In general, I think that the person unfamiliar with the Bible might be surprised to find out some of what is in it. There are all manner of stories of abuse and deceit, betrayals and conspiracies, family dysfunction and plot lines that would be rated R if they were in a modern movie. Many times, these things are even perpetrated by believers! And so we can see that the Scriptures do not paint some lily-white, idyllic version of reality, but because they are entirely trustworthy and true, you can find even some of the darkest deeds of human nature in those pages. You can find some of the most sinister and malevolent characters. The Bible doesn’t sugar coat a thing.
One of those bad guys is Herod. Herod the Great, here, the one in charge during the days of Christ’s nativity. This Herod was called great because of his many building projects and worldly accomplishments. But he was also great – at being bad. His paranoia and lust for power led him to some of the most wicked deeds recorded. Sources outside of the Bible describe some of these. For instance he had his own two sons and a wife put to death for fear they would threaten his power. There was a saying that it was safer to be one of Herod’s dogs than one of his sons. One secular historian said of Herod, he was “above all prepared to commit any crime in order to gratify his unbounded ambition”.
And so, when he hears of a child that is born and being called “King of the Jews”, his reaction is sadly predictable. The threat must be eliminated. There is only one King of the Jews, and that’s me.
His first attempt to destroy this possible usurper was to co-opt the wise men themselves through deceit. But they outfoxed the fox, with the help of God’s warning in a dream, and his plan fell through. Now enraged, Herod loosed a terrible vengeance upon the children of Bethlehem, and destroyed all of babies up to 2 years old. Some have suggested that this wicked deed of Herod’s isn’t recorded in the secular history books because it didn’t happen. But biblical scholars will answer that it certainly did, and it just might not be mentioned because on the scale of Herod’s many foul deeds, it didn’t rank as noteworthy to the historians. Bethlehem, a small village, not a large metropolis, may have seen only a few dozen of these children die. Not enough to be noticed by history, but certainly enough to be noticed by the Lord and his church.
We commemorate this event and called it the day of the “Holy Innocents”, it even has a date on the church calendar – December 28th. They were the first Christian martyrs, in a way, the first ones to shed their blood for the sake of Christ. And they were a foreshadowing of Christ as well – who would one day shed his holy, precious, innocent blood.
But what do we do with such a terrible story and such a bloodthirsty scoundrel as Herod? How does a Christian answer for all of the Herods and Hitlers and Stalins and other villains and devils of the world? Or even the fact that senseless violence, whether intentional or accidental, sometimes takes those we love? Doesn’t this get us back to the question at the bottom line of many a skeptic’s line of reason…, “How can a good God allow such evil?” Perhaps even we Christians are tempted to try these doubts on for size here and there.
And as an aside, but not really an aside… because I don’t see how anyone treating this text in our context could leave mention out – don’t we see similarities here with the slaughter of the innocents in our own day, in the rampant practice of abortion? I’ll not quote statistics, but they surely dwarf the numbers of the murdered children of Bethlehem. We don’t have to look far to see the same sort of evil, the same destruction of the weakest among us. If we think about it too much, or too long, it becomes unbearable.
So what does a Christian do with all of this? How do we answer for all of the evil and violence and darkness in this world? The answer might surprise people.
The first thing to do is repent. You might say, “What? We’re talking about other people’s sins here. How did we get to me?” Ah, but this is just what Jesus does. He directs you away from other people’s sins, and other people’s victimhood, and calls you to, first of all, repent. Here’s how Jesus answered a question regarding some similar circumstances:
There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And he answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” (Luke 13:1-5)
For the Christian, repentance is always in order. Because we are always grappling with sin. And we are always tempted to look out at the other sinners, and the evil of the world outside of us, and not first and foremost at ourselves.
Consider, how have you, by your own sins, joined hands with the Herods of the world? What evil deeds have you been a party to? Perhaps it’s not so obvious. Perhaps it’s more in the realm of sins of omission. Could you be doing more to love and serve your neighbor? How often do you pray for your enemies or bless those who curse you? Probably not enough. I know, because I don’t either.
Perhaps you’ve given tacit approval to sin, or even rationalized it as not that bad. And if someone else’s sin doesn’t seem that bad then maybe my sin is even less of a problem. Live and let live, don’t be too judgey. I’m ok, you’re ok. And sooner or later the slippery slope sees us slide not only from the moral high ground (as if we were ever there), but right off of the narrow road and into destruction.
No the Christian need not find the answer to the problem of evil. Some questions will keep the philosophers grappling until judgment day, because God has not given us those answers.
But the Christian needs to do as Jesus commands, and repent. Turn from your own sin. Take the log out of your eye. Flee from wickedness. Confess your sins, believe his word of absolution, and have life.
While our God doesn’t fully explain the origins of evil, or clue us in on his secret counsel of why he ever let Adam and Eve be tempted, or why he allows wicked Herods to run rampant in this world. But he does better than explain it all to us – rather, he saves us. He sends a Savior into the darkness of this dungeon of a broken creation. And he bursts us out of its prison of sin and death. He shines a light in the darkest corners of our sin, and chases away its darkness forever.
And he does it, by becoming the victim of violence himself. Yes, Jesus was spared the destruction of Herod, was kept safe in Egypt by the Lord’s design. But he would not always be spared. He was being kept safe until the proper time, the appointed hour for when he would stand before another Herod, and finally drink the cup. Out of Egypt God would call his Son, call him toward his true purpose, his one goal.
Jesus Christ bears the violence, suffering, shame, agony and bitter death of the cross. He does it to make all things new. He does it to overturn the Devil’s kingdom. To drain the venom from death’s sting. He does it to heal all who are wounded by violence and even to raise those whose blood is shed by the wicked. The cross is the ultimate antidote to evil. It is the only real hope that things will be made right again – but what a hope it is!
Matthew sees, inspired by the Holy Spirit, the slaughter of the Holy Innocents as a fulfillment of prophecy – quoting Jeremiah 31:
A voice was heard in Ramah,
weeping and loud lamentation,
Rachel weeping for her children;
she refused to be comforted, because they care no more
It all sounds so hopeless and sad. But the very next verse in Jeremiah reads:
Thus says the Lord:
“Keep your voice from weeping,
and your eyes from tears,
for there is a reward for your work,
declares the Lord,
and they shall come back from the land of the enemy.
There is hope for your future,
declares the Lord,
and your children shall come back to their own country.
When we consider the Herods of the world, the slaughter of so many innocents – a river of blood throughout history – we may be perplexed and depressed, driven even to despair. When our own little corner of history falls under the crashing tower, under the boot of oppression, or beneath the shadow of death… we may mourn and weep like Rachel, but we too have a hope. We have the cross of Jesus, the blood of the Innocent One. And one day our weeping will be no more, as God wipes every tear from our eyes. This is our hope, in the Babe of Bethlehem, the Christ of the cross.
No comments:
Post a Comment