God's Last Words

“ON YOUR TOES”
MATTHEW 2: 1-12 NRSV

“Be on your toes because some of these people aren’t right,” the psychiatric aide at Harrisburg Hospital told me on my first visit in 1980. It was my first exposure to such a place, and the first of many visits to institutions serving mentally ill and mentally deficient people over my mental health career.

When I sat down to read the scripture passage for this week that memory came back to me as I thought, “What type of place and environment was King Herod’s palace and throne room?” What would the Wise men have encountered as they sought the child that was foretold to be the King of the Jews?

Let’s hear their story:

In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, "Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage."

When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They told him, "In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet: 'And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel.' "

Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, "Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage." 

When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. 

When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 

And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.

To understand what the Wise men may have encountered in Jerusalem as they sought information there are some things we have to know.

Let’s first understand that the Herod here is “Herod the Great,” the father of Herod Antipas, who would later endorse the Pharisee’s and the High Priest’s demand of Jesus’ death at the hands of Rome. That Herod Antipas was “King of Galilee.”

Herod the Great, while not really Jewish and not really a nice person at all, had convinced the Roman Emperor to give him the throne and title to Judea after several long battles and wars in the region. Herod was a schemer and survivor more than anything else and lived on paranoia and conspiracy theories.

During nearly his whole reign, Herod faced trouble within his own family. As early as 29 B.C. he had killed his wife, Mariamne, out of jealousy. As the years went by, the whole matter was further complicated by the question of who would replace him on the throne. Herod – multiple wives, multiple children, multiple threats.

Like many people with a strong will to power and rule, Herod could not face the idea of losing it. Three of Herod's sons were put to death, and his brother was said to have "escaped death only by dying."

Complicating the issue is that Herod’s health was never good and he eventually died of intestinal gangrene caused by parasites and poor hygiene.

When Herod finally did die in 4 B.C., two of his other surviving sons claimed the throne and the Emperor Augustus finally settled the matter by splitting the inheritance between these two sons and a third one, and not allowing the title of king of Judea to any of them.

Historians have written that the only good thing that can be said about Herod the Great is that in an age when small countries were at the mercy of aggressors and depended on the will of Rome, Herod did keep Judea safe, secure, and prosperous.

Throughout his career Herod suffered from being caught somewhere between Jew and Gentile (and was thought of by the Jews as a gentile abomination). But despite his wish to strengthen the Jewish state, he still sought the favor of Rome, and this conflict between loyalty would prove his ultimate failure.

Herod the Great undertook great building projects in Judea, including whole cities like Caesarea Maritima and Masada and the rebuilding of Jericho. He also rebuilt the Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem.

But he did things that infuriated the Jews. After he completed the work in the Temple, he deeply offended the Jews of Jerusalem by placing an eagle, the emblem of Roman rule, on the Temple. His last act in life was overseeing the execution of the Jews who had torn it down.

In our scripture from Matthew the wise men from the east, travel to Jerusalem to ask Herod the Great where the King of the Jews was to be born.

Think of that for a second – they came into the palace of a paranoid, power hungry, and physically tormented king with limited but “absolute power” and asked where the King of Jews was just born? Not un like walking into an airport and saying “terrorist,” and “bomb,” in the same sentence to a young fuzzy lipped TSA agent!

Herod was deeply disturbed, because he had been given the title, King of the Jews, by the Romans, and he was planning that one of his sons would inherit the title from him. Equally disturbing was the news that the child would be born in Bethlehem, the site of Herod's summer palace.

Herod tries to get the travelling Kings to keep him informed. But they probably were tipped off by their own intuition or someone in the palace who knew the score and tipped them off like the aide did for me so long ago. Perhaps they left as if they were walking on the proverbial eggshells. God also came to them in a dream and warned them to go another way home..

Herod was frustrated at every turn in seeking out and putting down this new threat to his rule. Is it no wonder that Herod ordered the slaughter of all boys under the age of two years, and that Joseph took Mary and Jesus to Egypt for safety. Joseph did not bring his family back to Nazareth until after Herod’s death in 4 b.c.

After the death of Herod the Great, the Romans divided his kingdom between 3 of his sons, and none of them were called King of the Jews, but rather became rulers of smaller territories.

Herod Archelaus ruled Judea after the death of his father. In Matthew 2: 22, Joseph decided to take his family north to Galilee where Herod Antipas was King, because he was afraid of Archelaus. Archelaus ruled so badly however, that the Romans removed him after ten years, replacing him with a Roman procounsil.

This information helps us understand the politics and society that Jesus lived in as he grew and developed into the man who would become our Lord and Savior.

It’s no wonder Jesus suffered death in this culture – because some of those people weren’t right! And just as some of the people in our world and in power aren’t right either on their understanding, acceptance, and acknowledgement of Jesus. Amen.