Herod The Great vs Jesus

Herod the Great vs Jesus

Herod the Great was a ruthless despot that had arose to power in Israel in the decades just prior to the birth of Jesus. He became described as “Great” not because of his contributions to society, but because of the great atrocities he committed. He could well be considered Satan’s henchman for those times.

Nevertheless, during the climax of Herod’s evil reign, God moved to bring his only Son into the family of man. 

Matthew 1:1-3 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,

2. Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.

3. When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.

Herod I came to be known as “Herod the Great” and was also commissioned by the Roman Senate as the “King of Jews” in the year 37BC. He ruled the province of Judea for about 40 years until his gruesome death only 4 years after the birth of Jesus.

Herod the Great, as he came to be called was born in 72BC. Therefore he was about 72 years old in the year that Jesus was born. 

Herod was the son of an Edomite family that maintained a special status with the Roman Emperors. Herod’s father, a descendant of Esau, was a very close associate of Julius Caesar. Herod’s ancestors had long used marriage arrangements between Edomites and Jews to infiltrate the Hasmonean base of power in Judea. 

Then in 63BC, Rome, with covert Edomite assistance conquered Judea and Galilee and evicted the Hasmoneans from power, and cultivated a political relationship with Herod’s Father. 

Finally, Herod the Great, being about age 25 joined forces with Roman General Pompey to take full control of Judea and Jerusalem in a three year long war campaign against the Jewish Hasmoneans in 37BC. 

After the Roman occupation began, “Herod the Great”became “Rome’s Man” in Israel. He became notorious for executions, covert political operations, murders, torture of any suspected rivals and intense gruesome public displays of cruelty of the death for suspected enemies! He killed his own sons and wives whenever he suspected any plots against his kingly power! 

In summation, the “Herod” that was King of Judea in the years of Jesus birth and early childhood was a raving madman. Even the elite Emperors of Rome, Mark Antony and Caesar Augustus among them marveled at the crazed butchery of Herod the Great. 

So, when Matthew affirms that Herod was “troubled” when “wise men” from the East had penetrated his contentious borders on his Persian perimeter, “all of Jerusalem was likewise troubled.” 

Indeed, the whole city was on high alarm since they all knew Herod would violently execute anybody even remotely linked to any talk of a “new King of Israel.”

Ten Points About Herod’s Plot Against Jesus

Point 1-Satan utilized Herod’s demonic lunacy to attempt to destroy the new born “Son of God.” 

Point 2-Satan did not foreknow where Jesus would be born, or when. In fact, Herod’s evil attempt to kill Jesus was at least two years behind in his Satanic plot. 

Point 3-Herod, in his maniacal wrath, plotted to kill all babies under two years of age in Bethlehem and also in it’s local vicinity. This “slaughter of the innocents” (verse 16) is typical of the venom of Satan towards babies and it even continues to this day in the form of abortion! The number of babies killed in Bethlehem on that night probably was only a couple dozen, but Herod also extended his slaughter to the towns near the site that the chief priests had told him about (Matt. 2:4) causing great fear throughout Judea and ending up killing up to perhaps 100-200 babies. 

Point 4-Herod privately interrogated the Wise Men from the East, faking a personal genuine interest in this recent miracle birth. Jesus had already been born by the time of the Wise Mens visit and had already grown into a young toddler. 

Point 5-The “Wise Men” had first seen the wondrous star in the East! They likely first witnessed it somewhere in Persia. Their trip to pay homage to a “new king in Israel” took a lot of logistical preparation. Their journey required a sizable camel caravan complete with guards, food, tents, as well as the large amount of gifts that they were delivering. The trip alone might have taken several months, as it would require an overland trip of about 1200 miles, thus accounting for the fact that Jesus was no longer a mere babe in a lowly manger, but actually a toddler (young child-Matt. 2;11) living within a house.

Point 6-The “Wise Men” from the East had likely followed the prophecies of the prophet Daniel, and estimated that the time for the birth of the long awaited Messiah was nigh at hand. The typical Persian citizen would have cared nothing for Israel, or any birth of any future king of Israel! 

Point 7-The amazing star that the wise men followed was truly amazing. It is not likely that it was a cosmological star. This “star” performed unorthodox maneuvers on the horizon. First, it guided the wise men in a westerly direction, the direction of the setting Sun. Secondly, it had to appear very low on the topographical horizon for the wise men to detect an intriguing motion. Third, this star could change directions and courses, while appearing at times and disappearing at other times. Finally, in verse nine, the scripture used the words; “and lo, the star which appeared in the East” went before them in a different direction. The word “lo” utilized here even indicates the surprise and excitement that the wise men sensed at that secondary sighting; perhaps because of a totally different horizontal trajectory away from Jerusalem!

Point 8-God warned the wise men of Herod’s evil scheme and advised them to journey back towards Persia by an entirely different route than they had initially approached. The changes in their behavior and travel pattens served to frustrate and anger Herod even more. (God often uses the course of events in this world to frustrate Satan’s schemes.)

Point 9-The Lord warned Joseph in a dream of Herod’s intensified anger and zeal in verse 13 to “seek out” Jesus to destroy him. The usage of the word “seek” portrays the fact that Herod was actually performing an all-out covert effort of Satanic proportions to destroy the “seed of the Woman.” (Genesis 3:15)

Point 10-The Lord directed Joseph to take Mary their young son down into Egypt. In Egypt, Jesus was safely out of the realm of Herod’s dominion. While Young Jesus was secured by God down in Egypt, Herod met his unseemly death just 4 years after Jesus birth. 

Upon hearing of “Herod the Great’s” death, Joseph retuned his family again into Israel. Joseph then decided to resettle his family in Nazareth! And as Luke records (2:52) young Jesus grew in wisdom and stature and in favor with God! Thank God for it all! And someday, when he returns, Jesus will be the King of Kings!

Focus on the Bible

December 22, 2021

by: Darrell G. Young