The Other Side of The Nativity Narrative

The Other Side of The Nativity Narrative

I want to look at the birth of Christ in a different light. I want to focus on the actions of King Herod and his response after hearing of the birth of Christ.

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of King Herod, wise men from the east arrived unexpectedly in Jerusalem, ² saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east^[a] and have come to worship Him.”^[b]

³ When King Herod heard this, he was deeply disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. Matthew 2:1-3

 I believe King Herod knew that his position as king was threatened, and since the rest of Jerusalem was under the reign of the Roman Empire at the time, it makes perfect sense why the rest of Jerusalem was also largely disturbed. The birth of Christ was so significant that it could make a powerful king shake in his royal boots. So how does a king deal with such a threat? Like what any king would do to protect his own position, but let us consider how far Herod was willing to go in order to maintain his position on the throne.

After they were gone, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Get up! Take the child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you. For Herod is about to search for the child to destroy Him.” Matthew 2:13

Herod sort out to kill Christ. Consider this for a minute; this is the Roman Empire under full control of Jerusalem. The Roman Empire that has its historical name for being the proverbial juggernauts in battle, and the king is in fear of this new born Jesus Christ. None of this makes ANY sense…unless the birth of Christ was foretold by the prophets.

 So he assembled all the chief priests and scribes of the people and asked them where the Messiah would be born.

⁵ “In Bethlehem of Judea,” they told him, “because this is what was written by the prophet:

⁶ And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the leaders of Judah:
because out of you will come a leader
who will shepherd My people Israel.” Matthew 2:4-6

And so Herod as we read later on from verse 16, flew into a fit of rage and kills every male child under the age of two, so as we should let us consider the value of Christ’ kingship when observing these biblical truths. Herod certainly knew that Jesus was the Christ, the messiah, the one to take the royal throne over His people. Herod certainly acted on this truth, but in a way that was undeniably wicked! How much more should we as Christians respond in a way that is glorifying to God, knowing that Christ is king over our lives? We should likewise fear God but in a way that honours His position as king. John Piper once said (in paraphrasing) “the fear of God is not drawing back away from God when you’ve sinned, but knowing that He’s sovereign and running back to Him!”