Amazing, to me

A very long time ago - over two thousand years ago - magi traveled from the East, maybe Persia, to Judea, to find a king. They traveled a long distance, following a star. A star, of all things - but they were probably people who studied stars, and they were convinced they should follow this one, and that it would lead them to a star.

Amazing, to me, that they did this.

They arrived in Judea, and traveled to Jerusalem, to the King's house. That's sensible enough - where else would you look for a king? The were able to speak to King Herod. This king was afraid - so afraid that he had murdered his beloved wife, Mariamne, her two sons, her brother, her grandmother, and her mother.  He also killed his first born, Antipater.  The man was not mentally stable, and he had a dark, violent streak.  He (maybe slyly) asked the magi to continue their quest, and to report back to him on what they found.

The Magi continued on their journey, following the star, until they arrived in Bethlehem. They found what they did not expect, I imagine, when they started this journey. They found a baby with his mother, not in a palace, but in a humble house. This? This is the king we are searching for? I don't know if they said that, but I would have.

Amazing, to me, that they were convinced that this was the king they were seeking.

They demonstrated great faith and presented gifts to this Infant King - gifts fit for a king. And they knelt and honored him. They were then warned in a dream to ignore what King Herod had told them, so they returned home a different way. They did not tell Herod where the newly born king could be found.

Amazing, to me, that they believed the dream, disobeyed the orders of the king, and headed home a different way.

What would you have done?