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Question 6
Matthew reports that “all Jerusalem was troubled” at news of the Messiah’s birth; what does this reaction expose about the human ability to desire God’s promises in theory but feel threatened when God actually acts—and where do you see that same instinct in your own faith or church culture?
Another way to ask: Why might people want God’s promises in theory but feel upset when God actually starts acting, and where do you see that same reaction in yourself or your church?

Direct Answer According to Bercot, Jerusalem’s fear shows that people can wait for God’s promises in the abstract, yet feel threatened when God’s action might disrupt their comfort, politics, or expectations—an attitude that can even foreshadow later rejection of Christ.

Support from Transcript:

  • He notes: “All of Jerusalem was troubled as well,” likely fearing “what would Herod do? Would he fly into a rage.”
  • He calls it “very sad” that they seemed to grasp “this was the Messiah who had been born,” yet they were not joyful.
  • He reminds that Jews had waited “for centuries for the Messiah,” and at that time especially wanted him to “overthrow the Romans.”
  • Yet when the news came, “instead of…rejoicing, they’re troubled by it.”
  • He suggests it may “foretell what happened later,” when Jerusalem Jews put Jesus to death and said, “Let his blood be upon our heads and upon our children,” calling the troubled reaction a possible “prophetic foretaste.”
Discussion Follow-ups What expectations about how God “should” work might make a church uneasy when He acts differently? Are there ways we can confuse wanting God’s help with wanting God’s disruption?

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