Herod

This year, for my Advent / Christmas series, I am looking at the people around the birth of Jesus and examining their faith. The first week I looked at Joseph; last week, The Wise Men. I've also made two extra posts, "What do we learn about Jesus from Joseph" and "The Holy Innocents". Today I am taking a hard look at Herod.

Herod

Matthew 2:3,4,7,16
3 When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born.
7 Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared. 

8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also.
16 Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men.

King Herod is right in the middle of all this, as was Pilate at the crucifixion. He was not Jewish, but being in Jerusalem, he would have been familiar with Jewish ways, practice, beliefs, and hopes; and he would have heard about the Coming One. So, when the wise men appear in Jerusalem and cause a stir asking about Christ, he was troubled. He knew who to ask too – he “demanded” of the chief priests and scribes, Where is Christ to be born?

This is interesting. Herod does not appear to have the hope of Christ, yet he believed the wise men that Christ had been born. He believed the chief priests and scribes that Christ was to be born in Bethlehem. He had faith, yet this faith had no positive affect on him - he was not moved to obedience as Joseph; he was not moved to worship as the wise men. He was moved to seek Christ, but not personally, and, as it turns out, with evil intent. 

What’s going on? How can he have faith but receive no blessing from God? This is powerful: Herod had faith without repentance.

He loved his position as king, he loved wielding power, he loved indulging his passions. Joseph was minded to divorce Mary, but when the angel said, “Marry the girl”, he changed his mind and said, Yes. The wise men were living a fine life in the east, but when they saw the star they left that life and came to worship Christ. Yet when Herod heard of Christ, rather than bow to the King, he sought to slay Him so he might continue as sovereign; rather than turn from his iniquity, he sought to kill Him so he might continue in his sin. He believed but to no avail, because he refused to repent.

This is why the Bible everywhere speaks of turning to the Lord.

Acts 3:19 Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;

Be converted sounds passive, like it is something that happens to you or is done for you, but this word is actually an imperative, just like repent: Repent, therefore, and turn to God. (NRSV) They've added "to God", but that gives the sense; as in 1 Thessalonians 1:8-9 ...in every place your faith to God-ward is spread abroad... how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God. Their faith in God moved them to turn to God and away from their idols, that they might serve God and wait for his Son from heaven (see v 10).

What does Herod tell me about Christ? Christ is king. He is a mighty king - simply by being born He is a threat to Herod. He brooks no competition. I cannot be king, He is king. I cannot be lord, He is Lord. I cannot be my own savior, He is Savior!

What then does Herod teach me about faith? If I would have faith that avails with God, that secures His blessings and grace, it must be accompanied by repentance, a turning from self and sin. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way. If I persist in my own way, living my life my way, my faith is empty; if I continue in my sin, my faith is vain. Repent, therefore, and turn to God.

Depth of mercy! Can there be
Mercy still reserved for me?
Can my God His wrath forbear,
Me, the chief of sinners, spare?

I have long withstood His grace,
Long provoked Him to His face,
Would not hearken to His calls,
Grieved Him by a thousand falls.

Pity from Thine eye let fall,
By a look my soul recall;
Now the stone to flesh convert,
Cast a look, and break my heart.

Now incline me to repent,
Let me now my sins lament,
Now my foul revolt deplore,
Weep, believe, and sin no more.
(Charles Wesley, 1740; to Take My Life and Life and Let it Be; repeat final line)

NEXT: The chief priests and scribes

The Holy Innocents

 

Matthew 2:16-18

Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men. Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying:

“A voice was heard in Ramah,
Lamentation, weeping, and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children,
Refusing to be comforted,
Because they are no more.”

This tragic event has been a source of distress and consternation from the earliest days of the church. It is not really talked about in evangelical circles, and I confess that in all my years as a pastor, I don’t believe I ever addressed it. It is commemorated in liturgical churches every year as The Feast of the Holy Innocents. I will let them explain it:

“The Feast of the Holy Innocents, or Childermas in Old English, commemorates the death of male children in Bethlehem who were two years of age or under. King Herod the Great had ordered this, in order to ensure that the infant Messiah sought by the Magi would be unable to displace him on his throne. This is why Joseph was told in a dream to take the Child and the Blessed Virgin and flee to Egypt to escape the persecution of King Herod.” (Holy Innocents EWTN)

What is the meaning of the “Holy Innocents”?

“The young boys killed by Herod were innocent of any crime, except the imagined crime of being potential usurpers of Herod’s throne. They are acknowledged as “holy” by the Church because of the holy circumstances of their death. They died in hatred of Christ, as martyrs do, and thus the liturgical color of the day is red.” (Holy Innocents EWTN)

Feast of the Holy Innocents

Catholic, Anglican, and Lutheran Churches observe it on December 28, the Orthodox on December 29, the Syrians and Chaldeans on December 27. These dates have nothing to do with the chronological order of the event; the feast is kept within the 12 Days of Christmas because the Holy Innocents gave their life for the newborn Saviour. These first flowers of the Church accompany the Holy Child Jesus entering this world on Christmas day. (Catholic Encyclopedia)

From a Homily¹ of St. Augustine (AD 354 – 430) On the Feast of the Holy Innocents

“Today, dearest brethren, we celebrate the birthday² of those children who were slaughtered, as the Gospel tells us, by that exceedingly cruel king, Herod. Let the earth, therefore, rejoice and the Church exult — she, the fruitful mother of so many heavenly champions and of such glorious virtues. Never, in fact, would that impious tyrant have been able to benefit these children by the sweetest kindness as much as he has done by his hatred. For as today’s feast reveals, in the measure with which malice in all its fury was poured out upon the holy children, did heaven’s blessing stream down upon them.

“Blessed are you, Bethlehem in the land of Judah! You suffered the inhumanity of King Herod in the murder of your babes and thereby have become worthy to offer to the Lord a pure host of infants. In full right do we celebrate the heavenly birthday of these children whom the world caused to be born unto an eternally blessed life rather than that from their mothers’ womb, for they attained the grace of everlasting life before the enjoyment of the present. The precious death of any martyr deserves high praise because of his heroic confession; the death of these children is precious in the sight of God because of the beatitude they gained so quickly. For already at the beginning of their lives they pass on. The end of the present life is for them the beginning of glory. These then, whom Herod’s cruelty tore as sucklings from their mothers’ bosom, are justly hailed as “infant martyr flowers”; they were the Church’s first blossoms, matured by the frost of persecution during the cold winter of unbelief.”

(You can read the article here)

The Catholic Collect³ for the Feast of the Holy Innocents is: 

"O God, whom the Holy Innocents confessed and proclaimed on this day, not by speaking but by dying, grant, we pray, that the faith in your love which we confess with our lips may also speak through our manner of life. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.” Amen.

 

NEXT: Herod 

¹ A homily is a commentary that follows a reading of scripture

² In the early church your birthday was the day you died and entered heaven

³ “A collect is simply a prayer meant to combine the people’s intentions and the focus of worship into a succinct prayer. All of the collects more or less fit a pattern that Archbishop Thomas Cranmer developed in the first Book of Common Prayer (1549). The form of collects is quite simple:

First, there is an address to God and to his character or actions in the world on our behalf.

Second, there is a request.

Third, there is an invocation and doxology.

Finally, there is the Amen.”   (https://anglicancompass.com/the-collects/)

The Wise Men

This year for Advent and Christmas, I am looking at the people around the birth of Jesus and examining their faith. Last week it was Joseph; today, The Wise Men. This is all from Matthew 2.

1-2 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.

When Jesus was born in Bethlehem - I believe most people say this event was approximately two years after his birth.

there came wise men from the east - funny how we want to automatically add "three". There could have been three, but to be honest, Matthew doesn’t say how many wise men came.

Who were these ‘wise men’? The word is μαγοι which we transliterate magi. This was the name given by the Babylonians, Medes, Persians, and others, to the wise men, teachers, priests, physicians, astrologers, seers, interpreters of dreams, soothsayers, sorcerers.

"The Jews believed that there were prophets in the kingdoms of Saba and Arabia who were of the posterity of Abraham by Keturah; and that they taught in the name of God, what they had received in tradition from the mouth of Abraham. These, knowing the promise of the Messiah, were now, probably, like other believing Jews, waiting for the consolation of Israel.” (Adam Clarke)

This helps! They were waiting for and anticipating the coming of Christ. How did the wise men or magi know to expect Christ? I’m persuaded they knew the ancient prophecy in Numbers 24:17 (LXX)

I will point to him, but not now; I bless him, but he draws not near: a star shall rise out of Jacob, a man shall spring out of Israel; and shall crush the princes of Moab, and shall spoil all the sons of Seth. 

But to be honest, Scripture is silent on this – it doesn’t explain how they knew to expect Christ. I conclude it doesn’t matter how they knew Christ was coming and would be announced by a star, the facts are: they did know and when they saw the star they immediately set off to find and worship him. They believed he was coming, they believed the star announced he had just been born, and as a direct result of this belief they came to Jerusalem. They had faith to seek Christ.

3 When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.

4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born.

5 And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet, 

6 And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.

When Herod heard of the arrival and question of the wise men he was troubled: disturbed, distressed, and probably afraid. I mean, if the King of the Jews has been born he is on his way out. Isn’t it interesting how people react to Jesus? Salvation has come and all he can think about is how he will lose his position and power.

I get why Herod is troubled, but why all Jerusalem with him? It is the same result but for different reasons. Herod was disturbed, disquieted, filled with dread, but I believe all Jerusalem was full of inward commotion so that they lost all calmness of mind – “What is this? Messiah has been born? Has this really happened? What will this mean? What’s going to happen?” It is one thing to say you want the Messiah to come, it is another thing to be ready for him. This explains why John’s message was Repent.

Herod called the chief priests and scribes and asked where Christ should be born. They had a ready answer, Bethlehem of Judea. Actually their answer was a quote of Micah 5:2. It is interesting that their quote left out the last line of Micah 5:2, and his goings forth were from the beginning, even from eternity. This says quite a lot about just who Messiah is.

7-8 Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the

star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also.

 Oh the deceitfulness of Herod – that I may come and worship him. He had no intention of submitting to the King. Chrysostom observed, “And he said not, go and learn concerning the King, but concerning the young Child; for he could not even endure to call Him by the name of His dominion”; then he piles up words to describe Herod’s actions: “an act of extreme idiocy; utmost folly; extreme folly”

9 When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was.

10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.
11 And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh

Herod told them where the Messiah was to be born, so they pressed on.

When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy – “Moreover, the star, when it stood over the young Child, stayed its course again: which thing itself also was of a greater power than belongs to a star, now to hide itself, now to appear, and having appeared to stand still. Hence they too received an increase of faith. For this cause they rejoiced also, that they had found what they were seeking; so great a longing had they for Christ. For first it came and stood over His very head, showing that what is born is Divine; next standing there, it leads them to worship Him; being not simply barbarians, but the wiser sort among them.” (Chrysostom)

I love this! They were being divinely guided in their journey, they knew it, and rejoiced with exceeding great joy! They had the joy of the Lord before they had even met him!

We have found the Christ who’s all in all;
He is everything to us;
O how blest upon His name to call,
How divine, how glorious!

It is joy unspeakable and full of glory,
Full of glory, full of glory;
It is joy unspeakable and full of glory,
And the half has never yet been told!
(Barney Elliott Warren, 1900; you can hear it here being sung in a Baptist church)

And when they were come into the house, they fell down, and worshipped him – this was no intellectual or academic journey, they were seeking the King with the full intention of worshipping him. Hallelujah! They had faith to worship.

What is the significance of their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh? Adrian Rogers, in his sermon, The Gifts Of The Wise Men, said:

Gold -- His Sovereign Dominion

Frankincense -- His Sinless Deity

Myrrh -- His Sacrificial Death

Sounds good to me!

2:12 And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.

They also had faith to obey. The wise men had a vibrant faith!

What does this mean for me? Faith in Christ is not merely knowing the right things about Christ, it is a spirited and vigorous conviction and trust that moves me to seek Him, to worship Him, and to obey Him.

The wise men teach us that Jesus is Christ. As Christ he is King. And as King he should be worshipped!

This also shows us a little about worship. Worship means to do obeisance to, that is to bend the knee, bow the head, fall down before. In so doing you acknowledge Him to be worthy, glorious, powerful. This is the goal of every worship service: to come to the place where we bow before Him.

At one point in a liturgical service you come to the Sursum Corda (below in bold), which  dates back at least to the third century:

Celebrant: The Lord be with you.
People: And with your spirit.
Celebrant: Lift up your hearts.
People: We lift them up to the Lord.
Celebrant: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
People: It is right to give him thanks and praise.
Celebrant: It is right, our duty and our joy, always and everywhere to give thanks to you, Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth. Therefore we praise you, joining our voices with Angels and Archangels and with all the company of heaven, who for ever sing this hymn to proclaim the glory of your Name:
All: Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of power and might, heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he who comes in the Name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.

This is where we want to be, “Lord, I lift up my heart to You.” Worship can be expressed in music, prayer, lifting our hands, bending the knee, but it all begins in the heart. I want to join the wise men and worship Christ the King!

O come let us adore him
O come let us adore him
O come let us adore him
Christ the Lord
(Adeste Fideles, John Francis Wade, 1751; translated into English as O Come, All Ye Faithful by Frederick Oakeley, 1841)

NEXT: The Holy Innocents

What do we learn about Jesus from Joseph?

 

In my last post I looked at Joseph's faith - I concluded he had faith to obey. Today I am asking, What do we learn about Jesus from Joseph? 

Matthew 1:20-23
20 But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.
21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.
22 Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,
23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.

While he thought he thought on these things – Joseph was engaged to Mary and found out she was pregnant, consequently, he was thinking about putting her away (divorcing her). While he thought on these things he had a dream from the Lord. In this dream an angel appeared to him and told him ‘the rest of the story.’

that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost – I don’t know if he understood fully what this meant, after all Mary got a much fuller explanation, but the main thing was this means she had not been with another man. This pregnancy is supernatural. Therefore, “Marry the girl.”

she shall bring forth a son – This the best ultrasound in history!

thou shalt call his name JESUS – Ἰησοῦς Iesous or Jesus is the Greek word for the name Joshua. In the Septuagint (Greek Old Testament) Joshua is Jesus. So it's not a unique name, but it is a heavenly name because 

for he shall save his people from their sins – Joshua (Yeshua in Hebrew) means “YHWH saves” or “salvation”. The angel said, You shall call his name salvation: for he shall save his people from their sins. Hallelujah!

Jesus, Jesus, Jesus; there's just something about that name.
Master, Savior, Jesus, like the fragrance after the rain;
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, let all Heaven and earth proclaim
Kings and kingdoms will all pass away,
But there's something about that name.
(Bill & Gloria Gaither)

I do believe Joseph is getting the picture by now: Mary is going to give birth to the Messiah!

22 Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, 23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.

This is Matthew’s explanation of the significance of all this – it was fulfillment of prophecy. God was so good to announce beforehand the coming of Christ, to announce details so we would recognize him when he came. I know there is a growing trend to cast aside the Old Testament as irrelevant for us today, but this is so wrong. The Old Testament is the foundation for the Gospel, the skeleton for the body. When you talk to people about Christ they often object, "There are so many religions out there, how can you know the gospel is true?" One way is fulfilled prophecy; prophecies made hundreds of years before they were fulfilled in Christ. We need to be familiar and conversant with the Old Testament!

Behold, a virgin shall be with child - A miraculous conception is a major miracle! I don't want to let this slide. How big a miracle? One of the first things people want to reject about the faith is the virgin birth. It is one of the pillars of the gospel; remove it and the faith collapses. 

and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. This is big! Who is Jesus?? He is Emmanuel, God with us!! And he is the One who will save his people from their sins.

Did Joseph understand all this? He was Jewish; he knew the Scriptures; he would have been familiar with the prophecy; and he no doubt shared the hope of the Coming One. I'm sure he understood this baby was the promised Messiah or Christ. This is still rather mind-boggling and he probably had some misconceptions, but I'm sure there was great joy - My wife is going to give birth to Messiah!!

Come, thou long expected Jesus,
Born to set thy people free;
From our fears and sins release us,
Let us find our rest in thee.
Israel's strength and consolation,
Hope of all the earth thou art;
Dear Desire of every nation,
Joy of every longing heart.

Born thy people to deliver,
Born a child and yet a King,
Born to reign in us forever,
Now thy gracious kingdom bring.
By thine own eternal spirit
Rule in all our hearts alone;
By thine all sufficient merit,
Raise us to thy glorious throne.
(Charles Wesley)


NEXT: The Wise Men

Joseph

As we enter the Advent and Christmas seasons, our attention is often focused on the first two chapters of the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. I am persuaded that all the folks we encounter in these chapters teach us many things about faith that would be worth looking into.

My plan is to look at the people in these four chapters, in the order they appear, beginning with the Gospel According to Matthew, and see what I can learn about faith. 

Let me start with Joseph. Everything we will see about Joseph is in Matthew 1 & 2.

1:18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.

1:19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily. 

Joseph is not the first person mentioned in Matthew. That would be Jesus himself, followed by David. Joseph doesn't even appear until v 18. And when he shows up Mary is before him! So why start with Joseph? He's the first player whose character we read anything about. The first thing we learn about Joseph is he was espoused or engaged to Mary. Second, when he learned she was with child, he planned to secretly put her away (divorce her). Now we see his faith:

1:20, 24  But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost . . . Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife:

2:13-14  And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him. When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt:

2:19-21  But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeareth in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, Saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel: for they are dead which sought the young child's life. And he arose, and took the young child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel.

2:22-23  But when he heard that Archelaus did reign in Judaea in the room of his father Herod, he was afraid to go thither: notwithstanding, being warned of God in a dream, he turned aside into the parts of Galilee: And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene.

Angels played an active part in the birth of Jesus - three of Joseph’s encounters involved angels; all four involved dreams. How does this illustrate faith?

First, Joseph believed God speaks to people in dreams – he never doubted that God was speaking to him in his dreams. I remember many of my dreams and I have also had dreams from the Lord. It is really neat that you can tell when your dream is from the Lord!

Second, Joseph believed angels are God’s messengers. They must have identified themselves and he never doubted them for a minute. As I said, I have had a few dreams from the Lord, but I have never seen an angel, but I have a feeling that when angels appear it is pretty evident who they are.

Third, Joseph believed what the angels told him, and he believed this to be the word of the Lord to him and for his situation.

Fourth, each time he had a visit from an angel, or a dream, he believed what he was told to do was from God, and he did it. Every time. Immediately. Joseph had faith to obey.

Obedience springs from faith - when you believe you obey. Faith and obedience are like Siamese twins – you never see the one without the other. If I say I believe, but I don't obey, then I do not have saving, sanctifying faith; I do not have the faith that pleases God. Throughout the entire Bible, whenever someone believed the Lord it affected what they did; and whenever folks did not obey they were charged with unbelief. We see this in Hebrews 3:15-19:

15 While it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation.
16 For some, when they had heard, did provoke: howbeit not all that came out of Egypt by Moses.
17 But with whom was he grieved forty years? was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcases fell in the wilderness?
18 And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not?
19 So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.

We see their problem described as “sinned” (17), “believed not” (18), and “unbelief” (19). “Believed not” in v 18 is a word that means they stubbornly refused to be persuaded to believe and obey the Lord. “They chose to sin, and would not believe. Unbelief produced disobedience, and disobedience produced hardness of heart and blindness of mind.” (Adam Clarke)

Rather than singing the song Israel sang in the wilderness, "I don't believe and I won't obey", I would prefer my song to be:

I'll say yes, Lord, yes
To Your will and to Your way
I'll say yes, Lord, yes
I will trust You and obey
When the Spirit speaks to me
With my whole heart I'll agree
And my answer will be
Yes, Lord, yes
(Lynn Edward Keesecker, 1983)


NEXT: Joseph & Christ: What we learn about Christ from Joseph