The historian Josephus tells us
about Herod the Great. At the time of
Jesus’ birth, he was nearing the end of his reign and was almost seventy years
old. He ruled Israel and Judah.
He was complex. His grandfather had been forcefully made a
Jew. He worked for the occupying Roman
powers. He was Greek in culture and Arab
by race. In his youth he was
good-looking and powerful. He had
personally led his troops in battle in ten different wars. He showed political cunning when Caesar
Augustus came to power.
But old age came with fears. He was scared of anyone who might compete for
his throne. He had married ten different
women and began to see his sons as rivals to the throne. He had two of his sons strangled. He later became suspicious of the intentions
of one of his wives and had her killed.
After her death he was known to have wondered around the palace calling
her name, and having servants beaten for not bringing her to him.
Given what we know of Herod,
Matthew’s account sounds authentic. Upon
being told that a king has been born, he orders the slaughter of all the baby
boys under two years old. Bethlehem is a
small village and the number of babies killed may have been somewhere between
ten and thirty.
The story of Herod reminds us
that Jesus was born into a hostile world.
Jesus would grow up to be misunderstood by his family and opposed by the
religious establishment. Eventually
people would spit at him and mock him as he was pinned to a Roman cross. The night before that execution Jesus warned
his disciples not to be surprised if the world hates you the way that they
hated me.
But I don’t want to be
hated. I don’t want to offend anyone. But the problem is that the message we have
been commanded to share is offensive.
When we speak about who Jesus really is, some people will respond with
hostility. Yes, we are telling people
that Jesus wants to forgive them. We
have the great news that nothing we have done can separate us from his Father’s
love, if we turn to his Son. But we
also have to tell people of the consequences of refusing God’s offer of grace
and mercy. We have to warn them that
being a ‘good person’ doesn’t cut it with God.
We have to communicate that they are spiritually dead without Jesus as
their King. We have to warn then of Day
of Judgement that will be awful for those who refuse King Jesus. Jesus said that it wasn’t a good thing when
everyone speaks well of us. It might
mean that we have not been clear with the message. Matthew tells us that we live in a world that
can be hostile to Jesus and us.
While Herod was an unusually
violent man, there was something very normal about him. The thought of someone else being king
threatened him. He wanted to hold on to
the power that he had. Jesus wasn’t
actually interested in taking over the palace in Jerusalem. He wanted something far more radical. He wants to rule the hearts of men and women
from every place in every time The story
of Herod reminds us that not everyone wants Jesus to be king.. This, too, affects how we speak about Jesus.
I like to speak of the fact that
Jesus died for all of our guilt and we contribute nothing to our salvation but
the sin that made it necessary. I like
to talk of eternal life as a free, undeserved, unearned and unmerited
gift. This is all true. But, like the wise men, we come with news of
a king. The proper response to Jesus involves
a life of submission to his words and openness to his influence. His teachings are to shape our views on the
issues of the day. Although I let him
down every day, I cannot call myself a follower of his way and simply ignore
what he commands. I must seek his
strength to forgive as I have been forgiven, to love as he has loved me, and to
strive for the purity he values so much.
Jesus comes to be your king.
Jesus is unlike Herod, or many of
the self-serving, proud leaders we see on our news. Jesus wants to rule his people for their
good. He wants to bring purpose and joy
to empty lives. He desires our security
and inner peace. He comes to set you
free from guilt and accusation. He
enables us to live for a cause bigger than our own selfish interests. He never leaves us or forsakes us. He will delight over us for eternity. He will be our delight forever. We will gladly enjoy singing his praise. King
Jesus says to us, ‘Come unto me all you who are weak and heavy laden, and I
will give you rest. Take my yoke upon
you and lean on me for I am lowly in heart; and you will find rest for your
souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden
is light’ (Matthew 11:28).
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