Royal Rivalry

Do you ever feel like you’re putting Christmas on autopilot? Instead of rejoicing at the arrival of the Savior of the world, you are just going through the motions out of habit? Watching the same formulaic Christmas sweater wearing couple movies, baking the same sugary treats, whittling down an endless shopping list with a finite budget?

Or is it deeper than that? Do you find yourself feeling irritable, angry even, that the birth of Jesus Christ is disrupting your finances, your routines, your plans? Dare we acknowledge it? Our little kingdom is usurped by His?

If so, don’t feel bad, you’re not alone. The first Christmas, upon receiving Jesus’ birth announcement from the Magi, a king named Herod was rather put out as well.

“Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.” Matthew 2, v 1-3.

So, what did Herod do when the Magi gave him the news? Herod didn’t throw a baby shower. He threw a lethal paranoia filled temper tantrum instead.

“Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men.” Matthew 2, 16-18.

I have read this part of the Christmas story numerous times and I’ve been guilty of reading it on mental autopilot. I assumed Herod had some form of paranoia based mental illness which made him feel threatened by the newborn Jesus. This concept always fit neatly into my ‘enlightened’ 21st century viewpoint, so my assumption remained. Until now.

I recently researched the popular English Christmas carol, ‘The Twelve Days of Christmas’ and I had always assumed ( there’s that word again!) that the ‘first’ of the Twelve Days began on December 13th. To me, that date made perfect sense, commencing the extensive laundry list of gift giving and concluding on December 25th. And with the final partridge in a pear tree, slam dunk, Christmas over.

I was wrong. The Twelve Days of Christmas actually begins on Christmas day, followed by the twelve days known as Christmastide, which include loads of festivals and special church masses. One of these church masses is known as Childermas ( December 28th) – a day set aside to honor the baby boys slaughtered by King Herod in his failed scorched earth attempt to find and murder the infant Jesus.

I realized if I had made assumptions about something as inconsequential as a Christmas carol, could I have been making assumptions about something as vital as the biblical account of the birth of the Savior? I’d always assumed King Herod murdered the other babies because he was mentally unstable and jealous of Jesus.

I began thinking, what if I was wrong? Or half right? I needed to yank myself out of my Christmas autopilot. My brain began asking a writer’s favorite question…. What if? What if King Herod had legitimate reasons to feel threatened? What if he had every earthly reason to engage in a royal rivalry of colossal proportions? What would drive a man to order the deaths of all the male infants in his region in order to ensure the death of his pint sized political rival?

I realized that I have always read Herod’s portion of the Christmas story without proper context or backstory. I wrote him off as ‘The Meanie’ – a two dimensional shadow of a man. By the time Herod ordered babies murdered, he was near the end of his life. It was time for me to turn the clock back. Herod’s story took me from Christmas …. to Hanukkah? I was surprised too, but it turns out that it mattered.

Weeks of research led me down internet rabbit holes and warrens, but ultimately to the knowledge that Herod was so much more than just the Evil Villain in the Christmas story. Don’t misunderstand me – Herod totally IS the Evil Villain in the Christmas story, but he was also a three dimensional person with real hurts and hangups, just like everyone else. Including me.

So, let’s wind back the clock to Hanukkah – which is not, “Jewish Christmas.” The word “hanukkah” means “dedication,” and comes from the moment when the Temple of Jerusalem was triumphantly returned to the Jewish people. A wicked king named Antiochus Epiphanes had forbidden Jewish worship in the Temple, profaning the holy Temple by setting up idols and altars to Greek gods inside. A group of men had decided that they would not submit to the king; they would not worship foreign gods or give up their Jewish way of life. This group was called the Maccabees, and they were determined to take back their Temple and defend their religious freedom. The Maccabees successfully took back the Temple from King Antiochus, but they were heartbroken to discover that the king had not taken care of their holy space. They lovingly cleansed every inch of the Temple, and then, on the 25th day of the month of Kislev, ( November – December) the Maccabees held a glorious rededication ceremony. The most famous story about that rededication comes from the Talmud, ( a Jewish instruction book) where we read that when the Maccabees walked into the Temple, they found only enough oil to light the menorah (lamp) for one day – but miraculously, that small amount of oil lasted for eight days, which is exactly how long it took to get new oil. (Credit – Rabbi Sara Y. Sapadin)

Why does Hanukkah matter to Herod’s story? Because even though Herod is yet to be born, he will arrive into a world where it’s not only ok to be Jewish, it’s actually pretty great. No one was ruling over the Jews, they had just proved their mettle in battle, forcing another empire to pound sand.

The Jews answered to no one.

Herod’s dad would have a large hand in screwing that up, setting Herod up for a lifetime of political pandering and approval seeking. Herod’s father, Antipater, was most likely practicing Judaism as the Maccabean revolt had made it an advantageous time to be Jewish. However, Antipater made a misstep in marrying an Arabian princess. This doesn’t turn out to be like the Jewish version of Aladdin, at all. Although the marriage may have been financially fortuitous for mom and dad, it failed to religiously benefit their son, Herod. In the Hebrew culture, your Jewish lineage passed down to the child from the mother. Without a Jewish mom, Herod was sentenced to never quite fitting in as a ‘real’ Jew. He would forever be viewed as an outsider. He was probably bullied with “Ur mom” jokes as a kid. This sort of painful ostracizing would fuel Herod’s need to find approval elsewhere, and his opportunity lay only a few years away.

Herod’s dad was a power hungry man who saw his chance to climb the social ladder during a battle between two snot nose sons over their dead mother’s throne. One of the sons, Hyrcanus, called upon Antipater for help, which Antipater gladly gave. Hyrcanus now owed Antipater a big favor.

Hyrcanus was about to lose the battle to his brother. By chance, a visiting Roman military commander named Pompey – not to be confused with ‘The floor is lava’ Pompeii – chose to support Hyrcanus. Just like that, Hyrcanus is given the keys to his mommy’s kingdom – but Pompey has now taken Jerusalem under Roman rule.

The Jews now answer to Rome.

Antipater calls in his favor and basically he gets to be Hyrcanus’ vice president. Antipater finally has power, so he doesn’t care that the Jews lost their hard fought independence. Life goes on happily for a while for Antipater as he navigates his way through Roman politics. Eventually there’s a very thorny decision to make, and Herod’s future hangs in the balance.

Enter the 1st Triumvirate. Triumvirate means ‘tres viri’ or ‘three men’. The 1st Triumvirate was an uneasy alliance between three very powerful Roman men. Pompey ( the benefactor to Hyrcanus and Antipater) Julius Caesar, and Marcus Crassus. Each of these men had significant political power individually, and the Triumvirate increased that influence. In the span of a year, Crassus dies in battle, followed by Pompey’s wife, who is Caesar’s only daughter. The Triumvirate dissolves into a bitter civil war between Pompey and Caesar. Everyone under Roman rule is now picking sides.

Will Antipater decide to be on #Team Pompey or #Team Caesar? If Antipater chooses Julius Caesar, and Pompey wins then Pompey would most likely have Antipater and his entire family crucified.

Herod’s life hangs in the balance of his father’s crucial political decision. Which Roman general does Antipater suck up to?

Antipater gambles and chooses…. Julius Caesar, who turns out to be the winner. Pompey is assassinated. Herod stands to inherit all his father’s power.

Here’s where I paused. I had to reflect on Herod’s childhood. Herod has gone from a place of being considered ‘less than’ in Jewish society, thanks to his mom’s ancestry. She could have been the nicest mom ever, even pitching in to fry latkes at Hanukkah, but it wouldn’t matter. Herod was considered a pretender. But now, through the machinations of his father, Herod was poised to be ‘greater than’ in Roman society. To finally fit in somewhere, to feel important, to be remembered.

At this point in the story, I consider my Herod-ness. I’d be a liar if I said I have never tried to win the approval of others. People pleasing, not God pleasing. As a child of divorce, I learned to navigate divided loyalties and emotional landmines between parents who couldn’t stand each other. In high school, I tried to fit in with girls who didn’t care about me. As an adult, I participated in the world’s standard of beauty, trying to find worth there. What about you? Have you ever wanted to fit in so desperately that you compromised with the world and forgot God?

Let’s resume. Back to Herod. Antipater promotes Herod to Governor of Galilee. Meanwhile, some Jewish men are trying to repeat history. Remember Hanukkah? One hundred years prior, the Jews known as the Maccabees fought to be free of the Greeks and they won. Now there is a group calling themselves the “New Maccabees” and they are looking to overthrow the Roman rulers. Herod’s first flex of his powers is at hand. He can choose the Jews or choose the Roman overlords. He finds out where the New Maccabees are hiding ( caves) and murders them all in a day.

After Antipater is assassinated for being a greedy tax collector, Herod murders the man who kills his father.

A few years and more Roman political hijinks ( like Julius Caesar’s assassination) go by and then the Parthians invade Jerusalem. As the Jews really despise Herod, they side with the Parthians. Herod flees to Rome. He regroups with a Roman army and wages war for the next three years until Jerusalem falls to him. The civil war is over, but now his reputation amongst the Jews is forever destroyed.

Herod is thirty six years old and he is now named King of Judea. ( King of the Jews.) He spends a number of years trying to play to both sides, build infrastructure, basically trying to look good. Then things go sideways for him.

Enter the 2nd Triumvirate. Just like the first one, it’s a collection of three powerful Romans – Marcus Lepidus, Mark Antony, and Octavian ( Julius Caesar’s nephew.) The 2nd Triumvirate collapses and Mark Antony and Octavian decide to brawl. Mark Antony is married to Octavian’s sister, but also sleeping around and having kids with Cleopatra. Awkward.

Just like his father before him, Herod has to pick a side. Herod has been pals with Mark Antony for years, so he picks him out of blind loyalty. Octavian obliterates Mark Antony and Cleopatra at the Battle of Actium, and Herod is called to answer for his choice. Instead of trying to make up any elaborate lies, Herod basically tells Octavian, “I may have chosen the losing side, but I remain loyal to my friend, unto death.” Octavian is impressed at Herod’s loyalty. He would rather loyalty than a wormy two face. Herod gets to live to see another day.

Actually a lot more days, which he spends building everything in sight. Herod builds aqueducts, theaters, markets, saves the people from a famine and even rebuilds the 2nd Temple of Jerusalem. That last part was a ploy to regain Jewish loyalty, although it probably didn’t work as he was taxing the daylights out of people to build these projects. The Western Wall or ‘Wailing Wall’ in Jerusalem still stands today, and it was one of Herod’s projects.

This quest for fame comes with a great price. Herod was spending all this time and money trying to be ‘King Herod the Great,’ meanwhile, things are starting to unravel. A failed attempt at a waged war demotes Herod from favor with Octavian, now known as Caesar Augustus. Herod’s paranoia begins in earnest. He sees the bogeyman everywhere. As his suspicions of being overthrown grow, Herod has his wife, Mariamne, killed. Along with Mariamne’s mother, brother, grandfather and children. He executes two of his own sons. He routinely imprisons and tortures Jewish citizens.

Pause. It would be an oversimplification to say that Herod was losing his mind. He probably was, but he spent a lifetime to get where he was, and that’s hard to give up. He was blind to his obsession for worth. Sadly, Herod was willing to destroy relationships to keep what he had. I had to ask myself, have I ever been so hyper focused on something I wanted, not what God wanted, that I messed up relationships? Sadly, the answer is yes. There’s my Herod-ness peeking through again.

The end of Herod’s life is near. It is believed he was suffering greatly from a genital gangrene known as Fournier’s disease. He’s physically and mentally miserable.

And then…. this.

The Magi speak. Herod freaks.

King Herod was in his final days, dying a death so miserably protracted that he had attempted suicide and failed. And then he gets the news that there is a new “King of the Jews.”

Herod would have known about the Savior child foretold in Old Testament prophecy,

“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14).

Rather than surrender his earthly kingdom to the KING OF KINGS, Herod fights to the bitter end to be significant – and sends out the orders to kill all the baby boys two and under, to guarantee the murder of Jesus.

What Herod failed to see is that Jesus was born to be the Savior of the world, yes – but more specifically, the Savior of Herod. It’s heartbreaking.

How many times have I walked Herod’s path? Where I have had a royal rivalry going? Where I have fought to keep my tiny scrap pile, when Jesus is lovingly offering to share with me the glories of His heavenly kingdom? Jesus laid down his crown to come to earth as a vulnerable baby to save Herod. To save you. To save me. And I resent His majesty at Christmas because… His kingdom chafes against mine.

When asked if the slaughter of the babies is historically accurate, Dr. Paul Maier, Professor of Ancient History at Western Michigan University, answers, “Josephus ( Jewish historian) does not mention it. And therefore, a lot of biblical critics will pounce on that aspect of the nativity account and say, therefore it didn’t happen. Now please understand that this is an argument from silence, and that is the weakest form of argumentation you can use. As we say in the profession, “absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.“

Dr. Maier continues, “Or he ( Josephus) may not have heard about it. Again, simply because, in little Bethlehem, it doesn’t amount to much — a village of about fifteen hundred residents. In my actuarial study, Bethlehem at the time wouldn’t have had more than about two dozen babies two years old and under — half of them female. And so this is not a big deal, and I think that is why Josephus either never heard about it or didn’t feel it important enough to record. So this does not militate against Matthew’s version by any means.”

Dr. Maier said something that really touched my heart – “Jesus… the first martyr in the Christian church, was not the first baby sought out to be killed in Bethlehem, and we always overlook that.”

Dear reader, thank you for taking this time out of your busy holiday season to come to a greater understanding of King Herod. I hope when you read the nativity story again, you will read it with fresh eyes. I hope you will see Herod as the flawed sinner in need of a Savior that we all are.

I hope, if you don’t know Jesus as your Savior, that you will lay down your little kingdom for His.

Merry Christmas ~ Happy Hanukkah ~ God be with you.