Keep Herod in Christmas

A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be comforted, because they are no more. (Matthew 2:18).

Ah, the soothing sounds of Christmas. Sleigh bells, children singing, a crackling fire, and the magical silence of falling snow. No other moment of the year is filled with more auditory delights. Sweet! It makes me want to get a cup of hot chocolate, curl up on the sofa near the fire, put on soft music, and just absorb the serenity. All is calm, all is bright.

But wait! What’s that sound? Men shouting. Women screaming. Running. Scuffling. Swords swishing. Spears thrusting. Babies crying… really crying!. Then, the anguished wailing of mothers as they suddenly realize the true meaning of Christmas. Jesus is born, which means, my baby is dead! Rachel, weeping for her children, refusing to be comforted.

I think you’ll agree that Herod’s massacre of the baby boys in Bethlehem tends to dampen the Christmas spirit. Yet Matthew’s account of Jesus’ birth highlights this bloody incident as being central to the story (see Matt. 2:16-18). This Christmas, most of us will skip over this part of the narrative, pretending it’s not there. And only a few pastors will have the courage to include this story in their Christmas sermon series. I’ve never seen a Christmas card depicting this early example of ethnic cleansing. Yet Matthew insists that this is part of the story. Why?  

Many of the books we will read and the movies we will watch this season include villains. But Ebenezer Scrooge, the Grinch, Cruella de Ville, and Mr. Potter (It’s a Wonderful Life) are all imaginary characters from the land of make-believe. Their evil deeds are fictional and sometimes they even make us laugh. Not King Herod! This guy is as real as the Hamas terrorists who invaded Israel and the murderers and rapists who stalk our streets. He is not fictional and there is nothing funny about him. Paranoid and insecure, Herod is ruthless and cruel. He killed his wife, his mother-in-law, his brother-in-law, three of his own sons, and many more. When he slaughtered the babies in Bethlehem, he was merely acting in character. 

I’ve seen coffee mugs, refrigerator magnets, and bumper stickers that tell us to Keep Christ in Christmas. I want to suggest that we need something similar to help us remember the original Christmas villain. If we leave him out of the story, we risk missing what the birth of Jesus is all about. Here are three reasons why we must keep Herod in Christmas.

Herod reminds us that Jesus is a real Savior who came into a real world.

Let’s be honest; most celebrations of Jesus’ birth promote a sentimental, sanitized holiday, that is all about happiness, comfort, and me and my family. In our nativity re-enactments, the stable is always disinfected, the shepherds wear clean bath robes, and the baby is made of plastic. We imagine that Christmas has a spiritual meaning, not a political one. Jesus came to dwell in our hearts, so what does that have to do with King Herod and the government?

We imagine that Christmas gives us permission to close our eyes, lock our doors, and pretend that people like Herod don’t really exist. But when this nasty villain is included in the story, like a slap in the face, it alerts us to the fact that Jesus didn’t come to an imaginary land of make-believe. No. He is a real Savior who comes into a real world where real people struggle with real evil. 

Christmas was never intended to help us escape reality. Jesus came to help us face it! His birth is the bold proclamation that the true King has come. And he intends to reclaim the territory that Herod and his ilk have stolen. Yes, if Jesus is Lord then Herod is not! C. S. Lewis describes our world as enemy-occupied territory. “Christianity is the story of how the rightful king has landed, you might say landed in disguise, and is calling us to take part in a great campaign of sabotage.” (Mere Christianity, p. 46 ) 

Herod anchors us in the truth that Jesus came to expose sin and create division.

Bethlehem was a peaceful, happy village – until Jesus came. His birth caused a blood bath. His coming did not eliminate the presence of evil in the world – it intensified it! When light shines in a dark closet, cockroaches are not happy. “Light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed” (Jn. 3:19-20). Herod reminds us that sin must be exposed and unmasked before it can be confessed, forgiven, and cleansed.    

Few people grasped the true meaning of Christmas better than Simeon, who explained to Mary: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed.” (Lk. 2:34–35). Yes, the birth of Jesus forces people to choose sides. The Wise Men and the shepherds chose to come and worship. Herod and his minions chose to come and murder. Although he was the Prince of Peace, Jesus caused division everywhere he went (see Lk. 2:51-53). Keeping Herod in Christmas helps us to remember this sobering reality.

Herod helps us to remember how to be overcomers!

Though there is much about the massacre in Bethlehem that we will never understand, one thing is clear: God cares deeply about these mothers who lost a child that day. He grieves with them in their loss. He was not asking them to do something that he himself was not willing to do. Although at Bethlehem, God delivered baby Jesus and his parents from the murderous rampage of Herod, thirty-three years later at Calvary, he would experience the very same thing these dear mothers were experiencing now! This may not answer all of our questions, but it is reassuring to know that God has the decency to take his own medicine. He knows what it’s like to lose a son.

God is teaching his people that victory comes through suffering, joy through pain, strength through weakness, and life through death. “And they have conquered him (the dragon) by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death” (Rev. 12:11). 

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O little town of Bethlehem, how tranquilly you lie,

And though the Prince of Peace is born, a tyrant is nearby.

King Herod sent his soldiers to kill your baby boys!

This Christmas will be plundered of its blessings and its joys.

We ponder long and scratch our heads to grasp this mystery,

How Jesus brings us peace and also brings adversity.

His coming into darkness illuminates the night,

Exposing evil, sin and hate and bringing them to light.

O holy child of Bethlehem, descend to us we pray;

Cast out our sin and enter in; be born in us today.

So moms and dads together, who grieve and weep tonight,

Might find the peace that Jesus brings, in darkness find his light.

1 These verses are an abridged version of a poem I wrote in December 2012 to honor the twenty children and six adult staff who were killed by a lone gunman at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. The entire poem, entitled “O Little Town of Sandy Hook”, is found in my devotional book Face to Face (Francis Asbury Press, 2015. See entry for December 14). Special thanks to Philips Brooks and his famous hymn “O Little Town of Bethlehem” for the inspiration.

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Image courtesy of Nicolas Poussin, Le Massacre des innocents, 1626–1627, Petit Palais, public domain.