One of the stories recorded in the Christmas narrative involves Herod's rage when he realizes he has been tricked by the wise men and so orders the murder of all boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity, two years and under.
When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious and gave orders to kill all boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi (Matthew 2:16).
The story is only recorded in Matthew, and it is sometimes purposely overlooked in all the peace and good will messages of the season. It is not a story that fits into pageants and nativity scenes very well.
Its brutal tones disturb us when we ponder "Joy to the World."
In church history the event is known as the "Slaughter of the Innocents."
Why was the story even included in Matthew's account?
Maybe to tie the remarkable historical connection between the birth of Moses and the birth of Jesus. Two leaders were arriving on the world stage to lead their people from slavery into freedom.
Not a welcome thought for Pharaoh or Herod.
Or maybe to remind us that Jesus was born and lived in a cold, cruel, harsh world, and yet, in spite of that, a world that could and did receive and spread the gospel message of peace and joy.
A world not unlike the world of the 20th century and our own world today.
So what kind of a man who make such an order to murder infants and small children?
More About Herod....
Our information on Herod is brief, but the picture that emerges through the centuries is of a cruel, self-serving, arrogant leader.
His background was complex. He was an Arab, whose father was from a tribe in the southern part of the Holy Land called Idumea (Edom - where descendants of Esau settled and whose people refused to allow the Israelites to pass through their land after the Exodus many centuries before).
His mother was from Petra, which was the capital of an Arab kingdom in northern Arabia.
But Herod's religion was Jewish. A century earlier a Jewish ruler had conquered the Edomites and on threat of death forced them to become Jews. His grandfather, Antipater the Elder, was a provincial governor.
Culturally Herod was a Greek and Greek was his first language. His name was Greek and he was known for various attempts to turn Jerusalem into a Greek city.
Politically, Herod was a Roman. He always sided with Rome in any conflict.
He was a well-known military figure. He personally led his armies in ten major wars. One of the most famous was the war between Cleopatra and Antony against Octavian.
Herod chose to side with Antony against Octavian for control of the Roman Empire.
When Octavian won decisively, Herod showed his clever ingenuity by traveling to meet Octavian and gaining his attention.
It was a brilliant move. Octavian (who called himself Caesar Augustus) granted Herod an audience.
Herod boldly appeared without a crown and freely admitted he had helped Caesar's enemies. He even admitted his high regard for Antony and his loyalty to him.
Then he climaxed his audience by saying, "What I ask you to consider is not whose friend, but what a good friend, I was."
Caesar did consider the words and told Herod to put his crown back on and to return to Palestine to rule!
It was down hill for Herod from there. He had ten marriages. He considered his sons to be political rivals and had two of his 'favorites' strangled in Samaria. He began to suspect his favorite wife, Mariamne, of disloyalty, and had her killed. Later he wandered helplessly through the palace halls calling her name and sending servants to find her. When they failed, he had them beaten.
He attempted suicide and the crown prince, who Herod had imprisoned, was released to assume leadership. Herod survived and killed that son also, and then died a few days later.
His last order was to command his troops to arrest thousands of notables from across the country and place them in a stadium in Jericho. Upon Herod's death, the notables were to be executed so that there would be mourning in the land when the king died.
Herod knew only too well that no one would weep for him.
That order was not carried out.
But it does show us that as an old man Herod certainly had the capability of ordering the killing of the babies in Bethlehem, the act we have called "The Slaughter of the Innocents" in the Christmas story.
It was truly a brutal world into which Jesus was born, and Herod was a man of his times.
A fact we should not ignore. Because it looks more and more like our world today.
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