Many Are Afraid and what we see in Herod’s Fear
Jesus is to be “feared” and esteemed, but we should never be afraid of Him or the change He wants to bring in our lives and to our world.
Fear could be given as F-False, E-Evidence, A-Appearing, R-Real.
Matthew 2:1-18
What are you afraid of? Who is it that you are afraid of? Many of us are afraid of our past. We fear that some of our past will be made known publicly. Who wants to know that I was thumb sucker or that I did not like Broccoli or that I stole a pencil when I was in high school? I also was convicted years later as I was in prayer that I needed to return to the place I had stolen that pencil and pay for it. I had to travel many miles to do that and I was not thanked for being honest. My conscious was clear.
How many of us struggle with circumstances and events in the unknown future? Many are trapped by these on a daily basis. We some times play a game “What would happen if?” I lost my job; my health went bad, I lost some one I loved or if my church closed.
How many of listen to the news and find there apparently that there is much more to fear than to feel safe about in our world these days.
Is there any one you have met who is afraid of Jesus? Do you think it is because they never understood who He is or why He came to this earth to begin with? Some might believe that if Jesus gets close to them or if they get close to Jesus, their entire life will be wrecked. One of the reasons I believe that this is because we are not always the best witnesses for the good Jesus does in a person’s life. Some are confused about the change and joy Jesus brings into a person’s life. Herod was afraid of Jesus because he knew a new king was around and He was THE KING. Just think with me that if Herod Instead of plotting to kill the Christ Child, He would have asked a few questions about who Jesus is and why he was born.
1. he could have asked about the background into which Jesus was Born.
Herod, the king of the Jews was in Jerusalem in Judea and was in the seat of government.
He had some Kings from the east who come to worship the “newborn King.” Herod thought he was already the king. While many Herods are mentioned in the Bible, this was Herod the Great, named king over all four political districts of Palestine by the Roman Senate. He ruled from 37 to 4 B.C. Jesus did not start His ministry until he was 30 and this Herod would have died before that time. In The history of the Herod family we find it is filled with lies, murder, deceit and adultery. Herod the Great was a cruel, evil man who murdered many in his own family. We also know he also managed the repair of the temple, making it much larger and more beautiful, as well as overseeing many other building projects in Jerusalem. This made him extremely popular with the Jews. After Herod’s death, the districts were divided among three separate rulers. We later read about Herod the Great’s son, Herod Antipas, was the one who killed John the Baptist (Mark 6:26-28) and badgered Jesus (Luke 23:6-12).
Herod and Jerusalem were troubled by the search for this “new” King. We see that Herod was troubled for several reasons: Herod was not the rightful heir to the throne of David. He was partly Jewish, but descended from Esau, not from Jacob’s line.
Herod was not all the people thought he was. His ethnicity was Arab, but he considered himself Jewish by religion.
He reigned by appointment from Rome. If this baby was a rightful heir to the throne of Israel, Herod could face trouble from the Jews who might want to declare this baby truly their new king.
Herod was ruthless. Many think he was mentally disturbed by this point in his life. He was obviously doubting that someone was trying to overthrow him.
Herod may not have wanted the Jews to unite around a religious figure. The wise men said they were coming to worship this newborn king of the Jews. Herod knew the last thing he needed was for the Jewish nation to be led by a disloyal religious leader.
If these wise men were of Jewish descent and from Parthia (the most powerful region next to Rome), they would have welcomed a Jewish king who could swing the balance of power away from Rome. The land of Israel, far from Rome, would have been easy prey for a nation trying to gain more control. “When King Herod and all Jerusalem heard about this, they became disturbed. He called together all the chief priests and scribes and tried to find out from them where the Messiah was supposed to be born. Then Herod secretly called the wise men and found out from them exactly when the star had appeared. As he sent them to Bethlehem, he said, "Go and search carefully for the child. When you have found him, report to me so that I may go and worship him too." We see that Herod wanted to know about Jesus and it seems he wanted to worship him. We find out that he feared the new king and yet history shows that he did not even live to hear Jesus preach.
2. he could have ASKED WHY JESUS WAS BORN.
Because Jesus was born into our world, people have to respond. Just because Jesus came it did not calm and comfort all the people as we might think it does today. We find that His coming troubled and disturbed many. He bothered the spiritual desires in those who were in darkness. It was in others he brought fear and uncertainty. It is true that God entered our world when Jesus was born as a man. We dare not sit unresponsively by and pay no attention to or try to reason what we should do with the call of Jesus on our life. We have to accept or choose to reject Jesus as the rightful King of our lives. Jesus Himself is all of the wonder of God. We find in Him Life, Love, Forgiveness, deliverance, trust, Salvation, Constancy, Dependability, Grace, Mercy, Truth, Strength and all that you can give to describe God. We find in JN 3:16-17 the reason why Jesus was born in the first place. We do not need to be afraid of Jesus. The King of the universe came to save all. In our Scripture we find that he was now wanted by the king of Judea who seemingly wanted to kill all instead of saving them. “Herod was furious when he learned that the wise men had outwitted him. He sent soldiers to kill all the boys in and around Bethlehem who were two years old and under, because the wise men had told him the star first appeared to them about two years earlier.”
3. he could have ASKED What Does Jesus Want?
Herod the Great thought Jesus wanted his throne. In truth, Jesus wanted Herod’s heart, just as He does yours and mine. The birth of Jesus got into Herod’s mind and it bothered him. All Jesus was to come into and change hearts from the blackness of sin to the truth of holy living and going to heaven. Jesus’ desire to want “all” can be troubling to a lot of people. Look at what Jesus gives when He says He wants your life: salvation, peace and power over sin, eternal life, help today, a pure heart and all of heaven. What does Jesus want: To spare us from eternal torment and death while living in a relationship with us everyday. "Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We have seen his star as it arose, and we have come to worship him." Jesus wants us to worship Him.
4. he could have ASKED How Does Jesus Rule?
Herod ruled the Jews for 33-34 years using the threat of death and violence. He actually killed “sons” at the beginning and end of his reign in Judea. A horrible disease (probably a cancer) made acute the problem of Herod’s succession, and the result was factional strife in his family. Though he claimed to be King of the Jews no one gave him that title as they did Jesus when He was on the cross.
Jesus has always ruled everyone with peace and love. Isn’t it interesting that Jesus and Herod physically “ruled” on the earth almost the same amount of time? Herod ruled in armies; Jesus rules in hearts. We should fear hearts and motives like Herod’s, not the Christ Child.
Herod was afraid that this newborn king would one day take his throne. He completely misunderstood the reason for Christ’s coming. Jesus did not want Herod’s throne. He wanted to be king of Herod’s life. Jesus wanted to give everyone, including Herod, eternal life, not take his present life. Today people are often afraid that Christ wants to take everything away from them. I know he wants to give us real freedom, peace, and joy. Don’t let fear of Christ keep Him from reigning on the throne of your life.
What is stopping you from giving your life to Jesus? What is stopping you from worshipping the Christ Child this Christmas? What are you Fearful of? Right now you need to respond to this Child who is Jesus, God’s Son? Not like Herod who was fearful of him but like Abraham of the O. T. who believed God. Herod asked questions but when he got answers he decided to destroy and not worship. We choose what we want to do with Jesus. On this first Sunday of Advent will you choose to worship Christ?
