Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and find out carefully about the child, and when you find him, report to me, so that I too may come and worship him.”
This verse shows Herod’s hypocrisy and cunning: he pretends that he desired to worship the newborn King, but in reality he had the intention to destroy Him. His words, “that I also may come and worship Him,” conceal a treacherous heart, filled with envy and fear. While the Magi were moving with faith and simplicity of heart, Herod was being guided in dark-mindedness. This contrast presents the differing response of human hearts to the revelation of God: on one side there is humility and seeking, on the other, fear and resistance.