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Observe here, 1. The place of our Lord's birth, Bethlehem; he was born, not at Athens, not at Rome, not at Jerusalem, not in any opulent or magnificent city, but in the meanest cities of Judah; thereby showing us, that his kingdom was not of this world, and that he little regarded pomp and outward greatness. O how can we be abased enough for Christ, that thus neglected himself for us!
Observe, 2. The time of our Lord's birth, In the days of Herod the king. This Herod being a foreigner, and made king by the Romans, which now reigned over the Jews, in him was fulfilled Jacob's prophecy, That the sceptre should not depart from Judah; Gen_49:10 that is, the Jews should have governors of their own nation, until Shiloh come; that is, until Christ the promised Messiah come in the flesh. So that considering the circumstance of time and place, where and when Christ was born, it was and is willful obstinacy in the Jews to deny that the Messiah is come in the flesh.
Observe, 3. That tribute of honour which was paid unto our Savior at his birth; the wise men of the east came and worshipped him, that is. the Chaldean, Arabian, or Persian astronomers, who, as the first-fruits of the Gentiles, seek after Christ, whilst the Jews, his own people, rejected him. O how will their coming so far as the east to seek Christ, rise up another day in judgement against us, if we refuse to be found by Christ,who came from heaven to seek us!