Day 12: Herod’s Decision

When Christ’s birth was proclaimed, there were two distinct reactions. The first was like the Magi, who gathered up treasures and set off to worship the newborn King. The second was like King Herod, who was disturbed at the news. Why, you might ask? Well, King Herod was interested in only one king ruling—and that was himself. In fact, King Herod literally tried to kill the Christ of Christmas. And these days, we get all kinds of people who try to do the same thing—even if they don’t know it. They take Christ out of Christmas. Truly, King Herod was the first of this kind.

Instead of sharing any kind of power and worshiping the Messiah coming to earth, King Herod decides to try to murder the newborn King. He tried to use the Magi to get the needed information.“Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, ‘Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him’” (Matthew 2:7-8).

But that was a lie! King Herod never intended to worship another king, even the King of Kings. Herod had no fear of God. When he heard from the Magi about Jesus and had the chief priests and teachers look into the matter, it did not slow down his murderous plans to kill the Messiah. These priests told King Herod that Jesus would be born in Bethlehem, as the Scriptures predicted. So he told the Magi to find the baby and report back after they found the newborn King.

If you read on in Matthew 2, you see that God warns the Magi not to go back to King Herod after they worshiped Jesus. They listened and went back to their land another way. However, Herod did not give up. Through a dream, Joseph was warned that Herod was coming to kill Jesus; so he took his family and fled to Egypt (fulfilling yet another Old Testament prophecy found in Hosea 11:1).

What did King Herod do when he found out he was outwitted by the Magi? Did he give up? I wish that were so. But instead, he decided to murder every newborn baby boy in Bethlehem. To this day, King Herod has been recorded in history as an evil king for taking the lives of those innocent children. His selfishness to be the only king caused mothers to lose thousands of children in one day.

Why is the story of King Herod important for today? Truly, we are all faced with the same decision when we meet Jesus. Will we place our trust in Him as our Lord and Savior and acknowledge Him as King over all? Or will we rely on ourselves and perish from the weight of our sins? We have a throne in our lives, and each of us must make the decision who we let sit on that throne. Today, many people choose just like King Herod to be the king of their own lives. The results are never good because the Bible tells us, “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Our primary response is sin and evil. When we place our trust in Jesus and let Him be Lord and King of our lives, everything changes.

Let me urge you today, place your trust in Jesus. Your life will forever be changed. If you’ve already made that decision, let me urge you further to daily surrender the throne of your heart to Jesus as your King. Acknowledge Him as Lord and allow Him to lead and guide you. This Christmastime, choose to worship the newborn King.

“Joy to the world! The Lord is come;
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare Him room,
And heaven and nature sing.”
- Isaac Watts
Joy to the World!