Did any of you see ‘The Grinch who stole Christmas’ or read Charles Dicken’s “Christmas Carol” or see one of the many movies about Ebenezer Scrooge this year, or any other movie about how someone tried to steal Christmas, they’re all copy cats, King Herod of Judea is the first to try and steal Christmas.
Turn with me to Matthew chapter 2 verse 1, page ___ of the pew bible) “Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, "Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him." When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him;”
Why would King Herod be troubled? Wasn’t he the king of the Jews? Wasn’t he already over 70 years old, did he think he would live forever? Or perhaps, he feared that this was how one of his sons was going to try to take over his kingdom, he had already killed three of his sons because he felt threatened by them. Actually, he had a nasty habit of killing people, when he went on trips he left orders that if he died his favourite wife was to be killed, because he couldn’t stand the thought of her being with another man, and eventually he did have her killed because he suspected that she had done that. You see he didn’t love her as a person, he loved her as one of his possessions, and this boy loved his possessions.
Even though King Herod lived in the lap of luxury, I mean any one of his 7 palaces were larger than anything any Caesar ever had, he was a man that constantly lived in fear. Herod lived in fear of being forgotten, he feared being lost in history. He was so obsessed with this fear that he build, Herodium, a massive mountain palace fortification, just three miles southeast of Bethlehem. Where coincidently he was buried a short time after Jesus Birth.
Quite the contrast, Jesus the King of the Jews, born in a lowly stable, a humble affair compared to Herod’s palaces’.
Herod was more than just a little nervous about power, he was obsesses with maintaining it. So when these wise men came asking him, “Where is he who is born king of the Jews,” I think you can see why he, “assembled all the chief priests and scribes of the people, inquiring of them where the Christ was to be born.
And when they told him in Bethlehem of Judah, the city so close to his favourite palace, “for so it is written by the prophet: Verse 6 "’And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’"
There’s that shepherd thing again, how can a king be a shepherd, have you ever smelled a shepherd, he smells like sheep stuff, oily, wooly, and dirty well you get the idea, not what a king smells like.
So King Herod had the wise men meet him secretly, he didn’t want this to get out of hand. No need to excite the masses about this Christ child. And He began questioning them about all that they knew about this King of the Jews, and “when exactly did this star appear?” After their secret meeting was done he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, "Go, search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him." Wow, King Herod is going to come and worship him!
And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. Did the bright lights of the city Jerusalem, did all the grand architecture and Herod billboards distract the wise men? Did they really believe that Herod would tell them where this born king of the Jews was? Wasn’t it common knowledge that Herod guarded his kingship jealously, and would not stand to be replaced.
Born into a politically well-connected family, Herod was destined for a life of hardball and power brokering. At 25, he was named the governor of Galilee, a high position for such a young man. The Romans were hoping that Herod could control the Jews who lived in that area. And in 40 B .C. the Roman Senate went so far as to name him the “King of the Jews.”
We all know that Herod wasn’t the born king of the Jews he was a declared ruler, big difference, huge difference. It’s like comparing Queen Elizabeth to Brad Wall. Ones a born royal the other is a declared leader.
Anyways, when they went into the house they saw the child, Jesus the Christ, with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. I wonder if there’s anything here about our own posture and worshipping. And then they began opening their treasures, ‘I wonder if that’s a mistranslation, I mean treasures, wouldn’t proceeds from a rummage sale do? Nope, I think they really meant treasures it says right here in verse 11 that they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh, definitely no cast offs or garage sale finds. It was pretty much the best they could give, these were gifts you typically gave to kings in palaces not babies in stables. Nonetheless, I thinks it’s safe to say that these wise guys knew a thing or two about worship.
They knew that this child was the Messiah, and they responded, with what some would call a rather demonstrative form of worship, I mean they fell down in front of him and gave extravagant gifts. Is that how you respond to the Messiah? Does this first response of Gentiles inform your worship? Does the adoration of the magi, inform and shape your worship?
My prayer is that it does that none of you choose to respond to the Messiah like Herod did who said that he was coming to worship, yet he never intented on worship. When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the wise men, he was furious and did something worthy of Hitler or Stalin or Saddaam Hussein. All the instincts of a lifetime of cruelty surfaced, he ordered the cold-blooded murder of all males less than two years of age. Herod the Great became the Butcher of Bethlehem.
Rarely in history was a battle between Kings so dismally stacked. Herod the capable, crafty, and cruel dictator filled with power, possessions, prestige, and paranoia, armed with firepower, resources and armies -- and little Jesus, held safely in the arms of his loving mother.
To say that the two Kings, Herod and Jesus, merely “crossed paths” is way too mild. According to a fundamental law of physics, the force of impact depends upon speed and direction. Jesus and Herod were both moving fast, but from totally opposite directions. King Herod represented the popular perspective on power: Get it, keep it, use it. King Jesus had a more simple, yet radical philosophy: Use power to serve others. Herod was not giving up his kingship, he was the boss of his life. Herod never planned on giving, he planned on taking, taking all he could get hoping to rob the Christ child of life.
That’s why the wise men did not return to Herod, but took another way, home. Herod was not going to worship the born King of the Jews. Herod was the king and boss of his life, and no one was going to replace him as number one in his life, not even the born king.
I’d like us to take a little assessment to see how we’re doing this morning. Which King is ruling your life right now? Are you infected with the virus of self-promotion and craftiness this Epiphany? Do you think more about yourself than others? Do you crave power and the adrenaline rush that comes from controlling your own resources and controlling the people around you? Are you more afraid of what others may do to you instead of how you can serve them? If so, then the influence of Herod may be holding the remote in your life.
On a scale of 1-10, how important are these things to you this Christmas? Take this little test if you dare.
1. Power ¬ how important is it for you to have control?
0----1----2----3----4----5----6—-7----8---9---10
2. Possessions ¬ how important are the things you own?
0----1----2----3----4----5----6—-7----8---9---10
3. Prestige ¬ how important is status to you?
0----1----2----3----4----5----6—-7----8---9---10
4. Paranoia ¬ how important is your protection from others?
0----1----2----3----4----5----6—-7----8---9---10
Friend, if you scored at a 7 or above on any of these questions, you’ve probably got more of Herod in you than you thought ¬ and you’re probably creating some problems for those closest to you.
Which King Are You Following? Herod the Great and Jesus, born King of the Jews. These two kings still clash today -- in fact, they compete with each other for control of your lives.
Herod stated that he wanted to go and worship Jesus. Yet, Herod was in no way interested in bowing down to another King, his words were empty. Friend, are you a little like Herod in this regard? Do you say that you’re interested in Christianity, but you’re really not? Are you just going through the motions?
There are at least two things you can do to help root out the influence of Herod in your life:
1. Give your Life to Jesus.
Romans 12:1, “I urge you brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God ¬ which is your spiritual worship.” When you give your entire life over to Jesus Christ, this ultimate demonstration of worship is very pleasing to God ¬ and we drive a stake into the heart of Herod’s influence in our life.
Power loses its grip because we’ve humbly deferred to the King of Kings. Possessions are not ours, they belong to God. We are merely managers of what He’s given. Prestige has no pull, because we are living to please God. Paranoia flies out the window because when God is for us, who can be against us? Herod refused to make the 5-mile trip from Jerusalem to Bethlehem to worship the King of Christmas. He was content to keep his distance. He didn’t want to go and have his own kingship challenged. He was so close -- and yet so far away. I suspect that some of you are close to understanding the true meaning of Christmas as well. Friends, I encourage you to take the trip. As you do, you’ll come face-to-face with a powerful demonstration of God’s outrageous love -- a love that liberates you.
2. Give to the Least of these
Many years after Jesus was born, He taught His followers an important lesson on how they could honor Him. Jesus said in Matthew 25:40, “…Whatever you did for one of the least of these…you did it unto me.” In essence, Jesus is saying that if we want to worship and honor Him, then we better do some things to show that people matter to God. Your friend’s family and neighbours, Those in prison. The poor, hungry, widows, orphans, seniors. When you serve, you are serving the Messiah, Jesus Christ.
How do you respond to the Messiah? Is accepting Jesus as your King part of your worship? Is giving part of your worship? Is your worship informed by the response of the wise men?
Many Thanks go to Brian Bill December 1999, SermonCentral.com narrative "a tale of two kings"
