When God Became King

Despots die. They always do. Herod’s time is up. Time to meet the Maker. An angel comes to Joseph in a dream (if you are counting this is the fourth dream in this part of the story) and instructs Joseph to come home. Joseph learns that Herod’s son, Archelaus, is now on the throne. Knowing that the apple usually doesn’t fall far from the tree, even in the first century, Joseph knows Jesus’ future is too big to risk. So he takes him to Bucksnort, he goes to Nazareth. The hope of the entire world, will patiently take root in a backwoods town where the people talk with a twang, looked down upon by Rome and their fellow Jews.

I don’t know a whole lot about God. In fact, the older I get the less sure I am about a lot of things and the more sure I am about a few things. I’m sure that pondering the mystery of God visiting planet earth through Nazareth says more about God than all the books that any theologian has ever written.

The showdown in Matthew between Jesus and Herod won’t be Jesus’ last clash with the powers. The cross looms over the baby’s crib.

“The only thing that Herod and Jesus agree upon is that bloodshed fixes everything,” (Bill Hybels). One would spill the blood of innocent babies, family members, spouses, sons, and fellow countrymen. The other was only willing to allow one person to die: himself.

Two dimensions: heaven and earth.

Two ways to rule: power or powerlessness.

Two ways to impress: self-indulgence or inclusion.

Two ways to enter the world: pomp and circumstance or barns smelling of animal waste.

Two ways to endure the evil of the world: get yours or suffering.

Two ways to be king: power or love (love wins by the way).

Herod was a king with a crown for a time. Jesus was a king without a crown. But in the end, subjects of this unlikely King all over the world crown Jesus ruler. At last, Jesus has his crown and is still king. Herod, he can have his crown, he never was a real king to begin with. “First we sing. Then we believe,” Jewish theologian Abraham Heschel.

Two ways to be human. Seeking power or emptying power.

God played the hand God had dealt himself throughout Torah. That is, God used sword, death, fighting, and war. There’s no denying it. Scripture is clear that violence wasn't God’s idea or intent, but God admittedly plays by certain rules in the unfolding drama because God meets people where they are. God and humanity are evolving and devolving. But if you are going to fixate on the violence of God (and humanity) you have to be intellectually honest and fixate/obsess over this Jesus who will grow up to change the world . . . “pray for those who persecute you” or “love your enemies” or “those who live by the sword” . . .

Herod and Jesus represent two different ways of being human.

Two ways to die. For yourself or for others. 

Our worship today (and the rest of our days) is no less than a coronation.