I’ve entitled our message this morning, “Remembering the Holy Innocents.” “In the New Testament, the ‘Massacre of the Innocents’ is the incident in the nativity narrative . . . in which Herod the Great, king of Judea, orders the execution of all male children two years old and under in the vicinity of Bethlehem.”(1) “The Catholic Church regards [these children] as the first Christian martyrs.” They are known as the “Holy Innocents,” and their collective massacre is commemorated by Catholics each year on December 28, which is known as the “Feast of the Holy Innocents.”(2)
The account of King Herod’s murder of the male children of Bethlehem some two-thousand years ago is remembered and retold each year at this time, and still causes anger and outrage at its wanton cruelty. Yet, the number of children who died in that massacre pales in comparison with the sixty million babies who have been aborted legally in America since Roe v. Wade in 1973.(3) This morning, we’re going to view the account of the “Massacre of the Innocents,” and like the Catholic Church, apply it to the issue of abortion; and I believe we will gain some insight into the driving force behind the killing of babies, and learn what we can do to intervene and work to stop it.
Slaughter of the Male Children (vv. 13-18)
13 Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him.” 14 When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt, 15 and was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, “Out of Egypt I called My Son.”
16 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. 17 Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying: 18 “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.”
In Matthew 2:1, we read that the events in this passage took place “after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king.” On the day that Jesus was born, and even a couple of years later when the Magi came looking for the Christ, Herod lived in his massive palace. “The Herodion, third largest palace of its day . . . was built in the wilderness near Bethlehem. The huge structure was a monument to Herod’s wealth and engineering skill. Its buildings covered forty-five acres of land and were surrounded by nearly two hundred acres of palace grounds.”(4)
“The Herodion stood on land rich with biblical history. In the nearby area, Jacob buried his wife, Ruth gleaned in Boaz’s fields, and Samuel anointed David as king of Israel. [But] about three miles away, the most significant event of all took place. Jesus was born in the small town of Bethlehem, a village that stood, literally, in the shadow of Herod’s greatness.”(5) “Next to the massive Herodion, the quiet place of Jesus’ birth must have seemed insignificant to [the] people of His day. Bethlehem was not a place of extravagant palaces or mighty power: It was a home for farmers and shepherds. In fact, Jesus wasn’t even born in the comfort of a home, much less a lavish palace. Mary gave birth amidst animals . . . where goats and sheep slept through the night.”(6)
The events in this passage took place a few years after Jesus’ birth, when He was an infant child around two-years-old; and I want to back up and read some selected verses from the beginning of this chapter. In Matthew 2:1-4, we read that after Jesus was born, “Behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, ‘Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.’ When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.”
King Herod was troubled by this news about the “King of the Jews,” the one who would have been the rightful ruler of Judea. This was a threat to his throne and to all the privileges he had come to enjoy. In verses 7-8, we read, “Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, ‘Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me that I may come and worship Him also’.” One commentator has noted that “King Herod was a master politician,” and like many politicians we see today, he “felt threatened by the truth,”(7) and Herod lied in an attempt to maintain his office and accomplish his sinister plan.
We read in verses 11-12, “And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way.” Herod wanted to crush any perceived challenges to his throne. He was seeking to kill Jesus, but his plans were thwarted when the Magi were warned in a dream not to report back to Herod (v. 12); and also as an angel of the Lord told Joseph to “take the young Child and His mother, [and] flee to Egypt” (v. 13).
I should note that Herod was known for being an evil man. “Among the many atrocities for which he was known, he killed his own wife and two of his sons.”(8) Also, “when Herod came into power he executed forty-five of the seventy-one members of the Sanhedrin because they opposed him.”(9) And “according to orders made before Herod’s death, soldiers were to round up many of Judea’s most distinguished men into Jerusalem’s theater and execute them all. Herod justified this final act of cruelty by saying that it would ensure that the Jews lamented his passing.”(10)
“Herod, who was paranoid about threats to his power, feared that Cleopatra of Egypt would invade his land. He built the Herodion as one of several fortress-palaces lining the escape route to Moab, Herod’s home country. In case of attack, he could flee Jerusalem and head to one of his fortress retreats.”(11) What we need to understand is that in his quest for absolute power Herod was consumed with fear.
In 2 Timothy 1:7, we read, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” If you are a believer in Christ, you should be filled with power and love, and be unwavering in your moral convictions. The opposite of power is compromise; the opposite of agape (or godly love for others) is love of self; and the opposite of a sound mind is wavering instability. We are filled with power, love and a sound mind only when walking in the opposite of fear, which is faith. But when we are walking in fear, the bottom line is that it makes us do selfish and crazy things, like killing babies.
“When [Herod] felt threatened by the birth of the Christ Child, he sought to kill Him . . . But the Magi, whom he had cunningly commissioned to visit and report back with the newborn Messiah’s location, were warned by an angel not to return with this information. Furious at the failure of his plan and feeling ever the more threatened, Herod commanded the slaughter of all male children in Bethlehem who were under two years of age, expecting that the young Jesus would be among them.(12)
“The thought of there being another king, one with greater claim to that title than Herod himself, led to the persecution and destruction of the lives of these children. King Herod may have lived over two thousand years ago, but we still have ‘King Herods’ today that will take the life of a child because they believe the baby ‘threatens’ their way of life.”(13) For example, “many of those choosing elective abortions will speak of the child coming at a bad time for them. They were either in college, or in a consensual relationship which was not going to lead to marriage, or some other reason. These are the people who, for their own convenience, have no problem with the death of another. These are the ‘Herods’ of today.”(14)
So, how many children were killed when Herod commanded the slaughter? The “Byzantine liturgy estimated 14,000 Holy Innocents, while an early Syrian list of saints stated the number at 64,000 . . . The Catholic Encyclopedia more soberly suggests that these numbers were inflated, and that probably only between six and twenty children were killed in the town, with a dozen or so more in the surrounding areas”(15) But I think we can all agree that the death of “any” child is one too many!
So, how many children (or babies) are killed today through abortion? On average, there are 862,000 killed each year in the United States. “There are more abortions performed every year in America than combat deaths in all of our wars”(16) combined. A 2017 statistic shows that there have been “59,902,500 unborn lives taken since Roe v. Wade was decided in 1973.”(17) If we were to observe a fifteen-second moment of silence for each child killed by abortion, it would last twenty-eight years.(18)
As I said earlier, “The [account] of King Herod’s murder of the [children] of Bethlehem some two-thousand years ago . . . still causes anger and outrage at its wanton cruelty.”(19) Bet let me ask, “How many of us are angered and outraged at the number of children who have died since abortion was legalized in 1973?”
So, the motive for taking innocent lives is often “fear.” But let me ask, “What is it that’s going on in the spiritual realm that often leads to such an onslaught against innocent children?” Well, allow me to refer us to another Bible passage that shares an account about the murder of newborns. In Exodus chapter 1, we read this: “Then the king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives . . . and he said, ‘When you do the duties of a midwife for the Hebrew women, and see them on the birth stools, if it is a son, then you shall kill him; but if it is a daughter, then she shall live’ . . . So, Pharaoh commanded all his people, saying, ‘Every son who is born you shall cast into the river, and every daughter you shall save alive’” (Exodus 1:15-16, 22).
“When God was drawing close to liberating His chosen people from slavery in Egypt, there occurred the order to murder all of the baby boys among the Hebrews. It was almost as though Satan sensed that God was up to something good, and Satan raged through Pharaoh in murderous anger driven by fear.”(20) “At the time of Jesus, when God was preparing to liberate His people from sin, there also occurred the murder of innocent baby boys. Here, too, it was almost as though the devil sensed that God was up to something good; and he once again raged, this time through Herod, in murderous anger driven by fear.”(21)
“Notice the pattern. When God prepared a great liberation the Devil, raging in fear, went after the babies. In our time, on a scale as never [seen] before, the Devil is going after our babies in murderous anger driven by fear. [So] what is he afraid of? Is God planning something big in the near future? Is there a great liberation at hand? Is there a great advancement of evangelization and conversion in the [distance]? We can only speculate. But patterns are patterns, and Scripture has a way of repeating its patterns and echoing down through the centuries.”(22)
I must point out that “the great liberation that followed the past [killing of babies and children] did not occur until after those murderous rages were stopped. Hence, to follow the pattern established in Scripture, and to see a potentially great and liberating act of God we must first see an end to the slaughter.”(23) The key is this: “End the massacre and the glory will follow.” So we need to actively work and fervently pray to end abortion. But going against the flow to take a stand is not going to be easy!
“When Herod issued his infamous decree, Mary and Joseph fled to Egypt with the Christ Child. They left their ‘comfort zone.’ Their love for Him was greater than the sacrifice they made by leaving their country, relations, work, home and everything they had known and loved, in order to protect this most precious Child.”(24) “We, too, are called to make the sacrifice to leave behind our ‘comfort zone,’ and to defend the sacredness of every human life from its first moment of [conception] to its natural end. We must fight to enact and to uphold laws which support this most important truth.”(25)
“No matter how powerful evil seems to be in our world today, Christians are asked to believe that Jesus is still the King. Christians today do not live in the shadow of the Herodion as Jesus did. But, there are many contemporary ‘Herods,’ shadows of sin that seem to overpower the good in our world.”(26) Abortion is one of those Herods. “It is often easier to avoid evil than to confront it, but Christians should not be afraid to step out in faith. We have access to the power of Jesus, a power that may not come with earthly comforts, but [it is] a power that is stronger than any evil in our world.”(27)
Commentator Ray VanderLaan points out that “when walking near the Herodion, a mountain that Herod literally moved, Jesus once told His disciples that faith as small as a mustard seed could move mountains. He wanted His followers to know that our faith can accomplish far more than the most amazing earthly feats.”(28) If we will step out in faith and obedience, God will provide a way. Consider how God worked through the Magi to provide for Joseph as he fought to save the life of his son. “Without the gold from the wise men, scholars say it is unlikely that the young family would have been able to afford a cross-country exile. This gift [also] provided Mary and Joseph with the material support they needed for the most critical years of Jesus’ life.”(29)
Time of Reflection
In John 10:10, Jesus said, “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” The one who desires to steal, kill and destroy human life is the devil. In John 8:44, Jesus told the Pharisees, “You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him.” According to this verse, anyone who strives to steal, kill and destroy serves the devil. This tells us that anyone who enacts policies that lead to the taking of innocent life is a murderer, and someone serving the devil rather than God. Let me remind us that Jesus has come to bring life, while the devil only comes to bring death.
“Today, Herod’s magnificent buildings stand in ruins and most people remember him as the man who killed babies in Bethlehem. Herod made a big mark on the world while he lived, but it has [since] vanished.”(30) Jesus didn’t leave any great palaces as a legacy, but His humble life changed the world forever; and today, nearly every person has heard of the tiny baby born in Bethlehem;(31) the One who grew up and gave His life on the cross for our sins. Nearly every person has heard of the One whom the Bible calls “the Prince of life” (NIV) and “the Author of life” (NKJV, Acts 3:15); the One whom Hebrews declares “became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him” (Hebrews 5:9) and believe.
In addition to creating the physical life we have, God also desires that we have spiritual life. Romans 6:23 tells us, “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” We are all supposed the die a spiritual death for our sins by spending eternity separated from God; but the Lord has made a way for us to be reconciled unto Him through the death of His one and only Son. Jesus paid the price for our sins so that we can be forgiven and have eternal life. In John 3:16, we read, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” The Lord says, “I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life” (Deuteronomy 30:19). I encourage you to choose life today by confessing Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.
NOTES
(1) “Massacre of the Innocents,” Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massacre_of_the_Innocents (Accessed December 23, 2020).
(2) Lisa A. Honkanen, “The Feast of the Holy Innocents & the Reproductive Health Act,” https://www.drvc.org/the-feast-of-the-holy-innocents-the-reproductive-health-act/ (Accessed December 23, 2020).
(3) Ibid.
(4) Ray VanderLaan, “In the Shadow of Herod,” That the World May Know: https://www.thattheworldmayknow.com/in-the-shadow-of-herod-article (Accessed December 23, 2020).
(5) Ibid.
(6) Ibid.
(7) Honkanen.
(8) Ortho Cuban, “Herod and Abortion,” https://www.orthocuban.com/2019/01/herod-and-abortion/ (Accessed December 23, 2020).
(9) John R. Fink, “Life among the People of Israel When Jesus Was Born,” Franciscan Foundation for the Holy Land: https://ffhl.org/life-among-people-israel-jesus-born/ (Accessed December 4, 2020).
(10) Cuban.
(11) VanderLaan.
(12) Honkanen.
(13) “A Modern King Herod: A New Slaughter of Innocence,” Sacred Heart of Jesus: https://www.shbroussard.org/redbricks/a-modern-king-herod-a-new-slaughter-of-the-innocents (Accessed December 23, 2020).
(14) Cuban.
(15) “Massacre of the Innocents,” Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massacre_of_the_Innocents (Accessed December 23, 2020).
(16) “National 2019 Abortion Statistics,” Grand Rapids Right to Life: https://www.grrtl.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Abortion_US.pdf (Accessed December 23, 2020).
(17) Ibid.
(18) Ibid.
(19) Honkanen.
(20) Charles Pope, “The Role of Fear in Abortion,” http://blog.adw.org/2010/12/the-role-of-fear-in-abortion-a-meditation-on-the-feast-of-the-holy-innocents/ (Accessed December 23, 2020).
(21) Ibid.
(22) Ibid.
(23) Ibid.
(24) Honkanen.
(25) Ibid.
(26) VanderLaan.
(27) Ibid.
(28) Ibid.
(29) Ardee Coolidge, “Christmas without the Wise Men?” https://www.care-net.org/abundant-life-blog/christmas-without-the-wise-men (Accessed December 23, 2020).
(30) VanderLaan.
(31) Ibid.
