Where is the New Born King of the Jews?

Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is He that is born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the east, and are come to worship Him.” Matthew 2:1-2

Billions of people around the world are celebrating the birthday of Jesus today, a Jew born 2000 years ago in Bethlehem. Both Bethlehem, and Nazareth where Jesus grew up, are towns with Hebrew names. It really boggles my mind how many people who celebrate Christmas today don’t believe Jews lived there before 1948.

In 1896, a British archaeologist named Sir Flinders Petrie discovered evidence that Israel existed as far back as 1200 B.C. In the beautifully carved pillar, part of the ruins of an Egyptian temple, technically termed a stele, the pharaoh Merneptah mentions the nation of Israel. Merneptah reigned around 1212-1202 B.C., the time of the Judges of Israel, when the land was continually being invaded by nearby peoples. 

Today, amidst the conflict in the Middle East, we see the echoes of the darkness of our heart, when we refuse the overtures of God calling to us. We see clearly in the words of the Old Testament, how God had a plan to send a Messiah to save us, to rescue us from sin and death. He even told us where this Messiah would be born, and that He would be born of a virgin. Logically no one man could have fulfilled all the prophecies concerning the coming of the Messiah! And if we want to know what will happen in the future, we can also spend time to search for that in the scriptures. For the Lord has promised that He has told us EVERYTHING ahead of time. 

“At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or, ‘Look, there he is!’ do not believe it.For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. So be on your guard; I have told you everything ahead of time.” Mark 13:21-23