Like any great story, the Bible if filled with tragic characters.  Tragic not because of the misfortune experienced due to the choices of others—those are “victims”—but tragic because of the misfortune experienced due to their own choices.  They are victims of themselves.  And we, the readers, think of them as tragic because we know the ability to chose otherwise was within their grasp yet they chose foolishly.  We often feel frustrated at them, wanting to yell, “But you knew better!”  If there’s any character who fits this bill it’s the very first “villain” we encounter in the New Testament—King Herod. 

Any reader who jumps from the Old to the New Testament will be a bit puzzled by the appearance of a new family who is strangely in power in the politic life of Israel.  The Herodians don’t seem to be Romans but neither do they appear to merely be the Jews who the Romans are oppressing.  So, who are they?  Well, they get their name by the first and most fearsome Herod—King Herod himself, known by history as Herod the Great.  Yet, if we only see King Herod as a simple “bad guy” from the Messiah’s birth narrative, we miss out on seeing why he is a true tragedy—something the early Jewish readers of the gospel accounts understood well.  Therefore, in order to see the deep tragedy in Herod we have to look back into the period of time sandwiched between the Old and New Testaments—the Intertestamental Period.

Looking back into history
Before the Romans ruled Israel (the backdrop of the New Testament), Alexander the Great’s nation of Greece maintained control of the land.  One of the Greek rulers who followed Alexander was named Antiochus Epiphanes (coming to power in 175 BC), who began a social-political and religious domino effect whose influences were experienced even by Jesus in the New Testament.  Antiochus ruled Israel with an iron fist, making it illegal to practice Sabbath observance, circumcision, or even read Torah, the Jews’ sacred Scriptures.  Most offensively, however, he renamed the Jewish Temple as a temple to Zeus, and sacrificed a pig on its alter (the most unclean animal is Jewish eyes).

Following Antiochus’ actions, in 167 BC an aged Jewish priest named Mattathias was ordered by one of Antiochus’ soldiers to sacrifice on a pagan alter in a little city called Modien (NW of Judea).  When Mattathias refused, a fellow Jew came forward to comply with the king’s orders, and Mattathias, in an act of protecting the right worship of God, took a sword and slew both the soldier overseeing the sacrifice and his fellow Jewish countrymen who was willing to defile worship of the true God (this was the 2nd domino).

As a result, Mattathias and a small band or rebels headed for the hills, knowing they would be hunted by Antiochus.  And much like William Wallace in the epic movie Braveheart, this group of rebels, employing little-used tactics of guerilla warfare, began nighttime attacks from their mountain hideouts, even fighting on the Sabbath.  These rebels were able to defeat outposts that were much larger than their own ragamuffin army. 

When Mattathias died just a year later in 166 BC, his son Judas continued leading the attacks.  Judas, surpassing his father’s tactical leadership, won the nickname Maccabeus (Greek for “hammerer”) because of how he relentlessly attacked the enemy.  Though outnumbered sometimes six to one, it was only two years later in 164 BC when Judas the hammer won back control of the Temple, and promptly cleansed it as it had been desecrated by Antiochus.  In fact, this historic moment of cleansing the Temple is what the Jewish people continue to celebrate today in December—Hanukkah, or “dedication” (Jn 10:22 introduces one account of Jesus’ teaching in the Temple at this very festival).

Here’s the significance
What’s important to see here is that Mattathias and his descendants started a rebellion whose initial focus was to preserve the right worship of God.  He and his followers were a people who had both (1) knowledge of the right thing to do and (2) a deep zeal and commitment to live in accordance with that knowledge.  They were a group of people who stepped up and dedicated their lives to protecting the right worship of God when no one else would.  Unwilling to compromise obedience to their Lord, they offered to sacrifice all that they had, even their own lives, to ensure the right worship of the true King of the universe.

The tragedy begins
As power and leadership was passed down in this group (which became known as the Hasmonean Dynasty), their ultimate purpose slipped further and further away.  With each successor of the revolt the focus on serving God turned to seizing more power and more land.  And as we look down the succession of control we eventually come to the infamous character at hand—Herod.  

Herod, a half-Jew, through marriage and political manipulation, chose to step into a line of those who held an office created for the direct purpose of protecting the right worship of God.  And so when we the birth narrative in Matthew 2, “Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod…” what might we think?  Before we answer that, let’s look at what was written during the time of the early Maccabean Revol that further reveals the purpose of the office that Herod held.

“The Jews and their priests confirmed Simon [one of Mattathias’ sons] as their leader and high priest in perpetuity until a true prophet should appear” (1 Maccabees 14:41). (emphasis mine)

This office was to be held in trust.  There was the general recognition that there was no prophet (and therefore no direct word from God) among them.  Therefore, the very purpose of anyone holding the office of this “leader” was to hand it over to the “true prophet” when he appeared.  So, they waited for the return of the king (for those of you who are fans of The Lord of the Rings series, remember the response of Denathor, Steward of Gondor, when he hears word of Aragon, the rightful king—a striking parallel).

A warning sign
Herod the Great stands at the entrance to the New Testament as a warning sign to the reader.  Each one of us experiences the return of the King, not to a piece of land, but to our own lives.  God is the rightful ruler of the throne of our hearts, minds, affections, and actions.  And there seems to be two general responses we will have to His return to claim ownership of our lives.  We can respond as Herod did, seeing God’s reclamation of our throne as a threat.  Or we can respond as another powerful forerunning to Jesus—John the Baptist.  John, whose sociopolitical influence was considered greater than that of Jesus by first century Jewish historian Josephus, experienced a similar test of losing his power to the true King.  When John’s significant group of followers began to disperse in pursuit of the new rabbi Jesus, he went the opposite direction of Herod.  John Mark’s Gospel records John the Baptist’s initial reaction to the report of his dwindling supporters, “He [Jesus] must increase, but I must decrease” (Jn 3:30).

With the hype and excitement of Christmas now over, and before you return to the normal pace of life, take the opportunity of this in-between pause to make a decision for the coming year.  Decide now how you will respond when God asks for possession of various thrones of control in your life.  While there is one chief throne in our lives, we must continue to relinquish control of the various lesser thrones each new day.  Or think of our lives as a house with many rooms.  While we may have allowed the King to take custody of much of the house, there are still some rooms which are locked to him.  And it may be that we’re not even aware of all of these rooms.  Yet, God will undoubtedly knock on one of them soon and request entrance.  How will you respond?

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
1. Read Matthew 2:1-8 (below).  How does the fuller picture of Herod described above enlarge your understanding of the biblical nativity story?
2. What “rooms” in your life are you aware of now which you know are currently locked against God’s control?  Why are you reluctant to give over control to Him?
3.  How can you begin to habituate the kind of heart which responds as John the Baptist rather than Herod for the future?

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews?  We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.”  When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him.  When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born.  “In Bethlehem in Judea” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written: ‘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.’”  Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared.  He sent them to Bethlehem and said, ‘Go and make a careful search for the child.  As soon as you find him report to me, so that I too may go and worship him. — Matthew 2:1-8