Herod, The Insecure King (Epiphany)

THE INSECURE KING

I don't know whether you have ever noticed that there are two main characters in the birth narrative of the second chapter of St Matthew's Gospel. There is Herod and there is Jesus. All the rest - the Wise Men, Mary, Joseph and the angels - are very much in the background. In fact Herod is mentioned no fewer than ten times and Jesus (or "the child") nine times in only 23 verses.

It is to Herod that the wise men go, to enquire about the birth of the future King of the Jews. It is Herod who summons the chief priests and scribes for advice concerning this birth. It is Herod who asks the Wise Men to return and confirm the birth, after their visit to Bethlehem. It is Herod who later decides to kill all the Bethlehem children under two years of age when the Wise Men did not return. And it is after the death of Herod, that Joseph decides to take Jesus and his mother, Mary, back to his homeland and settle in Nazareth.

In a similar way, it is Jesus, whose birth fascinates the Wise Men. It is Jesus to whom the Wise Men go and present their gifts. And it is Jesus who is taken by his parents, first to Egypt and then to Nazareth.

Yes, the birth narrative of the second chapter of St Matthew's Gospel revolves around the active Herod and the passive Jesus.

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But who was Herod, and why does he get such a bad press in the Christmas story?

Herod was the client king of Rome-ruled Palestine between 40 BC and 4 BC. He was succeeded by his son Herod Antipas, who ruled when Jesus was crucified.

Herod was commonly called 'the Great' for several reasons.

Firstly, he was a 'great' peace maker. He was the only ruler of Palestine who succeeded in keeping peace and bringing order out of disorder.

Secondly, he was a 'great' builder. He built an amphitheatre and a theatre. He was responsible for the building of Caesarea, with its fine harbour, which brought prosperity to the region. He built fortresses such as Antonia in the Jerusalem region, and Machaerus and Masada. In the Gentile territories he was generous in the provision of temples. And of course, he started the building of the Temple in Jerusalem in 20 BC which was only finished just before its destruction in AD 70.

Thirdly, he was 'great' as regards his generosity. In times of financial difficulties, he remitted taxes to make life easier. In the famine of 25 BC he melted down his own gold plates in order to buy corn for his starving people.

Yet, despite his great generosity, buildings and political stability of his reign, he does not get a good press in the Christmas story.

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Why is this, you may well ask?

Unfortunately, he was a very insecure person, and as a consequence, became insanely suspicious of other people who he felt might threaten him.

For instance, shortly after being appointed, he completely annihilated the entire Sanhedrin, the supreme court of the Jews, and later some 300 court officials.

Later, unable to bear the thought that his second wife, Marianne, [he had probably ten wives and a great many children], might marry again should anything happen to him, on more than one occasion when he was going on any expedition, he arranged for her to be killed if he did not return. His suspicions about her unfaithfulness finally resulted in her death.

He also murdered her mother, Alexandra, his eldest son, Antipate, and two other sons, Augustus and

Aristobulus. Similarly, a young high priest who proved very popular was drowned whilst swimming.

So notorious was his removal of any rival, that the Roman Emperor once said that, 'It ls better to be Herod's pig than Herod's son.'

Now whilst some scholars have suggested that the massacre of the young children of Bethlehem never took place, because there is no reference to the incident outside St Matthew's Gospel, I think we can safely say that it fits in with his known character. Furthermore, the killing of some 20 or 30 children would be hardly worth recording with many

important people murdered during his reign.

Finally, the most macabre twist to Herod's story, must be his plan to ensure that he was mourned at the time of his death. He ordered that a number of people should be killed, when he died, so that the sound of tears would fill the city. Thankfully, that was one order which was not carried out!

Given such a record of cruelty, it is hardly surprising that he should get such a bad press in the Christmas story.

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As I said earlier, the other main character in St Matthew's birth narrative in chapter two of his gospel is the passive Jesus.

It is amazing that Herod could have felt so threatened by a helpless infant!

And yet he did. And he is not alone. Throughout the centuries people have felt threatened by that helpless child, and his followers, born in Bethlehem some 2000 years ago.

First it was Herod's son, Antipas, who was involved in the crucifixion of Jesus because he and his ill assorted followers posed a threat to the political stability of the land.

In AD 64 the Emperor Nero began the first systematic persecution of Christians in retaliation for their alleged burning of the city of Rome.

Marcus Aurelius in AD 177 also ordered the persecution of Christians at Lyons and in AD 250 Decius considered Christians a threat to the state. A few years later Valerian forbade Christians to assemble. Then in AD 303, Diocletian ordered churches to be destroyed and scriptures burned.

Such persecution has continued throughout the centuries and is still operative today in many parts of the world.

However, Herod did not succeed in killing Jesus for he was taken for protection to Egypt. His son did not succeed either, for Jesus rose victorious on Easter Day. And neither did any of the Roman emperors succeed. In fact, the more the Christian church was persecuted, the stronger it grew, which led one of the early church Fathers to remark that, 'the seeds of the church are the blood of the martyrs'. And the same is true today.

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The active Herod and the passive Jesus, in the birth narrative of St Matthew's Gospel, stand as a symbol of evil versus goodness; guilt versus innocence; strength versus weakness; insecurity versus security, and I know who I would place my money on if faced with a choice. Do you?

King Herod died in 4 BC. Jesus, the King lives for ever.

So let us, like the Wise Men of long ago, fall down upon our knees in homage, and offer Him the greatest gift that we possess, namely that of ourselves in his service.