Matthew 2:3
3 When Herod the king had heard these things,, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
Jerusalem, center for all things Jewish for the temple is located there. It was the center for Jewish learning and culture. The Jews and Jerusalem were steeped in history and tradition. Long have the people and their city waited for the coming Messiah. Yet centuries have past since there was the clear loud voice of God spoken to His people by the prophets. It was at this time that the wise men from the East entered Jerusalem. They were well dressed and deported themselves as men of learning and understanding and showed signs of having traveled a great distance.
How excited they must have been upon entering the city expecting to see the city a buzz over the birth of their New Born King. But, it was not so, it seemed that all around them it was business as it would have been on any other day.
They had to be in the right place for had not the star stopped above the city. Yet they seemed to be the only ones aware of this star that had led their way for 400 or more miles. They began to question the people, “Where is He that is born King of the Jews?”
Herod, the ever watchful and distrusting king soon heard of these wise men and the question they asked. Across the all of Jerusalem the people began to wonder and were troubled by the questions that these men from the East asked.
Although there had been no prophet prophesying for the past several years, God chose a people other than the Jews to proclaim His Son’s birth to His people.
If you were God’s chosen people and someone came and told you what you should have known, would you also not be troubled?
The Bible In Your Hand 