Charles Spurgeon Commentary Matthew 2:4

"And gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ should be born." — Matthew 2:4 (ASV)

And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born.

Think of this vile wretch taking to studying his Bible. Yet there are some who still do the same. Reckoning that gain is godliness and therefore turning godliness into gain for sinister motives, they want to appear religious and wish to be instructed in the truths of the Bible.

Such was Herod; so he gathered all the chief priests and scribes together, and demanded of them where Christ should be born.

When an earthly king dabbles in theology, it does not bode well for the truth. Herod, among priests and scribes, is Herod still. Some people may become well-instructed in their Bibles and yet be all the worse for what they have discovered. Like Herod, they make ill use of what they learn, or like these scribes, they may know much about the Lord Jesus and yet have no heart towards Him.

And when He had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born.

They could tell him if they wished to do so, for they were deeply versed in the Scriptures. The Scribes copied the Sacred Writings.

The Pharisees had counted the very letters of the Word; they could tell which was the middle letter of the Old Testament. They were great at the letter; but, alas, they had missed the spirit! People may know a great deal about the Bible, and yet really know nothing of it.

The husks of Scripture yield small profit; we need to come to the kernel, the real corn, the spiritual meaning of the Inspired Word.