Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Matthew 2:3

"And when Herod the king heard it, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him." — Matthew 2:3 (ASV)

In contrast with the Magi’s desire to worship the King of the Jews, Herod was deeply troubled. In this “all Jerusalem” joined him, not because most of the people would have been sorry to see Herod replaced or because they were reluctant to see the coming of King Messiah, but because they well knew that any question like the Magi’s would result in more cruelty from the ailing Herod, whose paranoia had already led him to murder his favorite wife and two sons.