In the Days of King Herod – Matthew 2:1-23

 I don’t plan to keep you long this evening, for reasons which will quickly become apparent. You probably wouldn’t be able to stand much more than 20 minutes of this. And those who can, will probably become so confused by my weak presentation that you’ll beg me to quit.

Some of you may not appreciate my appreciation of history. But I am firmly convinced that we should all love history, because we are all products of it. Our Saviour lived a long time ago, and although what we know of Him doesn’t come from secular history, He is an historical character. David, Daniel, Abraham, Moses and Joshua are all historical people. And the condition of our modern world is directly related to what some of these people did. All you have to do is think about Abraham, and what both the Jew and the Muslim have to say about him.

Even though it isn’t necessary that our faith be corroborated by history – Even though it isn’t absolutely necessary to our faith, the Bible is filled with historical references. Luke 2 – “And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria).” Luke 3 – “Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judaea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of Ituraea and of the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias the tetrarch of Abilene, Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests, the word of God came unto John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.” With hundreds of scriptures like this, the Bible student is really encouraged to become an historian. These references are in Luke, and we’re trying to avoid Luke in our current study. But Matthew 2 is filled with another historical figure – a rather wicked secular king named Herod.

This evening I want us to think about this man who had such an impact on the early life of Christ Jesus. Is this really important towards our understanding of Christ and our salvation? Probably not. On the other hand, every bit of information can be part of a larger picture, like a jigsaw puzzle. For example, how old was Herod at the time of Jesus’ birth, and how much of a rival was Christ to this egotistical tyrant? Herod was born about 74 BC in southern Judea, making him about 70 years of age by this chapter. So how much of a threat was this small child to him personally? None whatsoever. Ah, but Herod might have been thinking about his sons and grandsons. Yes, he was thinking about them – sometimes he was thinking about how he might kill them. These sorts of things are in the background of this chapter, and actually have a bearing on the meaning of some of these words.

Herod’s family history.The man who was king in this chapter was the second son of Antipater, an Idumean or native of Edom. Edom, the descendant of Esau, the brother of Jacob, was for centuries, one of the enemies of Israel. But because of Antipater’s support of the Romans, this Edomite was made governor of parts of Israel. At first he was first appointed governor of Galilee, while his brother was governor of Jerusalem. But over time he consolidated territories, until he ruled over most of Israel – as a Roman puppet. And he governed with horrendous brutality. For this and other reasons he was hated by the Jewish Sanhedrin. Brutality ran in the family. After Antipater offered financial support to the murderers of Julius Caesar, he was poisoned. Then his son, Herod, supported by the Roman army, executed those accused of killing him. Later, after the battle of Philippi in 42 BC, Herod convinced Mark Antony and Octavius that his father had been forced to support Caesar’s murderers.

At some point the family of Herod claimed to have been converted to Judaism. It was probably Antipater’s attempt at a compromise with the leaders of Israel. But in doing that, it exposed the family to loyalty questions with the Romans. Herod, his son, and the Herod of this chapter, was able to overcome those questions through his support for, and from, Mark Antony – Cleopatra’s Mark Antony. Ah, but then there was a Jewish revolt in the land, and Herod was forced to flee to Rome. But he wasn’t someone to give up easily. While in Rome he took a second wife, the niece of the man who threw him out of Israel. He banished his first wife, Doris, and her baby, and at the same time he was pleading with the Senate to declare him king of Israel. Shortly after this he married Mariamne, the first. Mariamne is the Hellenized form of Miriam. Three years later, about 35 years before Christ, Herod and the Romans again defeated the Jews and re-captured Jerusalem.

So Herod was an Edomite, who claimed to have become a Jew. He was ruler over Israel, only because the Romans where propping-up his government. He was married to a liberal Jewess, but he has an earlier wife and an earlier son. This is only the beginning.

Herod’s personal family and character.Thirty-six years before Christ, Herod made his 17-year-old brother-in-law the High Priest. So the High Priest was a puppet of the man who was the puppet of Rome. Herod wanted to control the Sanhedrim, and this was his best chance of carrying that off. I have no idea if that High Priest was a descendant of Aaron, or if he was of the tribe of Levi. But the plan wasn’t really working the way that he intended, so Herod had the man drowned. Remember that this was the brother of his Jewish wife – Mariamne. But this Mariamne was probably no more devout than her husband – an Hellenist – Grecianized Jew. In 31 BC there was a devastating earthquake in Israel, which crippled the economy. The same year Octavian defeated Mark Antony, so Herod switched his allegiance to Octavian. This Octavian was later known as Augustus – Caesar Augustus. With his priorities properly aligned, Herod was confirmed as the King of Israel by Octavian. So the King of Israel in our scripture, has no blood relationship to any earlier king of Israel. He is nothing but a foreign pawn of Rome – but he was a very successful pawn.

The Jewish historian Josephus tells us that Herod was a terribly jealous and possessive man. When Mariamne felt that her husband distrusted her & was plotting to kill her, she moved out. While this was probably true, what she did was accelerated his charges of adultery against her. There was a public trial, at which several family members were induced to testify against the wife. Even her sister and mother spoke against her. Of course she was executed, but when her mother declared that Herod was insane and that she should be queen, she was executed as well. Isn’t it nice to have complete control over the legal system? At that point Herod started executing various members of his extended family. He probably really was insane – or at least insane with greed and power. While he was killing all kinds of people, he was building his architectural legacy – a theater and amphitheater. He remodeled or rebuilt Samaria and then Caesarea. And of course he built what became known as Herod’s Temple – which was a virtual oxymoron. The man went on a building spree, which was actually quite astounding. He was also importing grain from Egypt because of a massive drought, waiving taxes and trying hard to buy the friendship of the average Israelite.

Then he married Mariamne II, a daughter of the then High Priest. Sometime after that he married another woman – Malthace. Then in 12 BC he did a complete reversal by declaring his first born son Antipater, the son of Doris, to be his primary heir. He accused both the sons of his second wife of treason, but when Augustus defended them they were spared. That same year he gave a huge sum of money to support the Olympic Games, when they appeared to be doomed to financial disaster. In 7 BC he succeeded in having Mariamne I’s two sons executed for treason. Remember that not only are they Mariamne’s sons, but his own as well. Finally in 5 BC, he charged his heir, Antipater with attempted murder, and thus got rid of his first born son as well. Does this sound like a sane man?

Just a couple of years before the birth of Christ Herod changed his will for the umpteenth time. It read that Archelaus, from his third marriage would rule over Herod’s kingdom. Herod Antipas from this third marriage and Philip from a fifth marriage would rule as Techrarchs over Galilee and Perea on the east side of the Jordan. Because Augustus didn’t confirm Herod’s will, no one became king after Herod, but the three sons did become techrarchs, as various scriptures like Luke 3 tell us.

The Herod of Matthew 2.This scripture is probably fairly well-known and basically understood. Two things to keep in mind are that Herod claimed to be a worshiper and servant of God. But of course, he was unconverted and thoroughly wicked. Just because someone makes a profession of this or that, doesn’t make it to be so. Also it should be remembered that Herod was an old man when this chapter began, and that he died before the chapter ended. Some think that he lived for only a year or so after the birth of Christ.

Herod knew nothing about the birth of Christ until the magi started asking questions. He knew nothing of the scriptures until he asked specific questions. He was told that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. He did not seek for the Saviour, but was content to let the wise men do it for him. When they betrayed his trust, he slaughtered the children of Bethlehem under the age of two, showing us once again, that Christ was not a new born when the magi came to visit. Joseph then took his small family to Egypt in order to protect them from the wrath of this godless king. But after the death of Herod, when his son Archelaus was ruler in Judea, the family moved from Egypt to Nazareth.

Two other sons and one daughter of Herod are mentioned later in the Word of God. Philip and Herod Antipas and Salome come up later in the gospels and in the Book of Acts. For the most part they were as wicked as their father, but not quite so much. There was even hope for their conversion as Paul preached the gospel to some of them. But alas, it looks like the whole family died without Christ.