coming to Jerusalem were looking for a king he knew nothing about, he contacted spiritual leaders and questioned them about the prophetic scriptures concerning the birthplace of the Messiah. It did not matter to him that if Christ's appearance was foretold by God, he would be interfering with God's plan if he tried to stop the prophetic events from unfolding. He was only concerned about the future of his own throne. Herod's failure to stop the coming of Christ teaches us how foolish it is to fight against the plan of God.
What about the chief priests and the scribes? What can we learn from these spiritual leaders? The scribes were people who interpreted the Torah (divine law). They were considered experts in knowledge and interpretation. Their zeal for the law without a relationship with the Lawgiver caused them to miss the event they thought they knew so much about - the birth of Christ. During His earthly ministry, our Lord met with tremendous opposition from the chief priests and scribes. Only a few of the religious leaders recognized that Jesus was the Messiah, but the religious leadership as a whole was the group who recommended that the Savior be crucified. They knew about Him, but did not know Him.
An important lesson to learn from the chief priests and scribes is that no matter how well we understand the words in the book, we need the Spirit of God to reveal its intent. We can know the Bible word for word and still miss its true meaning altogether. We can know where Jesus will land on the earth again, uncover who the anti-Christ is, or become familiar with the circumstances that will exist when the church is caught up to meet the Lord and miss the moment we thought we knew all about. Jesus is coming again. The Bible tells us that we are not in darkness, and the return of Christ should not take us by surprise. If Jesus is coming soon, we should be aware of it. We may not know the day or hour but, if we are in tune with the Spirit of God, we should have an expectancy like Simeon did when Jesus came the first time. His relationship with God caused him to expect to see Jesus before he died. That expectancy caused him to recognize Jesus when He came into the temple as an infant.
The only way we can be fully in tune with what God is doing is to be preparing our hearts for what He has told us about. John says that we who are anticipating Christ's appearing will be purifying ourselves. Peter says our conduct should reflect our belief. Paul said Jesus will come for those who are looking for Him. Let us not be just knowledgeable about the facts, but let us maintain a close relationship with the one who reveals the facts.
I will maintain a close relationship with God. I will not only know about Him, but I will know Him. The coming of Christ will not take me by surprise, because I will be anticipating His return and purifying myself as I wait. I will have consistent communion with my Heavenly Father, who reveals His secrets to those who reverence Him.