^{3When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4When he had called together all the people's chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ[c] was to be born. 5"In Bethlehem in Judea," they replied, "for this is what the prophet has written: 
 6" 'But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, 
      are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; 
   for out of you will come a ruler 
      who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.'[d]"}

 ^{7Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8He sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him."}

 ^{9After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was.10When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh. 12And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.}

We looked at this passage in church this morning. Many great points were made about it. Thinking about it since made me consider some other things.

In the passage it says that the Magi visited him it says that they visited him in a house. (v11). This could have been the inn where the stable was located but it much more likely suggests this was sometime after the birth when Mary and Joseph had found somewhere more salubrious. Many scholars believe that these wise men had travelled from Persia (Some accounts even say one was from china!). The truth is that they had travelled a great distance and this was a long journey to find the king. Many people today are on a journey looking for truth. It can be a difficult, long and arduous but those who seek him will find him. (Matt 7:7-8). The church needs to ensure that it is a beacon to those on their own journeys.

The Shepherds were busily minding their own business.

 ⁸And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. ⁹An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. ¹¹Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ^[a] the Lord. ¹²This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

 ¹³Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 
 ¹⁴"Glory to God in the highest, 
      and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."

 ¹⁵When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."

 ¹⁶So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. ¹⁷When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, ¹⁸and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 

The thing about the Shepherds is that they were were just getting on with their jobs, blissfully unaware of the fact that the saviour of the world had been born down the road! This fact had to be drawn to their attention by messengers. The role of every Christian is to made every person in the world that the Messiah has come.

At this time when we focus on the birth of Christ we would do well to remember that whilst people are born to live, He is unique in the fact that He was born to die. As this picture so well illustrates He willingly went to the cross and needed no nails to hold him there.