TEEN TREE OF LIFE
Herod the king vs. Christ Our King
Part 1
December 16, 2018

Before you begin, ask yourself a very important question: Do you believe that Jesus Christ died on The Cross for all of your sins? If you answered yes, you will need to be sure that you are filled with The Holy Spirit. How do you do this? You name your sins to God The Father in His Son’s Name. This is called rebound. As a Christian, you must rebound any time you sin. This is taught in 1JOHN 1:9: If we confess our sins [directly to God], He [God] is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Now, if you have never believed that Jesus Christ died on The Cross for all of your sins, all you have to do is say to yourself that you believe in Him and you are saved! The Bible verse which teaches us this is ACTS 16:31: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.”

Because it always makes more sense to leave the best for last, we’re going to begin our study with Herod the king. Historically, he’s known as Herod the Great. He was a Roman-appointed king of Judaea. He built many fortresses, aqueducts, theatres, and other public buildings which increased his wealth and prosperity. He was born in southern Palestine and was of Arab origin, although he was a practicing Jew.

Herod had a long association with Rome from which he would benefit in later years. Mark Antony was a lifelong friend and Julius Caesar favored Herod’s father and conferred on him Roman citizenship, an honor that descended to Herod and his children. Herod’s father appointed him governor of Galilee when he was only 25 years old and six years later Mark Antony made him tetrarch of Galilee. Years later, the Parthians invaded Palestine, civil war broke out, and Herod was forced to flee to Rome where the senate there nominated him king of Judaea – “king of the Jews.” At the age of 36, Herod became the unchallenged ruler of Judaea, a position he was to hold for 32 years. To further solidify his power, he divorced his first wife, Doris, sent her and his son away from court, and married Mariamne, a Hasmonean princess. Although the marriage was directed at ending his feud with the Hasmoneans, a priestly family of Jewish leaders, Herod had, actually fallen deeply in love with Mariamne.

Mark Antony and Octavian were the heirs to Julius Caesar’s power. They eventually fought for power and Herod supported his friend Mark Antony. Herod continued to support him even when Antony’s mistress, Cleopatra, the queen of Egypt, used her influence with him to gain much of Herod’s best land. After Antony’s final defeat, Herod confessed to the victorious Octavian which side he had taken. Octavian, who had met Herod in Rome, knew that he was the best man to rule Palestine. Rome wanted Palestine ruled so Octavian made Herod king and gave him back the land Cleopatra had taken.

Herod built himself a great palace in the Judaean desert, which archaeologists have identified as the site of his tomb. He also spent lavishly building magnificent structures in foreign cities including Beirut, Damascus, Antioch, and Rhodes. In his own kingdom, Herod couldn’t give full rein to his love of magnificence. He was afraid of offending the Pharisees who were the Jewish leaders. Herod was always in conflict with them because they regarded him as a foreigner.

Unfortunately, Herod had a dark and cruel streak which got worse as he grew older. He had been mentally unstable throughout his life and his mental instability intensified with the intrigue and deception that had gone on in his own family. Despite his true love for Mariamne, he was prone to violent attacks of jealousy; and in the end, Herod murdered her, her two sons, her brother, her grandfather, and her mother! In his last years, Herod suffered from great mental and physical pain. He altered his will three times and finally disinherited and killed his firstborn child Antipater.

Herod the Great clearly had a preoccupation with power. Power is defined as the ability to control resources and assets in order to secure your own destiny and this was Herod’s lifelong obsession. Three words describe him to a tee: capable, crafty, and cruel! Obviously, he was capable or he wouldn’t have had such a successful career. He was extremely crafty as you can see in the many devious plans he executed throughout his tumultuous past. He was obviously extremely cruel because he murdered out of spite and killed to stay in power. The intensity of Herod’s cruelty grew in direct proportion to the amount of power he possessed.

What do you know about our power as Christians? Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ set the precedent for the use of the Divine Power of God The Holy Spirit. Every Church-Age believer can operate under the very same power that Our Lord used in His humanity. The Holy Spirit empowers us when we acknowledge our sins to God in His Son’s Name. Someone should have quoted Our King to Herod: “You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God.” (MAT 22:29 New International Version)

Herod was also preoccupied with possessing things. If you read the last Teen Tree of Life series, you know what a waste of time lusting for prosperity can be. Herod did indeed prosper greatly. But look at the man he became! Our King said in LUK 9:25: “For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and loses or forfeits himself?”

The prophet Daniel (who lived six centuries before the birth of Christ) plays an integral part in our study. He received an incredible number of prophecies concerning the Messiah and the angel Gabriel told him the precise day that Jesus would present Himself as Our King. Daniel belonged to the magi – an ancient fraternity made up of, well respected, men from all the nations in the ancient world. The magi were great scholars, physicians, astronomers, and mathematicians. Because of their incredible knowledge of astronomy, they could read and follow the stars. We really have no way of knowing how man magi there were in total, but we do know there were many of them. Daniel was a chief officer in this fraternity: Then the king promoted Daniel and gave him many great gifts, and he made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon and chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon. (DAN 2:48)

One day word got to Herod, who was in Jerusalem, that some strange visitors had arrived from the east and that they were asking about Our King: After Jesus was born in Bethlehem village, Judah territory— this was during Herod’s kingship—a band of scholars arrived in Jerusalem from the East. They asked around, “Where can we find and pay homage to the newborn King of the Jews? We observed a star in the eastern sky that signaled his birth. We’re on pilgrimage to worship him.” (MAT 2:1-2 The Message Bible) They were looking for “the newborn King of the Jews.” Herod was probably thinking “What’s up with that – I’m the king of the Jews?!”

Look at this reference to Our King: “But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Too little to be among the clans of Judah, From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, From the days of eternity.” (MIC 5:2) The Lord Jesus Christ said: “I am the eternal one Who has performed and accomplished it, Calling forth the generations from the beginning? ‘I, the Lord, am the first, and with the last. I am He.’” (ISA 41:4)

At this point, you’ve got to think Herod is extremely angry. As a Jew, he might have remembered the biblical prediction of the exact place where the Messiah would be born. So, he called together all of the religious leaders to find out what the Bible had to say about the coming of Our King. Specifically, he wanted to know where He was supposed to be born: Gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for this is what has been written by the prophet: ‘And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, Are by no means least among the leaders of Judah; For out of you shall come forth a Ruler Who will shepherd My people Israel.’” (MAT 2:4-6) The words – “chief priests and scribes of the people” – are interesting. This was the first contact these religious leaders would have with Jesus. They understood the Biblical information correctly, but failed when it came to applying it to their lives. “Chief priests” are those who once held the office of High Priest. Herod replaced the High Priest often because it was largely a political appointment. The scribes were experts in the Old Testament. Their work was not copying manuscripts as the word “scribes” suggests. They were actually teachers of the Old Testament. And Herod used them just like he used everyone else during his vile life!

Suddenly things get serious for Herod and paranoia strikes. Maybe these strange men are on to something. What if the Boy they’re looking for is the One Daniel predicted would come? So, he decides to make sure Our King is killed and secretly calls the magi: Herod then arranged a secret meeting with the scholars [magi] from the East. Pretending to be as devout as they were, he got them to tell him exactly when the birth-announcement star appeared. Then he told them the prophecy about Bethlehem, and said, “Go find this child. Leave no stone unturned. As soon as you find him, send word and I’ll join you at once in your worship.” (MAT 2:7-8 The Message Bible) And off the magi went, following the star that led them over 800 miles through the desert, miraculously leading them to the Baby Jesus: After hearing the king, they went their way; and the star, which they had seen in the east, went on before them until it came and stood over the place where the Child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. After coming into the house they saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell to the ground and worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned by God in a dream not to return to Herod, the magi left for their own country by another way. (MAT 2:9-12)

The magi were such incredible believers that God The Father Himself warned them to get out of Herod’s way! And of course, Herod’s inhumanity continued: Herod, when he realized that the scholars had tricked him, flew into a rage. He commanded the murder of every little boy two years old and under who lived in Bethlehem and its surrounding hills. (He determined that age from information he’d gotten from the scholars.) That’s when Jeremiah’s sermon was fulfilled: A sound was heard in Ramah, weeping and much lament. Rachel weeping for her children, Rachel refusing all solace, Her children gone, dead and buried. (MAT 2:16-18 The Message Bible)

In 2002, more than 2,000 years after Herod the Great died at age 69, doctors concluded that the king of ancient Judea died of chronic kidney disease complicated by a very uncomfortable case of maggot-infested gangrene of the genitals. The doctors used the Bible and historical books to come to this conclusion.

{to be continued}