Presented to The Salvation Army Christmas Day Dinner 2017 at the Carlton Street location. Based on an earlier sermon, What's Your Choice, presented first to the Swift Current Corps of The Salvation Army, 26 December 2010 by Michael Ramsay
History tells us about Herod. Herod is a regional king. He works for the Romans and he is known as ‘Herod the Great’. Herod is a great political leader and as such is involved in all the political intrigue of his era in all the ways that political intrigue is carried out in his time (cf. Josephus, Bellum ii.10–13; cf. also Josephus, Antiquities xvii. 224, 229, 250, 304, 307, 340). He is a king but his job is no more secure than that of a contemporary politician and Herod defends his title and his job no less vigorously: in order to secure his position, Herod needs to back the right horse and defeat all his rivals (cf. Josephus, Antiquities i.358). He – like many contemporary politicians – switches his allegiances more than once as to whom he backs for Emperor – first he backs Mark Anthony’s coalition government and later crosses the floor to support Caesar Augustus. Herod is a king who leaves behind a good legacy of building and growth but he is an adept politician, cruel and insecure. The title awarded to him by Caesar Augustus is Herod, King of the Jews.
Imagine what it must have been like for him. Imagine you are King of the Jews and these privileged academics come to you from a foreign country and they ask, “Where is your replacement?” Matthew 2:2, they ask “Where is the one who has been born King of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.” Imagine, you have this job that you have fought hard for all your life and your job title is ‘King of the Jews’ and these strangers come up to you and ask to meet your replacement, the new King of the Jews. How would you react?
I was a dishwasher once for about a week as a teenager; the job didn’t go well and I didn’t get along with my co-worker and one day I met a friend for coffee; he was excited as he told me that he had just been hired for a job at this SAME restaurant. When we talk for a while it becomes apparent that they have hired him for MY job. That is how I found out that I was going to be fired. This could be what it is like for Herod when he hears this news that a there is going to be a new king of the Jews. This news is a shock to him. This news is a threat to him. Current kings can be killed when new kings take over. Herod is the king. Who is this new King of the Jews? If you were Herod, what would you do? Herod is determined to eliminate his would-be-rival so Herod sends in the troops. The military massacres male babies two years and younger in order to wipe out any possible rival who may have been recently born. This is Herod’s reaction to the birth of Jesus. He tries to remove him.
In our story today we also have the Magi. Our word ‘magic’ comes from the same root as ‘magi’. They are learned people who see this ‘star’. They come from the east (cf. Philippians 2:10-11). Remember that travel isn’t easy in that day and age: they can’t just hop a flight or drive the Trans-Palestine superhighway to Jerusalem. These wise men realize from their studies of the world around them that the King of the Jews has been born (cf. Numbers 24:17, Daniel 9:25, John 4:25, Romans 1). What do they do when they discover this? Remember that they probably aren’t Jews and they don’t live in the area. What do these foreign academics do when they find out a king of the Jews has been born? They put their whole lives on hold and come to find him in order to worship him (Matthew 2:2; cf. TSA d. 2,4).
Matthew provides us with these two contrasting example to the both of the king because people in the first century had a choice to make as to whether they were going to serve their contemporary systems of government or whether they were going to serve the NEW KING.
We have to face the same choice today. The king has already been born. That is what Christmas is all about. This King has, is and will change the whole world. Jesus proclaims a new world order. Jesus is an end to capitalism, democracy, consumerism, imperialism, and whatever other ‘ism’ people are tempted to serve. The systems that raised up Herod and the Magi; Trump and Trudeau, Harper and Obama will come to an end. This world where the rich get richer and the poor get poorer is coming to an end. This world where man makes war against man will end. Like White Lion proclaims, ‘no more presidents and all the wars will end, Then we will have one united kingdom under God.’ This is what the Christmas stories in Matthew and Luke are about. With Jesus birth, life, death, and resurrection, Sin has been defeated. Jesus birth in a game changer; the game has now been won; and when he returns (any day now) it will be over. Whenever each of us realizes this, we need to make a decision – do we acknowledge Jesus as our leader and worship him like the Magi or do we rebel against him, trying to root him out of our life and our world like Herod. It is my hope that on this Christmas Day 2000+ years closer to the return of Christ than on the day of his birth, that we will each choose to live forever in this New Kingdom with this new King, whose birth in a manger we remember today.
Let us Pray
History tells us about Herod. Herod is a regional king. He works for the Romans and he is known as ‘Herod the Great’. Herod is a great political leader and as such is involved in all the political intrigue of his era in all the ways that political intrigue is carried out in his time (cf. Josephus, Bellum ii.10–13; cf. also Josephus, Antiquities xvii. 224, 229, 250, 304, 307, 340). He is a king but his job is no more secure than that of a contemporary politician and Herod defends his title and his job no less vigorously: in order to secure his position, Herod needs to back the right horse and defeat all his rivals (cf. Josephus, Antiquities i.358). He – like many contemporary politicians – switches his allegiances more than once as to whom he backs for Emperor – first he backs Mark Anthony’s coalition government and later crosses the floor to support Caesar Augustus. Herod is a king who leaves behind a good legacy of building and growth but he is an adept politician, cruel and insecure. The title awarded to him by Caesar Augustus is Herod, King of the Jews.
Imagine what it must have been like for him. Imagine you are King of the Jews and these privileged academics come to you from a foreign country and they ask, “Where is your replacement?” Matthew 2:2, they ask “Where is the one who has been born King of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.” Imagine, you have this job that you have fought hard for all your life and your job title is ‘King of the Jews’ and these strangers come up to you and ask to meet your replacement, the new King of the Jews. How would you react?
I was a dishwasher once for about a week as a teenager; the job didn’t go well and I didn’t get along with my co-worker and one day I met a friend for coffee; he was excited as he told me that he had just been hired for a job at this SAME restaurant. When we talk for a while it becomes apparent that they have hired him for MY job. That is how I found out that I was going to be fired. This could be what it is like for Herod when he hears this news that a there is going to be a new king of the Jews. This news is a shock to him. This news is a threat to him. Current kings can be killed when new kings take over. Herod is the king. Who is this new King of the Jews? If you were Herod, what would you do? Herod is determined to eliminate his would-be-rival so Herod sends in the troops. The military massacres male babies two years and younger in order to wipe out any possible rival who may have been recently born. This is Herod’s reaction to the birth of Jesus. He tries to remove him.
In our story today we also have the Magi. Our word ‘magic’ comes from the same root as ‘magi’. They are learned people who see this ‘star’. They come from the east (cf. Philippians 2:10-11). Remember that travel isn’t easy in that day and age: they can’t just hop a flight or drive the Trans-Palestine superhighway to Jerusalem. These wise men realize from their studies of the world around them that the King of the Jews has been born (cf. Numbers 24:17, Daniel 9:25, John 4:25, Romans 1). What do they do when they discover this? Remember that they probably aren’t Jews and they don’t live in the area. What do these foreign academics do when they find out a king of the Jews has been born? They put their whole lives on hold and come to find him in order to worship him (Matthew 2:2; cf. TSA d. 2,4).
Matthew provides us with these two contrasting example to the both of the king because people in the first century had a choice to make as to whether they were going to serve their contemporary systems of government or whether they were going to serve the NEW KING.
We have to face the same choice today. The king has already been born. That is what Christmas is all about. This King has, is and will change the whole world. Jesus proclaims a new world order. Jesus is an end to capitalism, democracy, consumerism, imperialism, and whatever other ‘ism’ people are tempted to serve. The systems that raised up Herod and the Magi; Trump and Trudeau, Harper and Obama will come to an end. This world where the rich get richer and the poor get poorer is coming to an end. This world where man makes war against man will end. Like White Lion proclaims, ‘no more presidents and all the wars will end, Then we will have one united kingdom under God.’ This is what the Christmas stories in Matthew and Luke are about. With Jesus birth, life, death, and resurrection, Sin has been defeated. Jesus birth in a game changer; the game has now been won; and when he returns (any day now) it will be over. Whenever each of us realizes this, we need to make a decision – do we acknowledge Jesus as our leader and worship him like the Magi or do we rebel against him, trying to root him out of our life and our world like Herod. It is my hope that on this Christmas Day 2000+ years closer to the return of Christ than on the day of his birth, that we will each choose to live forever in this New Kingdom with this new King, whose birth in a manger we remember today.
Let us Pray
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