“Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, during the time of King Herod…” (Matthew 2:2 NIV)
Jesus was born during another man’s reign. The new star brought wisemen to his court and King Herod felt the hot breath of his own morality chasing him down. Herod was remembered as ‘the Great’ because of his vision and implementation of incredible architectural feats. But his ability to erect fortresses was in direct proportion to his fear of succession. Masada and Caesarea Maritime and the Antonio Fortress and the Herodian Palace were just a few of the incredible structures assembled during his 67 years, yet they were all built in self-defense of his earthly kingdom. Herod’s obsessive fear of being conquered by another matched his name: great.
Sadly, though, his plaguing paranoia prevented him from experiencing any level of rest. And of course, it concentrated with age. By the time Jesus was born and Herod had reached the place where modern Americans would consider retirement. Not Herod, he had developed a zero-tolerance policy for potential future kings. Even an infant outside the line of succession was perceived as a real threat, so he sought to eliminate any potential competition through the brutal blow of infanticide throughout Bethlehem.
We are quick to point fingers at Herod and label him a very bad man. It’s easy to accuse baby-murderers, their record speaks for themselves. It’s far harder to look at Herod and consider the paranoia and fear-based leadership in our own story. I read this text today and my own name slipped into the sentence: Jesus was born… in the reign of Anna.
See, we each protect the throne of our own lives. We want to call the shots in our story. And when Jesus comes on our scene, there tends to be a wrestle. Herod was paranoid for his land, his subjects, his power and his wealth holdings. We have fought for much less.
I have long viewed Herod as an ugly exaggeration of our worst selves: egocentric, paranoid, destructive – an unchecked narcissist at full steam. But today I noted how Herod struggled with the same surrender we all battle. When Jesus is born into our lives, the right response is abdication of our throne. Anything less is a coup and counterproductive to the Kingdom.
“My son, give me your heart and let your eyes delight in my ways.” (Proverbs 23:26 NIV)
This Christmas, what if we gave up the fight? What if we acquiesced to the perfect leadership of the newborn king? What if we prayed in accordance with the Kingdom; not my will, but Yours be done.
I suspect that we would find His ways to be infinitely better than our ways. I suspect we’d soon be wondering why we ever battled for control in the first place.
Lord, please forgive us for our incessant squabble for self-direction. Today we recognize You as our true King. Occupy the throne of our heart and preoccupy our thoughts from here forward. May we finally surender to Your perfect leadership of our lives, o good and faithful King. Amen.