Herod was `` troubled '' -- not about the star , but because a `` king of the Jews '' had been born . He understood that this meant the Messiah . Herod was `` troubled '' , not because of the appearance of the star , but because the magi told him that a `` king of the Jews '' had been born , which he understood to refer to the Messiah , a leader of the Jewish people whose coming was foretold in Old Testament prophecy .