"But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:
“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).
When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.
Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king."
(Matthew 1:20-2:1a)
Beautiful, timeless words. Please keep in Mind the last sentence. Note the wonderful irony.
The God incarnate came when a mere human assumed he had power to control lives and shape destiny as a divine right.
Herod was a larger than life figure. Built much of the Holy Land into a kingdom to be reckoned with. He was a man with great ambition, and great cruelty.
The was a saying that it was safer to be Herod's pig than one of his sons.
Later we read that Herod attempted to kill the child Jesus, seeing the threat to his power.
Into this, Jesus was born.
The true king of the universe.
Herod died, and remains dead. His kingdom has crumbled. His legacy died with him.
How different are we really from Herod? Maybe we aren't despotic kings, but we are fallen humans who often put our own agendas before anyone else's, let alone God's.
Maybe we think we can control more of our own affairs than we actually are capable of.
Whether we like it or not we are closer to Herod in our lives than we like to believe.
Into this, Jesus still comes as the true king.
Peter j. Gordon
