Herod

In about two weeks will be Christmas.

Do you have any tradition during this festive season?

Are you looking forward to have some time off?

Or are you one of those that have to work through the holiday

and only have a few red days for a break?

Another father of my kids, who is an Italian,

he told me that his German father-in-law

would often visit them during Christmas.

They did not get on very well

because he feels that his father-in-law is too strict.

Everything needs to be right and exact,

needs to be on the dock, so to speak.

So to make his Christmas family gathering

more bearable and entertaining,

my friend would deliberately adjust all the clocks in his house

to be out by one or two minutes

and observe the reaction and expression of his father-in-law.

My friend said his father-in-law would want to do something

to adjust all the clocks back to the exact time,

but since it's not his house,

he cannot do so without asking him for permission.

But being a German father-in-law,

he's not willing to ask an Italian for his permission.

So he just spent the whole time being disturbed.

When you wanted things to go your way,

when you wanted to take control,

but the environment does not allow you to do so,

it must be a very painful experience.

What if you are allowed to take control?

What if you have the full reign?

What would you do with it?

What would you do to make sure you would not lose that control again?

Today we will reflect on King Herod,

a man who also wants everything to go according to how he wants them,

and consider having control as the most important thing.

Today we will see Christmas through his eyes,

and as we prepare for the lead-up to Christmas Day,

we will also take some time to see Christmas through the eyes of the angels,

of Mary, and of Jesus' fathers.

As we reflect on King Herod today,

let us answer three questions.

Who is Herod?

Who is this newborn king?

And who is your king?

Let us pray.

Father, thank you for Jesus.

Thank you for breaking into our world a little bit more than 2,000 years ago,

and provide us with a way to be reunited with you.

As we reflect on the meaning of Christmas through King Herod today

and other characters in the coming weeks,

please help us to also reflect on the true meaning of Christmas to ourselves

and what you have done for us.

Amen.

So who is King Herod?

The birth of Christ, Christmas, was predicted in the Old Testament

and recorded in Matthew and Luke in the New Testament.

The record in Matthew was read out for us just now.

So let's turn to it again in Matthew 2.

It's saying in Matthew 2, verse 1 to 2,

Matthew 2:1–2

Jesus was born during the time of King Herod.

You will encounter three different Herod.

They are all related,

and today we are talking about Herod the Great,

the very first Herod who made it to be a king

and passed on the position to the other Herod

that you will read in the New Testament.

The Bible has not given us much detail

about the background about this Herod,

but we can rely on historians

and from the time and also archaeology

to know more about him.

Historians told us that Herod the Great

was born an Edomite,

followed the lines of Isaac,

Isaac's oldest son, Esau.

In Genesis, the first book of Old Testament,

we were told that Isaac is the son of Abraham,

and he has two sons, Esau and Jacob.

So those who follow the line of Esau

are Edomite because they live around Edom.

And those who follow the line of Jacob are the Jews,

which live in the land of Judea and Jerusalem.

Herod shared the same ancestors with the Jews,

going back to Abraham and Isaac,

but he is not a Jew.

He is a descendant of Esau and Edomite.

He obtained his position as the king of the Jews,

his relatives,

not by birth,

but through careful political maneuvers,

risking his life at every step

in his dealing with the Romans.

Despite the fact that he was appointed king by the Romans

and was bound to carry out the will of Rome,

Herod wants to set up something great

and pass on his achievements and inheritance to his children.

He wants an empire that will last a long time.

However, at the same time,

he wants only to pass on his empire

at the time that he feels,

that is,

feeding his schedule and his plan.

So he murdered whoever might challenge his place on the throne,

including his wife

and several of his sons and other relatives.

Reflecting on Herod,

wanting to control the destiny of his own life,

I thought about someone that was in China

around 247 BC.

He became the emperor of the Qing dynasty.

His title was Qin Qi Wang.

Qin is the name of the dynasty.

Qi is the very first of the founder.

Wang means emperor.

So Qin Qi Wang means the very first emperor of China.

He was called by that title

because he was the very first emperor of a unified China.

All the dynasty that come after him

inherited unified China

and able to expand China

based on what Qin Qi Wang has done.

He did a lot of things

that we still talk about today,

such as connecting all the sessions

of the defensive war around the 200 BC,

which become the Great War of China.

And 2,200 years later,

we still talk about it

and the Great War is still standing

as one of the wonders of the world.

He was on a quest to find medicine

that can grant him eternal life.

But after all the attempts at Pharaoh,

he had a few big tombs dug out

and filled them with clay or terracotta warriors,

horses and chariots,

in order that they would give him the protection

and extend his reign after death.

Something that both Herod and Qin Qi Wang

had in common

are the great building projects.

Qin Qi Wang connected the Great War

and built tombs.

Herod was known to have built

the port of Caesarea,

restored the temple in Jerusalem,

and built many theaters, cities,

palaces, and fortresses.

They both done so much

to set up for themselves a legacy

that they hoped will last for a long time.

They both want to be in control.

But as you and me both know,

things in life never go according to plan.

Have you ever planned to achieve

some great things,

make accurate effort,

with huge sacrifice to get there,

and have the pin pulled from under you?

You walk carefully,

like treading on thin ice,

and someone jumped in

and cracked everything.

The question posed by the Magi in verse 2,

where is the one who has been born

king of the Jews,

was such a stern reminder to Herod

that despite all that he has done,

all that he is doing,

despite all that he has achieved,

he is not really the king of the Jews.

He is not even born a Jew.

He is the half-blooded king,

if I may steal the title

from a Harry Potter fan.

So 1st Street told us that

when King Herod heard this,

he was disturbed,

and all Jerusalem with him.

This could be one of the understatements

in the Bible.

It's like saying Jesus was hungry

after fast for 40 days and 40 nights.

If you put yourself in Herod's shoes,

disturbed seems to be not very accurate

or sufficient to describe how I would feel

responding to that news.

A new king that is not under my control has born,

and has a right to be the king of the empire

that I am building by birth.

And he has that right by birth.

Being disturbed is such an understatement.

And I believe all Jerusalem was disturbed too

because they know what kind of person Herod is,

what he will do to eliminate any threat to his thong.

Herod was disturbed about the news of someone

who may threaten his thong,

and he may also be disturbed

because he doesn't know where he is born.

So in verse 4 to 5,

he called together all the people's chief priests

and teachers of the law

to find out where the Messiah was to be born.

It's interesting that Herod seems to know

of the coming of the Messiah,

who is the rightful king of the Jews,

but he had done everything

as if this Messiah would never come,

that he can keep controlling

as a half-blooded king,

a pretender to the thong.

When they worked out

where about the newborn king should be,

in verse 7 to 8, it read,

Herod called the Magi secretly

and found out from them

the exact time the stars have appeared.

He sent them to Bethlehem and said,

Go and search carefully for the child.

As soon as you find him,

report to me,

so I too may go and worship him.

With what we just found out about Herod,

it's so obvious that he's not going to go

and worship the child Jesus.

If you are Herod,

what do you think are the justifiable actions

to take towards this newborn king of the Jews?

This new threat to what you want to establish

for yourself and your family?

How far would you go

to protect what you have worked hard to set up

before your life?

Verse 16 told us that

when Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi,

he was furious

and he gave order to kill all the boys in Bethlehem

and his vicinity

who were two years old and under,

according to the time he had learned from the Magi.

Herod killed all the boys in Bethlehem

and his vicinity

who were two years old and under

to protect his control

and lordship of the empire he is building.

To him,

there is a justifiable action to take.

He had dealt with any threat to his throne

in the same way all along,

even to kill his wife and murder his sons.

He wanted to hold on to whatever control he can exercise

to ensure his plans of building his empire.

Succeeds.

In Chen Qi Wong,

quest to ensure his dynasty and Jews forever

and to decide who remind his sons

are more suitable to carry on his legacy.

He let his sons fight each other.

In his quest for eternal life,

he become very suspicious

and his heart-like control of his dynasty

drew many opposition.

In response to Chen Qi Wong,

he burned all the books and literature

that is not in line with the policy

that he wants to enforce

and murder any scholar

that dare to speak up against him

by burying them alive

to drown them out.

The forced labor he put in place

to connect up the Great Wall

caused many men to be separated from their family.

Husbands are taken away from their wife.

Children become fatherless.

One of the famous Chinese folk stories says that

a wife so desperate to find her husband,

she searched along the Great Wall every day

and weeping and crying,

and her cry cracked the wall.

We read today

the weeping and great mourning

that was predicted,

mentioned in verse 18,

of those who had lost their children

in Bethlehem and its vicinity

is not the greatest concern of Herod.

They were just one of his necessary casualties.

Have you met someone

or known of anyone like Herod?

Someone who is so determined

to achieve what they have set up to do

or to protect their ownership

of things that they want to hold on to.

They are willing to sacrifice others to get there.

Verse 19 told us that

are universal threats

that everyone needs to face.

No matter how hard you try,

no matter how powerful you become,

Chen Chi Wang tried and failed.

Same goes to Herod and all of us.

They say Herod died.

We all have to face the fact

that we will be dead one day.

Herod died searching

for the newborn king

for the wrong reason.

He wants to find him to kill him.

You can live life,

you can live life like a king

in your life now,

but without meeting a true king,

you will only die disturbed

and searching like Herod.

Herod questioned the people's chief priests

and teachers of the law

so that he knows of the Messiah,

but he did not really know who he is

and where to find him.

When he found out where to find him,

when the opportunity presented for him

to meet the Messiah,

he was too busy building his empire.

He rejected and ignored the chance

for him to meet the one

that can give him eternal life,

the one that can ensure his achievement

that really lasts to eternity.

Instead of taking up the opportunity

to meet the real king of his life,

he killed off the only chance

he could have to meet the Messiah.

So who is this newborn king?

Who is this Messiah?

Let's now look at this second question,

who is this newborn king,

by going back to verse 5.

Verse 5 told us that the Messiah

was to be born in Bethlehem in Judea.

And for this is what the prophet was written.

If we read on in verse 6,

But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,

are by no means least among the rulers of Judah.

For all of you will become a ruler

who will shepherd my people Israel.

Messiah is a special Hebrew term in the Bible.

In Greek, it is Christ.

Both means the anointed one, the king.

Judea or the land of Judah is today

what we call Palestine.

And Bethlehem, this city,

the name of that city actually means house of bread.

So this is where the bread of life,

referred to in John 6, 48, come to earth.

From this city to town,

a ruler will come to shepherd God's people.

If you turn back with me to Matthew chapter 1,

Matthew 1 · chapter mention

in verse 1 to 18,

it says,

this is how the birth of Christ,

Jesus, the Messiah, come about.

Jesus is the Messiah,

a ruler who shepherds God's people.

So what do you think of when you hear the term ruler?

Do you think of someone high above you,

very distant,

a privilege with absolute power,

something like Queen Elizabeth of England,

or Donald Trump,

or President Kim of the North Korea?

Jesus is not that kind of ruler.

Reading on in Matthew 1,

Matthew 1:20–21

verse 20 to 21,

when an angel appeared to Joseph

to encourage him about the son he is going to have,

he said,

Joseph, son of David,

you are to give him the name Jesus

because he will save his people from their sins.

When Jesus was born,

the Old Testament had already been translated

from Hebrew to Greek,

and Greek is a common language at the time.

Theologian Warren Wisby said that

the name Jesus means Savior

and comes from the Hebrew's name Joshua,

which also means Savior saves.

Another theologian, Michael Horton, said,

although the origin of the name Jesus

is not very certain,

the consensus is that

it derives from the root to save.

Jesus' name is descriptive

of his relationship to his people

in faithfulness and mercy.

His mission is already embedded

in his personal identity.

Jesus is the Messiah,

the king who will save his people

from their sins.

Jesus is a king

that was not born

into a life of privilege

or political power.

When he was born,

his own race

was under the authority of Rome.

His birthplace

was a place of occupied land

governed by Herod,

a pretender

half-blooded king.

And in verse 22-23,

all this took place

to fulfill what the Lord

had said

through the prophet.

The virgin will conceive

and give birth to a son

and they will call him Emmanuel,

which means

God with us.

So Jesus is God with us

to save us.

Have you ever looked at Jesus

from that perspective?

Jesus is God

and he comes

to be with us

to save us.

Who is Jesus to you?

Reading on from Matthew 2,

Matthew 2:13

verse 13,

When they, the Magi,

have gone,

an angel of the Lord

appealed to Joseph

in a dream.

Get up, he said.

Take the child

and his mother

and escape to Egypt.

Stay there

until I tell you,

for Herod is going

to search for the child

to kill him.

So he got up,

took the child

and his mother

during the night

and left for Egypt,

where he stayed

until the death of Herod.

And so was fulfilled

with the Lord,

what the Lord

has said

through the prophet,

Out of Egypt

I call my son.

Jesus is about

to save us

because,

sorry,

Jesus is able

to save us

because he is

100% human,

born of Mary,

and he is also

100% God.

He is God

the Son.

It's not just

another character

of a story

that was told

once upon a time.

Because Jesus

is truly human

and truly God,

he can save us

from our sins

by being our substitution

to pay the penalty

of our sins.

He knows

what it means

to be displaced

because he had

to spend his childhood

in a foreign country

with his family

to preserve his life

for the right moment

to fulfill

the ultimate substitution

on the cross.

He breaks through

all stereotypes

of what we think

a king is.

He breaches

the gap

of all cultures

to bring salvation

to everyone.

Jesus was born

king of the Jews

who lived in a life

in a time

under cultural influence

of the Greek

and the political influence

of Romans

and spent his childhood

in Egypt.

Is this the Jesus

that you know?

And in verse 19 to 23,

when those who were trying

to take the child's life

are dead,

his whole family

withdrew to the district

of Galilee

and he went and lived

in a town called Nazareth.

So it was fulfilled

what was said

through the prophet

that he would be called

an Assyrian.

Jesus' life

from birth to death

was predicted

by himself

through the prophet.

Every step of Jesus' life

was lived out

as fulfillment

to what he said

in the Old Testament.

In the first two chapters

of Matthew,

we have only looked

at the first few years

of Jesus' life.

The faith

fulfilled what the Lord

has said

through the prophet

already appeared

about six times.

The Old Testament

of the Bible

is God's redemptive plan

being told

and the New Testament

is a fulfillment

of that plan

through the life,

death,

and resurrection

of Jesus.

The birth of Christ,

Christmas,

is the beginning

of the unfolding

of God's grace-saving act

of mercy towards us.

Jesus is not

a king that born

and grew up

in a palace

with privilege

that does not know

his people.

Jesus was born

and grew up

in a humbly circumstance

in an occupied land

as an exile.

The newborn king

is Jesus,

the Messiah,

the one who saved us

from our sins

because he is

the only one

that had lived

a perfect obedience

life according

to every letters

of God's word.

No human

is able to do so

because we do not

have the nature

of God.

The Son of God,

Jesus,

who is God,

the Son,

had died

and resurrected

to make way

for us

to be united

with God.

Is that the Jesus

that you know?

Have you been

seeing Jesus

from that perspective?

Do you honor Jesus

as a king

as he deserves

to be honored?

Have you let Jesus

take control

of your life

as a king

that he should?

We have looked at

who Herod is

and who is

this newborn king.

Now let's look

at the last question

that I want us

to reflect on today.

Who is your king?

With Christmas

just only a couple

of weeks away,

what has been

occupying you

and your mind?

Is it about

how many days

you will have

for holiday?

What you can do

and where you can go?

Is it about

how you are going

to fit all the gatherings

of works and families

in between those days?

Is it about

how to make

those gatherings

more bearable

like my friend

did to his German

family-in-law?

Is it about

what kind of gifts

you should get

for your friends

or what kind of gifts

you are hoping to get?

During the very first Christmas,

the Magi was very busy.

They were busy

looking for the child Jesus.

They found him

by the help of God.

Let's read

from chapter 2,

verse 9.

It said,

After they had heard

the king,

they went on their way

and the stars

they had seen

when it rose

went ahead of them

until it stopped

over the place

where the child was.

When they saw the star,

they were overjoyed.

On coming to the house,

they saw the child

with his mother Mary.

They bowed down

and worshipped him.

Then they opened

their treasures

and presented him

with gifts of gold,

Frankenstein's and myrrh.

The star sent by God

led the Magi

to the child king.

And when the Magi

see the newborn king

of the Jews,

they were overjoyed

and they came

fully prepared

to see him.

They were ready

to bow down

and worship him

as king,

offer up their treasure

and present Jesus

with gifts.

They treat Jesus

as their king

even though

they are not Jews.

They were well-educated

wise men

willing to travel

a long distance

to submit themselves

to the newborn king

of the Jews.

Are you ready

to face Jesus?

Are you ready

to face your king?

What gifts

have you prepared

to offer to him?

What treasure

have you bought

for him?

Have you ever

prepared something

as a gift

and to find out

that it's not suitable

or not exactly

what the other person

would like to have?

What did you do

to avoid

that embarrassment

and headache again?

I think the best way

is to get to know

the other person

very well

and even ask them

directly.

So do you know

your king?

Do you know

where to find him?

King Herod

was cruelest

of Jesus'

whereabouts

and what

did he do?

He asked someone

that should know.

If you're not sure

where to find Jesus

and who Jesus is,

the Bible

and someone

who knows the Bible

is the best place

for you to start.

So please speak

with anyone

in the red vest

or write your question

about Jesus

in the card

in front of you

and we will contact you

to help you

look for Jesus.

So in that way,

as you search for Jesus,

you'll be able to find out

what he wants from you.

So when you find him,

you're ready to bow down

and worship him

and offer up

your treasured gifts.

We should learn

from Herod

asking other to help

to learn about

where Jesus is

and what we should learn

and we also should learn

from the Magi

putting in the action

to find the real king.

Herod was given

a chance

to meet the real king

of the Jews

but instead of going

to meet him,

he sent someone

to do it.

Even the religious people

at the time

who can tell Herod

where Jesus is

did not go

to meet the king

but the Magi went

and they got

to see the child king

and pay their respect

and honor

but Herod did not

because he was not

sincere and authentic

in his searching.

He said he wants

to worship Jesus

but his actions

say something else.

His mind

was preoccupied

with other things

with the worry

of losing

the control

of his

pretended kingdom.

His mind

was preoccupied

with what to do

to eliminate

any new threat

to his control.

He's not willing

to hand over

his kingship yet.

What are you not

like in terms

of holding on

to things

that you do not

want to let go?

What are you like

in terms of

being disturbed

and distracted?

How sincere

and authentic

in your worship

of Jesus

our Savior

and Messiah.

Jesus started

his ministry

in going from

town to town

to teach people

about the kingdom

of God

after he turned

30 years old.

In Luke 10

it tells us

that Martha

opened her home

to Jesus

and his disciples

to do their teaching.

As soon as

he entered the house

Martha's

sister Mary

sat at the Lord's feet

and listened

to what he had to say.

But Martha

was distracted

by all the preparation

that had to be done.

And she complained

to Jesus

and wanted Jesus

to tell her

sister Mary

to stop sitting

on her bedside

and get up

and help her.

And this is what

Jesus said to her.

Martha,

Martha,

you are worried

and upset

about many things

but few things

are needed

or indeed

only one.

Mary has chosen

what is better

and it will not

be taken away

from her.

Jesus

deserves

our full attention

and his message

and his message

is worth

for us

to drop

everything

to listen to.

He is the only

one thing

that is needed

for life.

Is that who

Jesus to you?

With all that

need to be prepared

for the first

season,

it is easy

to forget

the most

important things.

The only one

thing that is

needed

is to be

at Jesus'

feet.

The best

gift you can

get for your

family and

friend

is to tell

them about

Jesus.

However,

with the demand

of life on us

from family

and work,

we are often

worried and upset

about many things.

Do you feel

like being

snowed under

all the time?

Don't be

like Martha

who gets

worried and

upset about

many things.

Be like

Mary

who chooses

to be at

the feet

of Jesus

to hear

what he

has to say.

Jesus'

teaching is

the only

one thing

that is

needed.

Jesus is

the only

one who

born to

save.

The newborn

king comes

to be ruler

who shepherds

God's people.

If you are

God's people,

Jesus is

your shepherd

and he

will lead

you to

the right

place to

meet your

needs.

Do you

believe that

he will

look after

you much

better than

what you

try to

plan to

do?

If you

believe he

will,

follow him.

Don't

wander around

like a

sheep.

Don't

just follow

the herd.

Make sure

you are

following the

shepherd.

Listen to

his voice

from the

Bible and

you will

not go

astray.

If you

have been

a regular

member of

St.

Paul's,

what time

did you

get here

today?

Have you

signed up

to join

a community

group?

And what

time did

you arrive

in the

last group

meeting?

Why are

you here?

Why are

you here

just to

clock in,

to make

yourself feel

good about

yourself,

to take

off what

you think

is the

requirement of

being a

Christian?

Are you

here to

truly treasure

Jesus together

with us in

bringing glory

to God and

joy to

others?

Is Jesus

truly your

King?

What effort

are you making

to be on

time at

church and

your gathering

with your

brothers and

sisters?

What

arrangement

have you

made so

that you

can stay

behind to

fellowship and

be part of

God's family

on Sunday?

Are you

always arriving

after the

singing worship

finished or

rushing off to

your lunchtime

appointment with

your friends?

Are you

here today to

worship Jesus?

Do you

worship Jesus

and getting to

know him more

and more every

day of the

week?

In your

day-to-day

life, is

Jesus the

true king of

your life?

Or does

your day-to-day

life show that

you have rejected

him and even

tried to kill

him because he

is threatening

the kingship and

control of your

life?

Have you

welcomed the

newborn king

with joy like

the Magi?

Or are you

protecting the

lordship of

your life in

your own

palace like

King Herod?

How far

would you

go to ensure

your career

goes according

to your plan?

How far

would you

go to ensure

you get what

you want for

your life and

your family?

Do you

truly believe

Jesus will

look after

you because

he is your

shepherd?

A writer and

theologian

Kim Keller

said there

is a little

herod in

all of us.

We are in

many ways just

like Herod when

we feel that the

control of our

life is being

threatened by

any outside

force.

We will do

whatever we

can to hold

on to that

control and

we are not

willing to let

someone else

to be king

of our life.

Is Jesus the

Messiah, the

king of your

life?

Are you

ready to

see your

Savior Christ?

Or are you

too busy and

distracted, worried

and upset about

many things?

Just as Jesus

said to Martha,

the only one

thing that is

needed, the

thing that once

we have chosen

will not be

taken from us,

is sitting at

Jesus' feet with

attentive ears and

listen to the

fulfillments and

wonders that he

unfolds by his

life.

He's

uta

to

mouth

to

�

Board

video

Mondi

in

one

have

earned

gracious

daughter

CON

karş

remembered

how

he

Damit

to

his

walls

and

peace

in