The prologue of John's Gospel tells us that Christ's coming into the world will be opposed by opposition. The Gospel of Matthew exemplifies this hostility in the actions of King Herod, who ruled the land of Judea at the time of Jesus' birth. Herod is depicted in the Gospels as cruel and manipulative, and when his attempts to find and kill the Christ child were frustrated, he reacted violently and ordered the slaughter of the children of Bethlehem. . The massacre is an event commemorated by Christians four days after Christmas. December 28th.
Herod's plot in Matthew's Gospel suggests the dark politics that were the norm in much of the world at the time of Christ, and from the perspective of those politics, Herod is exemplary. Through a combination of force and political skill, he seized power and overthrew the Hasmonean dynasty, which had ruled Judea for many years. Knowing that his hold on power was weak without the support of Rome (which had conquered Judea in 63 BC), he was able to persuade the Roman Senate to declare him King of Judea in 40 BC. Ta. He successfully survived the war between Marc Antony and Octavian. , building alliances with both and securing his dynastic ambitions in the aftermath of that conflict. In worldly terms, Herod was a successful man.
In our time, there are still many tyrants like Herod in the earth, and there remains a dark politics by which they seize and consolidate power.
To secure his rule, King Herod needs to legitimize his claim to royal power not only through political alliances but also through propaganda. This meant taking advantage of the Messianic expectations of the Israelites by accomplishing what the Messiah of Israel wanted to do. For example, he extended the borders of his kingdom to those of the ancient Kingdom of David, and did amazing public works, especially rebuilding the Temple of Jerusalem on a grand scale.
All this expressed not only his grandeur but also his keen political sensibilities, as his many projects won him voters and brought vitality to the economy. His accomplishments asserted the arrival of Israel's Messiah and justified Herod's kingship and dynastic ambitions.
But it was clear to many that Herod's messianic pretense was deceptive. His reign did not bring the correlation of justice and mercy that the Israelites had hoped for, and his concessions to Rome left many even more suspicious. Herod was an unabashed tyrant, and his reputation for cruelty even impressed the Roman Emperor Augustus, who upon hearing how Herod had executed his own sons in response to a palace coup, He is said to have commented that it would be better. Herod's dog than Herod's son.
This is Herod, whom the Gospel of Matthew positions as the adversary of the Christ Child, the anti-Messiah of the dark politics intended to be contrasted with the true Messiah, the light of the world.
The infant Jesus appears without all the worldly powers and pretense of Herod, but it is the baby, not the tyrant, who rests under the light of a divinely appointed star. And it is because of this child, not Herod, that the angelic legions glorify God. Herod tried his best to rebel against his rival, but his failure was inevitable. His savior pretense will be exposed, his death will divide the kingdom, and his legacy will be in ruins. During his lifetime, he was known as Herod the Great, and history remembers him as a murderer of children.
In our time, tyrants like Herod still swarm the earth, and dark politics remain for them to rise and consolidate their power. Even the most secular regimes pretend that they have divine authority and favor.
In our world, just as in the time of Christ, we are faced with a choice between a true Messiah and a false Messiah. One of the great contributions of Christianity, which celebrates Christmas each year, is that it has ridiculed the real tyrants and would-be tyrants of our world with the story of the birth of the Holy Son of Bethlehem and shed light on the dark politics of our time. be. And it reassures us that there is only one true king left alive, and the rest, like the dishonored Herod, are inevitably doomed to die.
