The King Nobody Wanted | Page 4

he is, if
you would like to see him."
The shepherds looked at the baby. They hoped that they would see
something unusual about him, but he looked just like any other baby.
Then they remembered the angels' song.
Outside again, the shepherds looked up and saw a faint gray light
streaking the blackness in the east. Morning was coming. Soon the
people of the countryside would be getting up.
What a story the shepherds were going to tell them! Who would have
thought of looking for the Messiah in a manger! The shepherds were
the first to learn the secret. As they walked back to their flocks they
prayed and gave thanks to God.
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Meanwhile, the little family in the stable were gathered in silence
around the manger. Mary, the mother, said never a word, but her
thoughts were busy with the tale the shepherds had told about her little
child.
* * * * *
The shepherds were not the only people to see strange lights in the sky.
Many miles away, three men saw a new star. They were Wise Men, and
they knew all the stars, but this one they had never seen before.
It was not only a new star, but a moving star. Like a bright fingertip in
the heavens, it seemed to beckon them on. The Wise Men were rich and
important, and thought nothing of a journey. At once they made ready
and set out to see where the star would lead them. For many days they
traveled across the desert, and at last they came to Jerusalem.
Although they were not Jews, they had heard that a Messiah was
expected someday in Palestine. When they saw that the star had
brought them to Jerusalem, they decided that the Messiah must have
come.
"We are strangers here," they said to each other. "We had better ask our
way."
King Herod was in Jerusalem just then, and the Wise Men went to his
palace. Since they were rich and famous, they had no trouble getting in
to see the king.
They bowed down respectfully before the king, and Herod received
them with courtesy. Then the Wise Men asked:
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"Where is the newborn King of the Jews? We have seen his star in the
east. We have come to worship him, but we do not know where he is."
Herod was surprised, and then he was angry. A new king of the Jews?

Why, Herod himself was the king of the Jews! However, he hid his
feelings, and answered,
"I will find out what you want to know."
He left the Wise Men, and hurried off to consult with his advisers.
"The Messiah!" he shouted. "Where do they say the Messiah will be
born?"
Solemnly he was told:
"In Bethlehem. An ancient book of the Holy Scriptures tells us that out
of Bethlehem shall come a governor to rule the people of Israel."
Fear and jealousy boiled up in Herod. But a king must control his
feelings, and Herod was old and wise. When he had called his three
visitors to him, he was as smooth and polite as ever. He told them that
they would find the child in Bethlehem.
"Go there," Herod said, "and look for him carefully. And when you
have found him come and tell me, for I too want to go and worship
him."
The Wise Men thanked the king, and set out for Bethlehem. Soon they
arrived at the place where Joseph and Mary were staying with the baby.
It was very different from Herod's palace.
There the three Wise Men fell down on their knees as they would
before a king. They opened their treasures and put their gifts in front of
the baby. One brought gold. The others brought sweet-smelling
ointments, frankincense and myrrh.
"Hail, Messiah!" they murmured in adoration. "Hail, Christ! Hail, King
of the Jews!"
When they were once more outside on the road, one of them spoke:
"I think," he said, "that it would be well for us not to see anything of

Herod again. I had a dream...."
The others agreed with him quickly. They had had a dream too.
"God sent that dream to warn us that Herod is dangerous," they said.
"Herod means to harm the child. Let us find some other road back
home."
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The days went by, and soon the baby was given his name. He was to be
called Jesus.
One day, when Jesus was about six weeks old, Joseph said to Mary:
"Now that we have a child, we must go up to the Temple in Jerusalem
and give an offering to the Lord. We cannot afford a lamb. But we can
at least take pigeons or a pair of turtledoves."
So Joseph and