When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him (Matthew 2:3)
Perhaps it is some combination of cognitive dissonance and the persistent conditioning that comes from years of mental abuse which keeps people from seeing the Herods in our world. Those familiar with him might liken the man with any number of other tyrants from history. I suspect a news junky with strong political beliefs might even say they see his like in this or that dictator, king, or president.
Not much is written about Herod in the Bible. However, a brief search into his life will show you he accomplished much and he was a ruthless killer. He had constructed architectural marvels and gave the area in which he ruled a sense of peace. However, even before what is commonly referred to as the “slaughter of the innocents,” he murdered his own wife and children. As my pastor recently noted, when Herod was afraid, people were killed.
A fair assessment might look at both the good and the bad, which makes it easy to compare him to world leaders, only because it is in that context we think of him. But let’s look at the pervading characteristic of his leadership, fear, and see if we don’t see the same thing in many people in positions of power, including ourselves.
When the wise men came looking for “the King of the Jews,” they first found the king which had been established by the ruling powers. The Romans, fearful of uprisings and unrest, put him in charge to essentially keep the peace. Instead of joining himself to the search for the Son of God, the suspicion already in his heart that he would be usurped took hold of him, and soon Bethlehem would suffer the horrendous effects of that fear.
We can easily make the mistake of only seeing Herod as a picture of what can happen to a world leader when that person is ruled by fear. We see his tyranny in politicians, CEOs, and bosses we don’t like and his intelligence and strength in those we do. However, the truth is that all of us have some power, and if we only look for the Herods in the well known, we may miss how fear drives us to act poorly with and to our neighbors and loved ones.
God, our true King, root out the fear and anxiety which make us unlike You, and which deceive us into believing we are doing your will. Comfort us in our worries and remind us that You hold the world securely. In the name of Christ Jesus, Amen.
Michael Neal Morris teaches English at Eastfield College and is the author of Based on Imaginary Events, Release, Music for Arguments, and other books. A book of prose poems (for now, dimly) is forthcoming from Faerie Treehouse Collective. His poems and stories have been published in both traditional print journals and online magazines. He lives with his wife, children, and two snarky cats outside the Dallas area.
