Learning the Jesus Way of LifeSample

A Better King and the True Israel

Pray: Jesus, give me the faith to go where you go, do what you do, trust what you say, and love how you love. Today, I commit to following you. Amen.

In today’s reading, Matthew sheds even more light on who Jesus is by offering a contrast and a comparison. We’ll start with the contrast and then move to the comparison.

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. Matthew 2:1-3 NIV

Matthew tells us that Jesus was born during the time of King Herod. Who is King Herod? He was the ruler of the Jewish people living in Judea, under the authority of Rome. History remembers him as a cunning politician, a clever strategist, and a cruel tyrant. He managed to maintain his power when Rome transitioned from being a republic to an empire. Even though he was their leader on paper, the Jewish people never fully accepted him as their king.

When he caught wind that the king of the Jews had been born, Herod’s status was threatened. Having lorded over the Jewish people for more than thirty years, Herod would have been very familiar with the prophecies about the Messiah. So, he does what all tyrants do when their power is threatened—he looks for a way to eliminate the threat.

Herod calls together the chief priests and the teachers of the law to ask them where the Messiah, the king of the Jews, would be born.

“In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written: “ ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’ ” Matthew 2:5-6 NIV

Jesus was unlike any king the world had ever known. Unlike Herod, His power wasn’t put on display through political maneuvering and accumulating riches. Unlike Caesar, His authority didn’t come from building armies and conquering nations.

His power was put on display through willingly sacrificing Himself for the sins of the world. His authority came from the fact that He is the one who authored reality.

And now, thousands of years later, King Herod, known as Herod the “Great,” is nothing more than a footnote in the story of Jesus, who came into the world as a baby born in a Bethlehem stable.

When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.” So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.” Matthew 2:13-15 NIV

God sends another angel to warn Joseph of Herod’s plan and to instruct Joseph to take his family to Egypt—the same place Joseph’s ancestors were enslaved for hundreds of years.

But here’s the thing: When God is with you, it doesn’t matter who's against you—even if they’re the most powerful person in the nation. So, Jesus was taken to Egypt until the threat to His life passed.

Matthew tells us this all happened to fulfill what God had spoken through one of the prophets. That prophet, and the prophecy Matthew is referencing, can be found in Hosea:

“When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.” Hosea 11:1 NIV

Earlier, Matthew connected Jesus to David and Abraham. Here, he is comparing Jesus to Israel. Israel is both the name of the Jewish nation God formed after bringing His people out of Egypt, and the name God gave to Abraham’s grandson, formerly known as Jacob.

Why does this stuff matter? It matters because Jesus, in His life, is reliving the history of the Jewish people. Jesus isn’t just some random guy who showed up one day to rule them. He came to redeem them. To redeem something means to recover something that was lost. So, what did the people of Israel lose? They lost their way. Which is what Hosea tells us in the next verse:

“But the more they were called, the more they went away from me. They sacrificed to the Baals and they burned incense to images.” Hosea 11:2 NIV

God rescued the people of Israel from Egypt and invited them into a new way of life. A way of life where they would be His people and He would be their God. But instead of staying true to Him, they worshiped idols and went astray.

But Jesus never lost His way. He stayed true to His calling all the way to the cross. Because He is the Way.

“... I am the way and the truth and the life …” John 14:6 NIV

Jesus is a better king than Herod or anyone else. Where others use their power for their own good, Jesus used His power for the greater good. Where others sacrifice their people to serve themselves, Jesus sacrificed Himself to save us.

Jesus is the true Israel. Where we fall short, He hits the mark. Where we get it wrong, He gets it right. When we get lost, He brings us home.

After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child’s life are dead.” So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. Matthew 2:19–21 NIV

Application: Think about Jesus. Consider the way He entered the world and navigated His life. Reflect on what you know about how He treated people and responded to those who wanted to hurt Him. Is there anyone in your own life who shares some of those qualities and characteristics? If so, which ones? What do you think made them into the person they are today? What might it look like for you to cultivate those same qualities in your own life?