Matthew 2:1-11

Well if you've come in since the beginning let me say again thank you so much for coming and joining us. It's a real thrill to see you all here and to join with you together.

I just want to talk to you for a few moments from that passage that we just have read to us from Matthew chapter 2 so you might find it helpful to keep that open in front of you.

Matthew 2 · chapter mention

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While it's full of joy and cheer and light, there is a dark side to Christmas, isn't there?

We wonder why Matthew, if he's trying to commend Jesus to us in his account of the birth of Jesus, why does he tell us about the dark side of Christmas?

He includes details here, doesn't he, about the ultimate Scrooge, the ultimate hater of Christmas, the enraged King Herod.

He is very, very stressed out, isn't he, that first Christmas, but in a much more serious way than perhaps we are.

Well, he tells us about him because this is history, first of all.

There was really a king called Herod, who lived at the time when Jesus was born.

Matthew places this in history, it's not a myth that we're hearing about this afternoon, but more than that,

to show us that, joking aside, when the light of Christmas appears, there is a dark side.

There is a dark side in Herod, and there is a dark side in all of us.

Matthew talks us through Herod's response to this baby, to warn us about our response.

So I've got three headings for you, just in a short time now, three R words to show you Herod's response.

First of all, Herod meets his new rival.

Herod meets his new rival.

Just imagine the scene in Jerusalem.

It's the royal city, isn't it?

It's the centre of Herod's royal power.

However, history tells us that Herod has worked his way to the top.

He's got a few skeletons in his closet, probably literally, because he's bumped off a few of his family members

to keep his grip on power as king.

And he is the king you don't mess with.

There are no contenders to my throne, he says.

I'm the king and I'm the ruler.

But what's the first thing that Herod hears at Christmas?

Some wise men turn up in Jerusalem, don't they?

And they ask this question in verse 2 there.

Where is he who has been born king of the Jews?

What a question to ask.

Yeah, we know there is Herod.

But where is the king?

Where is the new king who's been born?

The first thing Herod hears that first Christmas?

I've got a rival.

There is a new king.

The light appears, doesn't it?

But in Herod we see a dark side.

Herod is bothered by the light.

Herod is bothered by this new rival.

We're told in verse 3 down there, he is troubled.

It's a loaded word.

He's agitated.

He's stressed out.

He's stirred up.

The veins in his neck kind of bulge.

And his face goes red.

And he gets cold sweats.

Apparently in the ancient world,

with the appearance of a new star,

it symbolised the death of an old king

and the birth of a new one.

When Jesus appears,

it's as if Herod is reading his own obituary.

It's as if Herod sees his power slipping away.

The stress of Christmas for Herod

is a realisation that as Jesus is born,

he has a rival.

He is losing the right to be in charge.

He's faced with the uncomfortable question,

where is the real king?

But this is the dark side in him, isn't it?

He doesn't want there to be a rival.

He doesn't want to be ruled.

He wants to rule.

We read the story, don't we?

And we kind of boo and hiss at Herod.

He's kind of ultimate pantomime character, isn't he?

The ultimate villain.

But there is a sense that we need to learn

from Herod's response.

That actually we need to think more like Herod.

Because Herod realises the truth of Christmas.

He realises that because Jesus has come,

he has lost the right to rule his own life.

He no longer has the right to be in charge.

And if we understand Christmas,

if we understand who Jesus is,

there is a sense that Jesus should trouble us too.

He comes to rule.

To rule this world.

To rule me and to rule you.

And once the light of Jesus has dawned on you,

a new king comes to rule.

And we don't like that, do we?

We don't like rivals.

And like Herod, there is a dark side in us at Christmas.

Herod has a new rival.

Second thing though,

Herod deals with his rival

with a ruse.

Herod's ruse.

Herod has two choices with Jesus, doesn't he?

He can either attack Jesus' rule

or he can surrender to his rule.

Attack or surrender.

And we know in the story which one he goes for, don't we?

But he thinks he can do it in a clever way.

Did you notice in the story,

Herod's way of dealing with Jesus

is to lie and mislead with a ruse.

We're told in verse 8,

he gets the wise men in private

and he says,

go and search diligently for the child

and when you've found him,

bring me word

so that I can go and worship him too.

And we're thinking,

nice try, Herod.

We know that's not his real intention,

don't we?

He wears a mask.

He acts as if he is one thing

when he's another.

He says,

let's pretend with Jesus.

His way of defending himself

against the perceived threat of Jesus' rule

is to twist the truth.

He pretends he's out to worship Jesus

when actually he wants to destroy Jesus.

And the ruse is his coping mechanism

to divert the reality of the situation.

to turn the truth into a lie,

to pretend.

We know the truth under Herod's mask,

don't we?

Under his mask,

there is a man who is deeply insecure,

who is troubled by Jesus.

And the only way to cope with Jesus

is to bend the truth for him.

It's what we do,

isn't it?

Attack or surrender?

And we think that we can pretend

things are false

when they're just not.

We play,

let's pretend with Jesus.

We pretend not to believe

when deep down

we know these things are true.

We live in God's world,

we're surrounded by his creation,

we depend on him for life,

we are creatures.

We pretend we can bluff King Jesus.

We might even pretend

that we worship him

when actually we want to get rid of him.

We mask the truth.

Now, when we look at Herod,

he's a total megalomaniac, isn't he?

I mean, he's way off the scale.

We see in him a very tragic,

sad man.

Do you notice when he was troubled,

Matthew gives us that little detail

in verse 3, doesn't he?

When he was troubled,

all Jerusalem was troubled with him.

He's a king who has used other people,

used his own people,

to kind of bolster his own choices.

And they've become conditioned

into being on tender huts

every time he's unhappy,

haven't they?

He needs them to be their yes,

his yes men.

So his rude with Jesus

feeds off being surrounded with people

whose reaction corresponds

with how he feels.

They were troubled as well.

As he attacks Jesus,

everyone else around him

has to fall in line.

In our insecurities,

when Jesus comes and claims rule

in our lives,

as we play,

let's pretend with him,

it is much easier to do that,

isn't it,

when everyone else is doing it too.

We're troubled by Jesus,

and we say,

I'm going to get rid of him,

but that's okay,

because everyone's doing it.

We corporately feed

each other's deception.

Herod's met his rival,

he tries a ruse,

but he can't hide,

can he?

Because we see in the end,

Herod's rage.

We see Herod's rage,

that's the third R.

The light of Jesus

comes into Herod's life,

but it doesn't bring him

a warm feeling,

does it?

It doesn't make him feel

nice and sentimental.

Instead of playing

Bing Crosby on his CD player,

he plays Rage Against the Machine,

doesn't he?

Once the ruse fails,

we see what's under the mask.

Jesus brings him out

in a rage.

And at the end of Herod's story,

we get this really grisly,

last-ditch attempt

to attack Jesus,

don't we?

It's there in verse 16,

and it's kind of the verse

that we kind of go,

ugh,

when we read it,

isn't it?

When Herod realised

that he'd been outwitted

by the Magi,

he was furious,

and he gave orders

to kill all the boys

in Bethlehem

and its vicinity

who were two years old

and under.

From our knowledge

of history

and village sizes

around that time,

Herod executed

about 12 to 13

little toddlers

that night.

The mask slips.

We see his rage

at this new king,

an unhinged,

desperate,

tragic rage.

The atheist philosopher

Thomas Nagel

speaks candidly

and honestly

about his feelings.

He admits that

at the heart

of his atheism

is not that

he thinks

Jesus' rule

is irrational

or undeserved,

but simply

that he doesn't

want it.

He says,

I'm speaking

from experience,

being strongly

subject to this

feeling.

It isn't just

that I don't

believe in God,

it's that I hope

there is no God.

I don't want

there to be a God,

he says.

And my guess

is that this

cosmic authority

problem is not rare.

It's really honest,

isn't it?

And he's hit the nail

on the head

for Herod.

In his rage,

he just doesn't

want Jesus

to rule him.

Herod the king

commits treason

against the real king.

It's attack

or surrender.

And the incarnation,

what we think about

every Christmas,

proves to us

that actually

we're not so

unlike Herod

after all.

Because when God

comes into the world,

when the light

of Jesus shines,

how do we respond?

We don't relish

his rule in our lives.

We rage at him.

Our cosmic authority

problem,

as Nagel puts it,

becomes manifestly

obvious to all

when we try

and snuff out

the light,

nail him to a cross

and kill him.

The mask slips

and our rage

against him

comes out.

You've got to feel

a bit of pity

for Herod,

haven't you?

Attack

or surrender?

And he makes

the wrong choice.

And his story

ends here.

As Jesus'

parents take him

to safety,

we see in verse 15

he's in safety

until Herod

dies.

It's there

in the Gospels.

As if it could have

been any other way.

Where is the real

king here?

I would have thought

the answer to that

question is obvious,

isn't it?

And Herod couldn't

fool him

or rage against him

and neither can you.

King of the Jews

was the title

that almost got

Jesus killed

when he was a baby.

But it was

impossible to

defeat him.

His rule

couldn't be stopped.

But Jesus

would embody

that title

once more.

Not at his birth

but at his death.

If you read

Matthew's Gospel

he tells us later

that that title

comes back

and it's written

above his head

as he dies

on a cross.

He's nailed

and killed there.

Reading

King of the Jews.

In the end

that title

does cost

Jesus

his life

and he is

defeated.

Our rage

finally snaps

out the light.

But

in an ironic

twist

his weak death

was actually

his greatest

moment of power.

His greatest

act of kindness

towards us

as king.

For in his death

he voluntarily

receives

what is deserved

by his enemies.

By those

who rage

against him.

He lovingly

absorbs

what is due

to us

in our rage.

In Jesus

in a mysterious

way

God himself

receives

the penalty

for treason

in God's

own kingdom.

The death

penalty is given

and the sword

falls in judgment

on him

and Jesus

receives

what we deserve

in our stead.

Like Herod

you can't remove

Jesus' rule.

You just can't

do that.

but with a

king as good

and as kind

as that

who would

want to?

He is a

king who

loves his

people with

an incredible

love.

Taking on

their own

rebellion

onto himself.

He is a

king who is

literally dying

to love

his people.

Such a

contrast

isn't it

to see how

the wise

men respond

to the

star.

They go

in and

worship

Jesus

and it's

a little

picture of

how things

go.

Attack or

surrender.

Herod will

continue in

paranoia and

insecurity and

anxiety and

stress.

Vainly holding

on to his

power.

Going to the

grave in

desperation.

And the

wise men enjoy

Jesus' presence.

They surrender

to him and

worship.

Just as we

close, let me

say, I'm not a

mind reader this

afternoon, I'm

not going to do

any tricks or

anything, but as

arrogant as it may

sound, I know

what's going to

happen next.

I will shut up

finally.

And you will do

one of two things

this afternoon.

You will leave

this building and

another year will

roll around and

you will either

attack or

surrender.

You will attack

him or surrender

to his rule.

Because the

dark side in

Herod is the

dark side of

every Christmas.

Because it

asks us the

question, where

is the real

king?

A king who

rivals our

right to be in

charge of our

own lives, but

he is a king who

dies and rises

from the dead to

rescue us from

the very serious

consequences of

how we behaved

in his kingdom.

Perhaps Matthew

has prodded

something in you

as you come here

to this carol

service.

But maybe you're

a kind of

sceptical person

and you doubt

some of what

you've heard.

Can I ask you to

be consistent in

your scepticism and

doubt your doubts?

Come and talk to

us.

Come and learn

more about this

great king.

We run a talk

here every

Tuesday, the

Ealing Lunchtime

Talk.

There are some

flyers at the

back.

Why not take

home the

Matthew's Gospel

that was on your

chairs and read

that over Christmas

and learn more

about Jesus the

King?

Let me plead with

you not to make

the same mistakes

that Herod made.

Don't think you

can fight him or

fool him or

finish him off.

It is attack or

surrender.

So come out of

the dark and

surrender to the

King who loves

his people this

much.

Come and worship

him, King

Jesus.

Amen.