Lisa Sheffler, author
Day 4 | Violent Opposition
(Continued from yesterday)
Then the Kings rode out of the city gate,
With a clatter of hoofs in proud array;
But they went not back to Herod the Great,
For they knew his malice and feared his hate,
And returned to their homes by another way.
From “The Three Kings” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, (1905)
We’re wrapping up our journey with the Magi, today.
In focusing on the beauty of Christmas, we sometimes forget about the violent opposition to Christ’s birth. Certainly, Herod wanted to destroy any threat to his power. He’d proven that many times before. But behind Herod’s paranoid rage was an even more sinister foe — the evil one, Satan, who always stands in opposition to God’s plans.
Read
Matthew 2:13-16
13 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.”
14 So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, 15 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.”
16 When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi.
Reflect
The devious king is furious that he was outsmarted by the Magi. In an act so evil and horrid that it is hard to imagine, he orders the slaughter of innocent children in an attempt to secure his claim to the throne.
The children who were killed as a result of Herod’s fury were casualties in a cosmic battle that will rage until Jesus claims the final victory. The incarnation sets the stage for a final showdown where God will not only be the victor, but will claim victory for all those who have put their trust in Christ. Yet our victory comes with a price.
Jesus would escape the clutches of Herod. He would grow to teach, heal, and proclaim the Kingdom of God. But one day he would be handed over to Herod’s son to be questioned before he was tried and executed by Rome — at the people’s request. The angels would not be allowed to intervene that time, because the final part of God’s plan for Jesus had to be fulfilled. Yet neither the rulers of Jesus’ day nor the spiritual powers who rage against God could defeat the Savior, Messiah, and Lord. He would defeat sin and death on the cross and leave behind an empty tomb when he was raised from the dead. His victory over evil ensures ours, and one day we will experience it in full.
This Christmas remember that “when the Christ-child gasped his first breath, the hinge of history swung in a new direction, and hell shuddered. The assault on its gates had begun.”[1] If you are suffering this Christmas, remember the victory you have in Christ. No matter what you are facing, God is in control and your ultimate salvation is secure. Let Paul’s words to the church at Rome reassure you, “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38–39).
Stop for a moment and prayerfully contemplate the victory that Christ purchased for you on the cross and praise him for it. As you engage with the Father in prayer, ask for the kind of confidence Paul demonstrates in Romans 8. Ask for reassurance for any of your worries, anxieties or fears.
[1] Mike Cosper, “Christmas: The Hinge of History,” The Gospel Coalition (blog), December 17, 2010, https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/christmas-the-hinge-of-history/.