“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

“But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall He come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting” (Micah 5:2).

“All thy garments smell of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia, out of the ivory palaces, whereby they have made thee glad” (Psalm 45:8).

“When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy” (Matthew 2:10).

The familiar story of Herod and the wise men illustrates how news of the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ so effectively separates people into two great companies: the “gospel” of Christ means, literally, “good news,” but most people, sad to say, react as though it were bad news.

“How long wilt thou go about, O thou backsliding daughter? for the LORD hath created a new thing in the earth, A woman shall compass a man” (Jeremiah 31:22).

Long ago, the wise man concluded: “There is no new thing under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1:9). That nothing is now being created is even recognized as a scientific law.