The Political Jesus

What did Herod Think of Jesus?

What sort of person was Herod?

There are a lot of Herods. This was the first Herod, Herod the Great. Other stories about Herod in the Scriptures are about one of his descendants (graphic)

His father, Antipas II, was a conniving man who was appointed governor of Idumea by Rome. Antipas made Herod governor of Gallilee when Herod was only 25, in 47BC

He made some devious deals with the Romans to oust the last of the Hasmoneans in 37 BC. Despite being Idumean, and therefore only half-Jew, his cunning political strategizing propelled him to the throne of Idumea and Judea [map of Kingdom of Herod]

Once he took the throne, he had many enemies, but defeated them all by his cunning and his brutal will to dominate. When the Pharisees objected, he had those who withstood him punished. When the aristocracy sided with his enemy Antigonus, he executed 45 of the wealthiest and confiscated their property. The last of the Hasmonean rulers, Aristobulus was “accidentally” drowned in a rather convenient incident.

When Octavius (later Julius Ceasar) became emperor of Rome, he managed to sweet talk him into giving Herod all of Palestine. Along the way he had his rival executed. Even his favorite wife Mariamne was executed because he became suspicious of her.

After consolidating the entire land of palestine, he spend a dozen years building many great works. Many of these were engineering marvels, a testament to Herod’s tremendous ego. The greatest of these was Herod’s Temple. He rennovated the existing temple, turning it into something that rivaled the wonders of the ancient world, and making it larger and more beautiful than Solomon’s Temple. This was obviously an attempt to improve his popularity with his people. While they appreciated the magnificent temple, it didn’t work. He was still unpopular.

His ambition was so great, he did everything he could to curry favor from the Romans. He built the city of Cesearea, a monument to his Roman benefactor, complete with all the things a hellenistic city should have, including pagan temples, and statues of the emperor.

In the last decade before Christ was born, he became increasingly paranoid, executing many of his sons and his wives on suspicion of treason. Ceasar Augustus at one point got so frustrated with Herod’s constant executions, that he quipped that it was better to be Herod’s pig, than Herod’s son (NAC, pg 61). Since Herod nominally observed the law, he wouldn’t eat the pig, but he was very likely to kill his son. In Greek the word for Son ὑιος and pig ὑος are pronounced the same and are spelled with just one letter difference.

In short, this was a man that would do anything, say anything to get more power. His ambition to be remembered was boundless, hence his many building projects. But by the time of Jesus’ birth, about 4BC, he was already in his upper 60s. Given lifespans at that time, he really wasn’t going to live much longer anyway, and he didn’t. Having said that, he was also one of the few people of the era with enough ambition and drive to unify the scattered tribes of the Holy Land, and this ambition did bring a measure of peace to the area. But that ambition also fueled the massive expense of his constant building projects, his army, and the like, so that taxes were also quite heavy.

How much did he know?

He nominally worshipped Yahweh, but it is clear by his building both the Temple and pagan temples that his worship was only a political move. His shallow knowledge of the Law is seen in that he must call for the experts to know what it says about the Messiah.

He only knew that this one was described as the true King of the Jews. If indeed this was a legitimate heir, then his own claim to the throne, he thought, was in jeopardy. Ironically, he was correct in principle. The Messiah would not derive his power from the Romans, or even from the Jewish people, but from God himself. According to Daniel, this King meant the end of all authority based on the pagan nations. Herod’s authority was based on Rome’s dominating the region, so the rise of the Messiah would mean the end of anyone who got their power where Herod got his.

but in practice the infant Jesus was no threat to his own power, and could not have been a threat during Herod’s foreseeable lifetime. Jesus was going to set up the Kingdom of God, and as such his first job wasn’t fighting the Romans, it was trying to call Israel back to the faithful worship of God. Only a righteous people was fit for God to rule over. So even when he became an man, he was actually more of a threat to the Jews, than to Herod and his line. And any sensible person could see that whatever the future of this baby, none of it could possibly happen until Herod was long dead.

His reaction to Jesus

But one who spent a lifetime gaining power by violence, murder, and deceit does not end it by overlooking a threat to the position he had worked so hard to achieve. There was nothing he wouldn’t do, no one he would not kill, to make sure no rivals would ever challenge him. So the slaughter of the innocents of Bethlehem was actually one of the less evil things he did. We only know of it because of the connection to Jesus.

What did the Priests Think of Jesus?

Who were the “chief priests” and “Scribes?”

There was supposed to be only one high priest. But Herod controlled the priesthood, and deposed some and appointed others. So the previous high priest, which the people considered the real one, and the present high priest, were both the High Priest.

Scribes were professional copiers of the Law. but because they spent all day writing the Scriptures, they knew them very well, and became known as experts.

These are the religious elite, those who ought to be most anxious for God to return.

What did they know?

They knew prophecy better than anyone. when asked, they immediate quoted Micah 5:2

Turn to Micah 5:1-5

The context of this verse is absolutely about the sort of King Herod was afraid of. The ruler of Israel who derives his power from God is in response to those who would fight Israel (v.1). God would give Israel up until the time of the gathering of Israel (v.3), when the Messiah would take his throne, rule [shepherd] Israel. He would be the greatest ruler on earth, and create lasting peace (v.5). In other words, this Ruler of Israel really would destroy the pagan nations of the world, such as the Romans. But he would only do so at the time of the regathering of Israel. Until then, God would continue to allow the Romans to have power.

Their reaction to Jesus

Apathy is the most notable thing about their reaction. They don’t seem to be threatened by him, as the later generation of chief priests were. Instead, they just don’t care. But they know God’s promise of a coming savior, a King who would reign in righteousness and bring peace. They ought to be seeking it, but they don’t even bother to walk the five miles from Jerusalem to Bethlehem to find out. Why don’t they care?

Because they are actually too attached to this world, just as Herod is. They like their positions of authority and privilege. A King who shakes up the existing power base and demands real righteousness would threaten their religious monopoly and make them uncomfortable. But they know that a baby is no threat. They are just religious enough to not want to kill him, but not religious enough to seek out God’s Work on earth. So it’s no big deal for them to betray the Messiah to the power-mad Herod. They just want to stay out of his way so they can get back to their comfortable life.

What did the Wise Men think of Jesus?

Who were the Wise Men?

Herodotus used the word Magi to describe a class of Persian priests. They were astrologers, those who thought the movement of the planets had something to do with life on earth. Daniel mentions that in the court of 6th Century BC Persia, astrologers were an integral part of the King’s advisers (Dan 1:20; 2:27; 5:15), and nothing has changed in that regard in the intervening centuries.

They study ancient texts - perhaps such as Daniel’s records - and the stars, and give advice to the King based on their study.

Their is speculation that Daniel influence was remembered, and they sought out the Jewish King because of their respect for the ancient Daniel. This is possible, but it must remain speculation. They were in all probability, pagans.

How did they know the King was born?

The Star. Some have speculated convincingly that it was the movement of Jupiter and Saturn in proximity; it could have been a purely supernatural phenonmenon. In any case, they read the stars as forecasting Jesus’ birth.

How they were right

Remember that astrology is not wise and involves the false assumption that the movement of the planets impacts our actions on earth. Yet in an odd confluence of two wrongs make a right, they discerned correctly through incorrect means.

Jesus really was the King of the Jews

Their reaction to Jesus

Worship - They very likely didn’t know Jesus was also God. They bowed to him as a king, as one who would reign in Israel and therefore should be welcomed for the sake of diplomatic relationship between Persia and Israel. Matthew’s readers, on the other hand, do know very well that Jesus is God, and the double meaning of worship as God/King is likely not an accident.

the distance they traveled - If Persia was their home, then they travelled for hundreds of miles to get here. Quite the epic trip.

Jesus’ birth home [graphic]

the gifts and their meaning. Some have speculated that the gold symbolizes his royalty the frankinsense his deity, and the Myrr his death. But this assumes more knowledge than the Magi would have had. All the gifts were suitable for a King.

Application

The Wise Men do have a political agenda, like all the others. But it’s a mission of peace. They only wanted to foster a good relationship with the people of Israel. So they met Jesus entirely without conditions or fears. They have an automatic humility.

They traveled to the ends of the earth on the slimmest of information. They were prepared to recognize an unlikely infant as Israel’s future King, when appearances were to the contrary. This is faith. Though it is faith, not in Jesus per se, but in the power of astrology to predict the rise of prominent people. We have so much better information, and we have so much more reason for confidence in our God. What could we do if we were prepared to act on our faith with anything like the same effort as these wise men had in their astrology?

Jesus demands that you come to him with no conditions about your way of life. He gives you many good reasons to trust him, if you are prepared to understand and accept the evidence. If you feel threatened by Christianity, your actions will be just as useless and futile as Herod’s turned out to be. If you know the truth, but don’t believe it enough to do anything about it, your knowledge is worth just as much as the knowledgable Priests and Scribes. But if you come to him in humility and faith, prepared to believe him and accept the Christian worldview, you will actually find that your life is better. It may not be more prosperous, but it will be good.