Matthew 2:3 When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
The reason why all of Jerusalem were troubled by the inquiry of the wise men is that they were at that time consumed with other things that had absorbed their best energies and resources. They were busy with buying and selling and laying up their treasure where moth and rust doth corrupt, and thieves do break through and steal.
In addition, their religion had devolved into a cold formalism devoid of the life-giving energies of The Spirit, and as an inevitable result, they had become sticklers for rites and ceremonies and celebrations, the husk without the kernel, the letter without The Spirit, very similar to our current situation today.
The inordinate pursuit of temporal interests often tends to put the higher eternal values on the back-burner and whereas the chosen people should have been at the forefront the announcement of Christ’s birth, they were overtaken by others who held the kingdom of God in preeminence.
Matthew 21:42 Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes? 43 Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.
May The Lord add His blessing to the study of is word. God bless!