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Written by Pastor Darrell Cooper
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Friday, 01 August 2008 14:36 |
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Matthew 2
December 25, 2007 - Lindsborg Cov.
“Herod the Great”
(Herod the Great)
Sermon
(Sermon begins with someone asking the congregation to rise and receive the great King Herod. An elderly and sick King Herod arrives in costume, walks to his throne in the center of the stage, and sits down. What follows is his monologue)
Sit down! You are making me nervous! (Congregation sits) Well, you would be nervous too if you were in my position. Because, some people are trying to steal my throne! It’s been this way from the beginning. Some say that I am not the rightful heir to this throne - because I am an Idumean, because I am a descendant of Esau and not of Jacob. But I am half-Jewish! And besides, I was appointed to this post by the Emperor himself.
That’s right. It was 43 years ago now. I was assigned here as the governor of this region. Then, seven years later, I was granted the title “King”. That’s right. King! King Herod the Great! Why great? Because the people love me. Well, OK, perhaps not my people, the Jews, those selfish ingrates! After all the things I have done for them. I have been exceedingly generous, even rebuilding their temple!
No matter. No matter. The Romans, the Romans respect me. The Romans trust me. After all, I am the only ruler who has managed to keep peace and order in this region. I have made myself useful to Rome. I have helped them with their wars, and with the civil wars in this area. Yes, I am well liked in Rome.
Perhaps you are familiar with some of my famous construction projects. Yes? You have been to Jerusalem, have you? Magnificent, aren’t they? Yes, I do nothing if not on a grand scale! That is why, no doubt, so many of my enemies are jealous of me, and why so many wish me dead.
That is why I have had to rule with an iron fist! That is why, when I first rose to power I had to show my people that I am the boss. So, I had the Sanhedrin arrested, you know, the supreme court of the Jewish people? I had them all rounded up and executed in my presence to show the people that I am large and in charge!
Not long after that I began to hear rumors and reports of dissension among some of my own court officials. I had to nip that in the bud. I had to make an example of someone, so I seized 300 of my own court officers and had them all executed. That shut them up. At least for a while.
Yes, a man in my position cannot be too careful. You always have to watch your back. So many usurpers to the throne! Even in my own family. My own wife, Mariamne! For so long she was such a good wife. But then she began to challenge my authority. She began to question the prudence of some of my public policies. I simply cannot abide such impudence, so I had her killed. And while I was at it, I had her mother, Alexandra killed as well. I never liked my mother-in-law. Call me an insensitive oaf, will you? Well, she isn’t calling me anything anymore!
And then there was the matter of my own sons. My eldest son, Antipater, was the most obvious heir to the throne. I could not risk such a rival, so I had him executed. There was also his brother Alexander, named after my mother-in-law. Who needs that kind of reminder around? So, I had him eliminated. I also had my son, Aristobulus killed, just for good measure. No, you can never be too careful. There is always someone plotting to overthrow me.
Have you heard the latest? No? Well, it was only a few weeks ago now. A group of, well, I suppose they were royalty, a group of royal officials from way out East somewhere showed up in Jerusalem. They called themselves Magi, and they were like a bunch of wide-eyed schoolboys babbling on about some star that appeared to them in the eastern sky announcing the birth of a great king. They had followed this star and traveled here from a far distant country in order to bow down and worship this child who was destined to become the great King of the Jews. They came to me, asking, “Where is this one who has been born King of the Jews?”
How should I know? This is the first I had heard of it. I was, of course, vaguely aware of some ancient superstition among the Jews, some fairy tale prophesies about a Messiah who was to come. But I knew little of such matters.
So, I quietly summoned the chief priests and the teachers of the law and inquired of them about the matter. They, of course, knew all about it and offered me an immediate answer. They quoted from some prophet, Micah, I believe.
“ ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.’”
Bethlehem. Bethlehem?! Who knew?
This was alarming! I had to do something and I had to act quickly. This news posed perhaps the greatest threat to my throne to date. I have killed my own children on lesser suspicions. I had to squash this rebellion, but I had to be careful.
It would not do for me to go to Bethlehem to search for the child myself. For one thing, it would take too long, but more importantly, my presence there might alarm this child’s family and friends. If they took him into hiding it would make it much more difficult for me to achieve my goal. No, I had to handle this one indirectly.
I struck upon a plan. I would use these Magi as my errand boys! So, I summoned them back to my private chambers and feigned interest in their mission. I asked them, “When exactly was it that this star appeared to you in the East?” They told me it had been a year ago. Interesting. That would mean that the child was now about one year old.
“Bethlehem,” I said. “The child was born in Bethlehem, not six miles from here. Here is what I want you to do. I want you to go to that village. Conduct a careful search for this child-king, and the moment you find him I want you to report back to me so that I too may go to him and bow down and worship this one who has been born as a King for my people Israel.
They bought it! They packed up and left for Bethlehem to do my bidding. I relaxed then, knowing that in just a few days this matter would be well in hand.
I expected them back the next day, or perhaps the next. On the third day, when they did not return, I was worried. I sent a delegation to Bethlehem to investigate. They returned and reported to me that the Magi were missing. Vanished! They had not come back through Jerusalem, so they had apparently returned to their country by an alternate route. I was furious! Someone must have tipped them off! But who? No one was privy to our conversation, so whoever it was had to be a very high-ranking official in my own government. This conspiracy was far broader than even I had imagined!
I had to act quickly. This was no time for diplomacy or discretion. I had to kill this child, but how? I knew he was born in Bethlehem but I did not know which one or where, and there was no time to interrogate all the families. The Magi had said the star appeared one year ago. So, for good measure, I instructed the soldiers to kill the children two years old and younger. I ordered them to go to Bethlehem and the whole surrounding region and kill every male child two years old or younger. Desperate times call for desperate measures.
Like I said, that was a few weeks ago now. It has been relatively quiet in Bethlehem ever since. No more rumors of a child-king. No more reports of anyone who might be the King of the Jews. Just a bunch of blubbering women and their funerals.
I did what I had to do, because no one, no one will take my throne from me. No one! Not even God Himself! I have outwitted the God of the Jews. My soldiers blanketed the area and slaughtered every child who even might be the one. This Christ child surely lies dead in a shallow grave outside Bethlehem now. The only way for this Messiah, this King of the Jews to rule his kingdom now is if he rose again from the dead. And we all know that is never going to happen!
(Break character)
These events took place in the year 4 B.C. The great irony of this story is that by the end of that calendar year, King Herod was dead and Jesus was not. He was a happy and healthy toddler, running around on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, growing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man, and bringing us good news of great joy that would be for all the people, that today, in the City of David, a Savior has been born to you. He is Christ the Lord.
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