A Negative Response to Jesus
When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled...;and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born....Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star appeared; and he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, "Go search diligently for the child, and when you have found him bring me word, that I may come and worship him."... Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, was in a furious rage, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under. Matt. 2:3-16, RSV.
Herod was "disturbed." But then any king would have been so by a report about the birth of a child who would occupy his throne. But Herod the Great had more reasons to be upset than most, partially because he was not Jewish by birth, but an Idumean (a branch of the ancient Edomites). He was Jewish, however, by religious profession and citizenship. Beyond that, Rome had appointed him to be king of the Jews in 37 B.C. In order to make himself more acceptable to the Jews he ruled, Herod married Mariamne, heiress of the Jewish royal line.
All in all, Herod was a volatile mix of insecurity, with an inordinate desire for power, and with an almost insane suspicion of others--all of which made him ruthless when he sensed any challenge to his position.
Anyone who threatened him, Herod would promptly eliminate. Thus soon after making his brother-in-law high priest, Herod had him "accidently" drowned in the palace pool. Mariamne, his favorite wife, soon shared her brother's fate when Herod suspected her of plotting against him. That same fear led to the death of two of his sons. And five days before his death (about the time Jesus was born), he had a third son, his oldest and thus his heir, executed. Roman Emperor Augustus claimed that it was safer to be Herod's pig than his son.
Here was a king who would brook no challenge or threat to his authority. And it was in Herod's territory that Jesus was born. It is little wonder that the ruler was "disturbed" at the Wise Men's question "Where is he who has been born king of the Jews?" (Matt. 2:2, RSV). Nor should we be surprised to find him killing all the male children in Bethlehem under 2 years of age in an attempt to eliminate a potential rival.
While we can take the positive attitude of the Magi toward Jesus, we can also make the negative decision of Herod. After all, there is a Herod in each of us who wants to be king or queen of our life.
When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled...;and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born....Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star appeared; and he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, "Go search diligently for the child, and when you have found him bring me word, that I may come and worship him."... Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, was in a furious rage, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under. Matt. 2:3-16, RSV.
Herod was "disturbed." But then any king would have been so by a report about the birth of a child who would occupy his throne. But Herod the Great had more reasons to be upset than most, partially because he was not Jewish by birth, but an Idumean (a branch of the ancient Edomites). He was Jewish, however, by religious profession and citizenship. Beyond that, Rome had appointed him to be king of the Jews in 37 B.C. In order to make himself more acceptable to the Jews he ruled, Herod married Mariamne, heiress of the Jewish royal line.
All in all, Herod was a volatile mix of insecurity, with an inordinate desire for power, and with an almost insane suspicion of others--all of which made him ruthless when he sensed any challenge to his position.
Anyone who threatened him, Herod would promptly eliminate. Thus soon after making his brother-in-law high priest, Herod had him "accidently" drowned in the palace pool. Mariamne, his favorite wife, soon shared her brother's fate when Herod suspected her of plotting against him. That same fear led to the death of two of his sons. And five days before his death (about the time Jesus was born), he had a third son, his oldest and thus his heir, executed. Roman Emperor Augustus claimed that it was safer to be Herod's pig than his son.
Here was a king who would brook no challenge or threat to his authority. And it was in Herod's territory that Jesus was born. It is little wonder that the ruler was "disturbed" at the Wise Men's question "Where is he who has been born king of the Jews?" (Matt. 2:2, RSV). Nor should we be surprised to find him killing all the male children in Bethlehem under 2 years of age in an attempt to eliminate a potential rival.
While we can take the positive attitude of the Magi toward Jesus, we can also make the negative decision of Herod. After all, there is a Herod in each of us who wants to be king or queen of our life.
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