The Roman Emperor Augustus said it was safer to be Herod’s pig than his son. The Magi arrived at Herod’s palace in Jerusalem asking, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews?”.

They had to ask. Herod the Great, King of Judea, felt threatened when the Magi—wise men from the East—arrived in Jerusalem asking, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews?

The Magi were warned in a dream about Herod’s true desires so they returned home by a different route. Matthew notes how the holy family fled to Egypt to escape Herod. The Christian festival of ...