When Herod Isn’t Happy….
In the midst of my “not so busy” week, I ended up having commitments the past two days that consumed most of my day. Today, was a good day to get several errands ran around town. I even wrapped a few Christmas presents later in the day. That always makes me feel more in the “Christmas” spirit.
BIBLE VERSE FOR TODAY… “After Jesus was born, some wise men from the east came to Jerusalem. They asked people, “Where is the child who has been born to be the king of the Jews? We saw the star that shows he was born. We saw it rise in the sky in the east and have come to worship him.” When King Herod heard about this, it upset him as well as everyone else in Jerusalem.” Matthew 2:1-3 ERV
The dominate visitors in Matthew’s account to the birth of Jesus are the wise men. These mysterious visitors from the east create quite a stir when they come to Jerusalem. They enter the capitol city anticipating that to be the birth place of the “King of the Jews.”
They in their innocence go to the Herod and the palace and inquire about the exciting event. Instead of finding a warm welcome and excitement, they find suspicion and concern. Herod was “upset” and when Herod was upset, “everyone was upset.” Even in the city that would have been pleased about the birth of the Messiah was caught unaware and sensing the tension emanating from the palace. Herod was a ruthless and paranoid dictator.
When the scribes determine Bethlehem was the proper birth place, the wise men head to Jerusalem being told by Herod, “Go and look carefully for the child. When you find him, come tell me. Then I can go worship him too.” (Matt. 2:8 ERV) Herod was attempting to fool the wise men, but the Lord in a dream warned the wise men and they did not return to Jerusalem.
When Herod discovered his plan had been foiled, he ordered a wholesale slaughter of all baby boys two years old and younger. In doing so the words of the prophet came to pass, “A sound was heard in Ramah—bitter crying and great sadness. Rachel cries for her children, and she cannot be comforted, because her children are gone.” (Matt. 2:18 ERV)’
We don’t know the details or the numbers, but the joy of the wise men in days or weeks was turned into a crisis and sounds of crying and weeping. The solemn, peaceful night on which Christ was born, stands in contrast to the terror and bloodshed created by a paranoid ruler. An unknown number of baby boys were killed, so Jesus could live.
This reminds us that Jesus was not born into a perfect world, but a “real world” and a fallen world. As a child and man He did not escape the realities of the world in which He lived. Suffering and hardship are part of human existence and a fallen world. We see that in Jesus day and we see it in our day. Many take a position to deny God, His love because they fail to see divine intervention in the world due to the consequences of sin, pride, rebellion against God’s plan.
But that was the kind of world God allowed His Son to be born into. He came into this world in the dark of night, but He would rise from the dead at the break of a new day. Spiritually the world Jesus was born into was dark. It was a sin-filled world with people lost and in need. That is why Jesus came. He came to bring light and life those who were in darkness and in spiritual death. He fulfilled the words of the prophet, “…people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.” (Matt. 4:16 NIV)
We don’t understand or have an explanation for all that God prevents or allows. Our hope is not in this life or this world or in humanity. We need the Lord’s light and life to come into the darkness and “deadness” of our life. He came to this world as and He still is, “the light of life” the hope for the world.