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Home Sermons 2010 Herod the Great and the Christmas choice (Part 4 of 'Advent through 5 different eyes)
 
Herod the Great and the Christmas choice (Part 4 of 'Advent through 5 different eyes) PDF Print E-mail
Written by David Charlton   

Scripture

 Matthew 2:1-23

Summary and Purpose

Summary : Herod was a cruel King. His main concern was maintaining his position of power. As long as he kept Rome happy by maintaining the peace and sending tribute to Rome, he would remain in power. He accomplished this through intimidation, murder and calculated acts of charity & beneficence. 

The visit of the wise-men from the east provided Herod an opportunity to change his evil ways. He could have chosen to submit to the new born King and Messiah. Instead, he attempted to eliminate Him. Herod, of course, failed. We all fail when we go against God’s plans.

Every day, we have the same choice that Herod had. In our daily decisions, we have the choice to either follow God’s way or do things our own way. Although we may not be as evil as Herod, we still need to make the right choice.  Do we bow down and worship Jesus or do we live life on our own terms? One way leads to everlasting life. The other way leads to death.

Don’t make the same poor choice Herod did. Go to God in prayer. Admit you are a sinner and ask God to change you. Submit to Jesus as Savior and Lord. Receive God’s forgiveness through faith in Jesus. Trust that His life, death and resurrection are sufficient to pay for your sins. Look to Jesus as the perfect example to follow. Take your life out of your own hands and put it in God’s hands.     

Purpose: To encourage the congregation to daily submit to God in all they do.

 

Sermon

I. Introduction: Hello, I’m Herod the Great, King of the Jews.

     1. The Roman Senate gave me the title, “King of the Jews” when they advised the
          Emperor to make me King over all of Judea, Samaria and Galilee.
     2. Over the past three Sundays, you met 3 people who gave their perspectives on
         the Christmas story.
  • 3 Sundays ago you met Joseph, the adoptive father of Jesus. He explained that true worship is incomplete without a change of heart.
  • 2 Sundays ago you met ‘Joe the Shepherd’. He explained that the main point of Christmas is that God loves us and we matter to God.
  • Last Sunday you met ‘Ali the Wise’. He was one of the wise-men and he reminded us that we must be ready for the 2nd coming of Christ as we celebrate His 1st coming.
  • This Sunday, you are meeting me, Herod the Great. I’m going to illustrate that Christmas presents us all with a choice. Before I do that, however, I need to briefly explain how I gained and kept my hold on power.

II. My rise to power

     1. c. 63 BC: The Roman General Pompey arrives in Palestine. Claims the entire
         territory for Rome.
  • Pompey makes Hyrcanus High priest
  • Pompey makes Antipater, Herod’s father, governor of all Palestine
  • Antipater had two sons: Phasael and me, Herod. Antipater made Phasael governor of Judea and me governor of Galilee.
  • There was a Jewish rebel named Hezekiah. I had him executed. When the Jewish Ruling council (Sanhedrin) objected, I put on my royal regalia and stared them down. I could execute whomever I wanted.

     2. 43 BC: Antipater was murdered. I found the murderers and had them executed.

     3. 40 BC: Parthians invade Palestine

  • Parthian Empire located in present day Iran and Iraq.
  • Parthian empire installs Antigonus as Governor of Palestine.
  • My brother, Phasael commits suicide.
  • Hyrcanus is mutilated so he could no longer be high priest
  • I fled to Rome. Rome declares that I will be the King over all Palestine and sends me back with a Roman Army. This is when I receive the title, “King of the Jews”
    4. 37 BC: I defeat the Parthians and take control of all Palestine. I remained the king
        until my death in 4BC. 

III. My main focus was maintaining power. That’s all I cared about.

     1. Married Mariamme, Antigonus’ niece.

  • Although I claimed to be Jewish, I was never accepted as Jewish. My father was an Edomite and my mother was Arabian.
  • Marrying Mariamme was a way of appearing to be Jewish and establishing a relationship with the Antigonus’ family.
  • Later, I saw Mariamme and her family as a thret to my reign. By 29 BC: I had Mariamme, her two sons, her brother in law and her mother executed.

     2. I also executed two of my own sons. No one can threaten my authority!!

     3. Yes, I did rebuild the Jewish temple in Jerusalem. I did it, however, to
          placate the people and receive glory. I also built many temples to various gods
          throughout Palestine. It was all for the purpose of my glory.

     4. Near the end of my life, God offered me a chance to change my ways.

IV. Herod’s opportunity to change

     1. It happened when some wise-men from the east came to Jerusalem

     2. They explained they were searching for the Messiah who had just been born.
          They described him as a ‘new born king’.
  • This, of course, sent chills down my back.
  • Remember, I execute everyone who posses any threat to my reign.
  • I, however, also knew of the Jewish prophecies concerning the Messiah. One such prophesy is Isaiah 9:6. In this prophecy, the Messiah is called ‘mighty God’.

     3. So, I had a choice. I could either…

  • submit to the Messiah (Mighty God) and give my life over to Him or…..
  • continue to live life my way and seek only my own power and glory.
     4. I chose to continue to live life my own way. It was an easy decision to make. I made it
         automatically, without thinking.
  • I had my scholars consult the Jewish Scriptures and they determined that the Messiah was born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2)
  • I lied to the wise men by telling them to find the child and report back to me so that I may worship him. My actual plan was to execute Him.
  • The wise men failed to report back to me, so I ordered the execution of every child in Bethlehem  who was 2 years old or younger.
  • As it turned out, I still didn’t succeed in killing the new born king. This ‘royal family’ fled before the execution order was carried out. When you go against God’s plan, you will never succeed.
  • One or two years later, I died as a miserable and depressed king. I was in extreme pain and worried that no one would mourn my death. In fact, I expected people to celebrate my death. What a horrible way to go!! I told my son, Archelaus, to execute a large crowed of noblemen in Jericho on the day of my death. That way, people would be forced to morn on the day of my death. (My son failed to follow this last command.) How utterly sad and pathetic, having to force people to mourn your passing. That’s what I get for making the wrong choice. 
     5.  I had a choice and I chose the way of death. I chose to live life on my terms rather
          than hand it over to God. You all have the same choice.

V. Everyone’s choice

     1. Although you may not be as evil me, you still have the same choice I had.

     2. No one is perfect. We all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

     3. Therefore, we must choose between…

  • Following God’s way or doing things our own way.
  • Do we bow down and worship Jesus or do we live life on our own terms?
  • The first way leads to everlasting life. The other way leads to death.

    4. Don’t make the same poor choice I did.

  • Go to God in prayer. Admit you are a sinner and ask God to change you.
  • Submit to Jesus as Savior. Receive God’s forgiveness through faith in Jesus. Trust that His life, death and resurrection are sufficient to pay for your sins.
  • Submit to Jesus as Lord. Look to Jesus as the perfect example to follow.
  • Take your life out of your own hands and put it in God’s hands.     
 
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