Chapter 3 – The Second Rejection of the King (Part 8 of 8)

 

The historical backdrop referenced in Part 7 last week became the setting in which Matthew introduces us to the Magi (i.e., Wise Men; see Matthew 2:1). As we noted last time, they were looking for a successor for their Persian king, Phraates IV.

During the years 10-7 B.C., Phraates IV not only had some physical issues, but he had become corrupt and a political pawn of Rome. He was viewed and being weak and feeble by a growing number of Persians both inside and outside the royal circle. The Magi, a political and religious group of advisors who existed in historical records dating back to the seventh century B.C, were part of the king’s or emperor’s advisory council in all of the four major empires to affect Israel: the Babylonians, the Greeks, the Persians, and the Romans. Even the Old Testament prophet, Daniel, crossed paths with these “magicians” and was made chief of the Magi by Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 2:48; 4:9) during his reign. Daniel’s position of prominence carried on into the Medo-Persian Empire under the reigns of King Darius and King Cyrus (Daniel 6:28).

Of all the roles the Magi played, kingmakers was one of the more prominent. They helped choose kings. They anointed kings. They gave their “blessing” and became trusted advisors to kings due to their abilities. As a result, they amassed great power and influence. 

Of course, like any group with power and influence, they always wanted to protect their status by making sure the kings they served could protect the current kingdom or empire. Such aspirations were always a vested interest. In this case, they wanted a new king who could defeat the Romans and make the Persian Empire dominant once again in that region of the world. 

How History Affects God’s People

It must be understood at this point that Rome had always been fearful of the Persians. Trying to guard the northeast corner of their own empire had always been problematic due to the distance from Rome and the ferocity of the Persian forces. The two empires fought in 63 B.C., then again in 55 B.C., and again in 40 B.C., and Rome didn’t always win, as we discussed last week. 

However, guess where the battlefield between these two behemoths always ended up? 

In the region of Israel and the Middle East. 

It was this historical backdrop, with a powerful oppressor (Rome) already occupying the land of Israel and an equally powerful adversary just to the east (Medo-Persians), adding tension to Matthew’s account in Chapter 2. 

Enter the Magi 

At this point in our study, I’m sorry to burst your Christmastime, manger-scene bubble, but when the

Magi came into Jerusalem in Matthew 2:1, it was not on camels. And there would have been more than three. And they would have been heavily guarded. 

Verse 3 of Matthew’s account in Chapter 2 tells us that when King Herod heard these Persian kingmakers were asking where the newly born King of the Jews resided, he and all of Jerusalem were troubled. The word “troubled” (some versions use the word “disturbed”) means “to stir up; to agitate, like water in a pool, and includes the emotions.” Matthew says King Herod was caught off guard. He was shaken, and so was everyone in the city. Why? 

First, these Persian kingmakers (and everyone knew who the Magi were) had ridden into town, asking, “Where is the one who has been born King of the Jews?” Herod knew they weren’t looking for him. He hadn’t been born “King of the Jews.” Octavian bestowed that title on him over three decades earlier. Herod wasn’t even Jewish. He was Idumean, and he also knew the Magi knew who he was. He’d been reigning as “King of the Jews” for well over thirty years, and he was the “king” who defeated their armies, with the Romans help, no less. 

Let’s face it, three old men on camels, by themselves, would not have made King Herod nor the entire town of Jerusalem “troubled” or “disturbed” as Matthew describes it. Not to mention that because they were carrying gold, frankincense, and myrrh, highway bandits surely would have picked them off on their thousand-mile trip.

We also must note that Herod understood the situation well enough, including the Old Testament scriptures, to summon the chief priests and teachers of the Law and ask them where the Messiah was to be born (v. 4). He knew who the Messiah was supposed to be. He’d probably heard the people of Jerusalem talk about the Messiah off and on many times over his thirty-plus years as king. He also knew when the chief priests and teachers of the Law quoted Micah 5:2, they were talking about a “ruler” who had the pedigree to be king. The Messiah would not be a Roman-appointed hack. He would be a Son of David, a Son of Abraham, because Micah said the Messiah would come out of Judah. 

In the Israeli’s eyes, no Roman-sanctioned king could compare, and because Herod was a lunatic who had anybody and everybody killed when he believed they were after his throne, including his own son, the people of Jerusalem would have been happy to see him go. 

These Magi storming into town unannounced were royal statesmen with great political power. They would have been adorned in their royal, priestly garb and conical hats. They used Royal Persian steed (Arabian horses), which was their preferred mode of transportation, and because of their position, they never would have embarked on a journey of a thousand miles up and over the desert, following what is known as the fertile crescent, and descend south into Israel, into Roman-occupied territory, mind you, on camels, by themselves. 

These kingmakers would have been accompanied by soldiers. Some historians believe they may have had their own army, kind of like the Knights Templar in Medieval times. Either way, historians believe the size of the army would have been formidable, possibly as large as a thousand soldiers, all on horses, all armed, all skilled with the bow and arrow, all excellent swordsmen, and all ready to protect these royal subjects. 

Now do you understand why King Herod and all of the Jerusalem were frightened? 

To top everything off, Herod had sent the majority of his own army to fight a battle many miles away, so he and his country were extremely vulnerable at this moment in time. This explains why Herod desires to meet with them secretly. He knows his army is too far away to help. Rome is even farther away. So, he accommodates them. Phraates IV is still king of Persia, so he’s hedging his bets that the relationship between Rome and Phraates IV will hold until he can find out exactly what these Magi want. 

More than likely, the Magi told him about their journey. How they saw the star rise in the east, how it led them there, how it was unlike any other star they have ever witnessed as priests entrenched in the religion of Zoroastrianism. They believed in astrology as much as astronomy, often seeing them as interchangeable, with a sizeable dose of alchemy thrown in for good measure. Yet, even being wrapped up in this religion, they were in awe of this star. And give them credit. They noticed it when nobody else did.

Herod, using the Magi to his advantage, asks them to go find this newborn king and then report back to him on his location “so that I too may come and worship him” (v. 8). The Magi believed Herod. They would have no reason not to, I suppose. They probably believed the Jewish people were just as excited to see their newborn king as they were. 

The Magi left and went on their way, finding the star hovering over a house (vv. 9-10).¹ They presented their gifts, fell to the ground and worshipped Jesus. Then, they were warned in a dream not to return to Herod, thus leading us to believe that if they did not understand Herod’s intentions before this moment, they understood after the dream. 

Once the Magi left, Joseph is visited by an angel of the Lord and instructed to take his family to Egypt because Herod is plotting to murder the child. Joseph obeyed, and he and his family stayed in Egypt until Herod died (v. 14). 

The Second Rejection is Made Manifest 

This is where the story gets horrific and important all at the same time. 

When King Herod finds out the Magi did not obey him and had left the country without giving him the location of the “one born King of the Jews,” he goes berserk. Herod was a madman, and he had the reputation to prove it. Historians believe, as do I, this explains why Jerusalem was troubled along with Herod. Witnessing a group of Persian Royal Advisors come marching into town, on Persian steed, backed by as many as a thousand of the best Persian soldiers, would have been alarming enough. However, to know Herod would respond in his usual, maniacal way must have terrified the people of Jerusalem even more. 

Herod gives orders to his remaining troops “to slay all the male children who were in Bethlehem and all its vicinity, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had carefully determined from the Magi” (v. 16). 

Apparently, in the joyous and zealous retelling of their journey, when the Magi were meeting secretly with Herod, they told him how long their journey had lasted. It may have been even longer than a year, and the star may have been visible for even longer than that. Otherwise, Herod would not have known the relative age of the male child when he gave his heinous, murderous command. Or he tacked on additional time, just to be sure. We’ll never know exactly. But to get bogged down in an argument over why Herod chose “two years and younger” misses the point of the entire passage. 

For it is at this point in the story when The Second Rejection of the King comes to a head. 

Herod Rejects the King 

Herod rejects the King, the Messiah, Jesus. Herod understood what the Magi were asking. When they told him of their trip and how they were looking for the “one born king of the Jews,” Herod immediately pulled the chief priests and scribes aside and asked where the Messiah was to be born. He obviously knew enough about Jewish theology to put two and two together and ask such a question. He hated Jesus so much because he understood who the Messiah was. He understood what the Messiah was to come and do. He knew the Messiah was coming to be the King of Israel. And he was never going to allow that to happen. 

Herod was so protective of his throne and his power, he was willing to kill innocent male infants and toddlers. Seriously, how dangerous could one of those be? And to think one of these innocent boys could be an enemy at all, to an adult, to a sitting king and his throne, is another picture of how evil and deranged Herod was. Most people would inquire. Most people would monitor the situation and see if this child could be identified. But not Herod. 

The mothers and fathers of the slaughtered children must have been devastated, for they surely received no forewarning. Otherwise, they would have fled like Joseph and Mary did.² You also must know that the Herodian soldiers didn’t bother asking for birth certificates either. Some older children, no doubt, who looked like they matched the specified age range, were killed because the soldiers couldn’t tell if they were two or not, thus adding to the carnage.

The Chief Priests and Scribes Reject the King 

Even more unbelievable was how the chief priests and scribes behaved during this entire ordeal. They were indifferent. And complicit. They immediately knew where to go in the Old Testament to find the answer to Herod’s question about where the Messiah was to be born. They read the prophecy from Micah 5:2 to Herod in verses 5-6. They, no doubt, sat in that secret meeting, heard the Magi recount their journey, and didn’t do anything. They didn’t even ask to accompany the Magi, in an effort to investigate. They didn’t follow-up at all. They didn’t even take enough initiative to step outside and look for the star. They didn’t say to themselves, “Maybe we should go check this out.” They didn’t even know about the star, and they were the experts in the Law. It had been in the sky for likely days, maybe weeks, if not more, leading up to the moment when the Magi arrive in town, yet they didn’t even notice it, getting closer, getting larger, coming their direction, which is a warning to us today about being prepared for Jesus’s Second Coming, wouldn’t you say?³ 

Instead, the chief priests and scribes just sat there in the palace. Indifferent. Content with being vassals to Rome. And even when Herod gave the order to his soldiers, they remained silent. 

Therefore, we can only conclude that in the midst of this heart-wrenching moment in Jewish history, when we hear the staccato-like pounding of horses’ hooves against the hardened dirt road as they gallop off into the distance, these priests and scribes turned a blind eye as Herod’s soldiers left a grieving Bethlehem in their wake. 

Dust clouds rose and drifted at the will of the slight breeze that brought no comfort.  

Horrified mothers wailed as they clutched their dead children. 

Angry fathers cried out with loud shouts of utter helplessness toward the heavens. 

 “Then what had been spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled, saying, ‘A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and she was refusing to be comforted because they were no more” (emphasis added; Matthew 2:18; cf. Jeremiah 31:15; Legacy Bible). 

Do you remember when I asked you to tuck away the name of a place back in Chapter 2 of this Bible study series? The place was called Ramah. It was in Ramah when Israel first rejected God as King. God warned the people of Israel about earthly kings, human kings, and how demanding they could be, how self-centered they could be, how ruthless they could become. However, that admonition to think before you act did not deter the elders of Israel from demanding God give them a king. 

They wanted to be like all the other nations around them, and man-oh-man, did they get their wish. 

Now, in the person of King Herod, Israel was like all the other nations. 

Evil.

Rachel, the mother of Jacob, who later became Israel, is weeping for her children, her descendants. She’s weeping in Ramah because that’s where the decision to reject God began. Not only are the children who were killed by Herod’s soldiers “no more,” but more importantly, the nation Israel was no more. At least, not how God intended. With Him as King. With a thriving theocracy. With Israel being qadosh as God is qadosh. With the nation Israel being the Old Testament “salt and light” God intended, bringing His salvation to a dying world.⁴ 

Even this late in the history of Israel, under the reign of a brutal, heartless, Roman-appointed maniac like Herod, her religious leaders would rather have an appointed, human king “to judge” them, “such as all the other nations have” (1 Samuel 8:5), “a king to lead us and go out before us and fight our battles” (1 Samuel 8:20). They had totally abandoned God as King. They had traveled so far away from God spiritually, when wise men from the east showed up, looking for the Messiah, the religious leaders didn’t care. They were happy to have their appointed, human king, even if he killed innocent children and murdered the Messiah in the process to keep his throne. These religious leaders are ultimately reliving the 1 Samuel 8 incident in “Ramah.” They rejected God as King in Ramah, and now, they are rejecting His Son. As a result, Rachel weeps for her children because they are spiritually dead. 

At this moment in time, the Second Rejection is complete. God comes in the flesh, fulfills Isaiah 9:1-7 as well as many more prophecies, reestablishing His Kingship, and they continue to reject Him. 

But God is merciful, and He is to give them one last chance. 

And that brings us to Final Rejection of the King, which will be our topic in Chapter 4.

  

Thought of the Week:

See Endnote #3 below.

NEXT WEEK:

We will begin to look at the Third Rejection of the King.

Endnotes

1. Sorry, folks, but Jesus wasn’t in a manger when the Magi arrived in Jerusalem. He was in the manger when the shepherds did, though (Luke 2:16), which was several months, possibly up to two years before the Magi arrived, if Herod’s decision to kill all the baby boys two-years-old and younger can be used as a possible timetable. Herod did inquire as to when the Magi saw the star, so it stands to reason that it took them up to two years to prepare for the trip, travel the long distance, and arrive in Jerusalem.

 

2. Some people ask, “Why didn’t God give them the same message as Joseph and Mary? Why did God allow those children to be killed?” First, if all the families with children had been warned and told to leave town, Herod’s soldiers would have returned and reported that there were no children in Bethlehem. As a result, the countryside would have been ravaged by Herod’s jealousy, and no doubt, every male child in all of Israel would have been murdered. That’s how maniacal Herod was. He arranged to have his own son drowned and told those confidants to make it look like an accident, all because he was afraid his son would try and usurp the throne. So, you can understand, no male child would have been safe, if those in Bethlehem would have been warned. You see, when sin becomes so evil, no act, even by God, will end well for those who stand in the way of those who have evil intentions.

Second, God had to make specific plans to bring about His plan of salvation for all of mankind. Yet, at the same time, He is not obligated to protect everyone from everything that is harmful all the time. Mankind chose sin in the Garden. Mankind has chosen sin every day since. And in this particular instance, Israel, of whom the other children and families represent, chose to reject God over and over again down through the centuries. “But Kevin, these people are different.” Are they? These were the same people who would follow Jesus around thirty years later, see Him perform thousands of miracles and speak with divine authority. They would even hail Him as Messiah as He rode triumphantly into Jerusalem in His last week on Earth. But He did not live up to their expectations. He didn’t vow to overthrow Rome. He attacked the religious leaders instead. And as a result, in less than a week’s time, the very people who were chanting “Hosanna!” and laying palm branches and robes in the roadway as He entered Jerusalem chanted “Crucify Him!” by week’s end. Tens of thousands followed Jesus, but after the dust settled, only 120 were in the upper room on Pentecost. These facts prove the fickleness of the human heart, and God knew all this when He sent the angel to warn Joseph.  

 

3. The signs of the times are all pointing to Jesus’s return being imminent. The world is setting itself up like never before, in a unified front all around the globe, over issues that pit themselves and their beliefs against (“anti”) God, against (“anti”) Bible, and against (“anti”) Christ. This globalization and unification of their message will become more and more pronounced in the coming weeks, months, and even years, if Jesus tarries that long.

Yet, at the same time, the world is setting itself ablaze. “Wars and rumors of wars” are on the front page headlines. Earthquakes in various places happen often. Just this week, one hit the mountains of Georgia, just north of Atlanta. Killings in our streets, killings in our classrooms, killings in our neighborhoods, and killings in our homes are all on the rise, while lawmakers make it easier and easier for criminals to “get away with it.” They believe this because of some notion that culture should dictate what is right and wrong. The only absolute truth in their relativistic worldview is that there is no absolute truth. It’s insanity by another name. 

Therefore, as these anti-God, anti-Bible, and anti-Christ “beliefs” permeate societies around the globe at an alarming rate, they inadvertently promote selfishness and violence while promising “hope.” However, they never deliver hope in any real, true sense. And people know this as their souls tell them otherwise. This is why so many young people are committing suicide and other atrocities today. They hear all the “promises” propagated as truth, such as, “We will bring about social justice,” “We must rewrite the laws of our nations to make them more inclusive,” “Gender is whatever you want it to be,” “Those who have told you what is right and wrong were wrong, and we will fix it,” and the like. Young people are told things will get better while divorce tears their families apart and leaves them as “ropes” in a financial tug of war, aided and abetted by judges and laws that, in actuality, have little interest in their overall well-being, regardless of what they promise. 

You see, the false promises of those who do evil and true reality clash as lies are told as truths, and as truths are called lies. This breeds frustration, because if you believe this life is the only one you’ll have, then your worldview gets very narrow and very self-centered.

As a result, selfishness and violence will continue to rise and will usher in “the AntiChrist,” who will not only embrace the aforementioned “beliefs,” but will promise “to do the job God failed to do”: bring peace and salvation to the world. He will be hailed as the true savior and actually bring “peace”…for three-and-a-half years, the Bible tells us. Then, literally, all hell breaks loose, and in the end, the blood will rise to the horse’s bridle and cover 1,600 stadia (Rev. 14:20), which is almost 158 miles. The point being, with all that bloodshed, the AntiChrist will bring anything but peace and salvation. However, by that time, it will be too late for those who believed God Almighty was the enemy, His Word was false, and His Son was a liar. 

Therefore, if you say you are a believer, make sure (Matthew 7:21-23; 2 Peter 1:10). Time is running short for this Earth as we know it. Prepare yourself. Draw near to God in these Last Days. 

 

4. Once again, we must make the note that this is not an anti-Semitic Bible study. Although things are looking bleak, and it seems God is building a case to utterly destroy Israel and completely abandon them, eradicating them from His redemptive plan for all time, it must be brought to light that this passage, quoted from Jeremiah 31:15, sits right in the middle of some of the most encouraging chapters in Jeremiah’s book (chapters 30-35). Although they were about to be carried off into captivity by Babylon and Nebuchadnezzar in Jeremiah’s day, there is hope for a remnant to come out of the ashes of captivity. So, too, in this scene in Matthew, in spite of the horror committed by the one appointed “King of the Jews” by Rome (Herod), there is another anointed “King of the Jews,” who is coming as the Messiah (Jesus). He will bring hope to Israel in the midst of their spiritual captivity. He will bring salvation and call out of bondage those who call upon the Name of the Lord and into the once and for all promised land (Roman 10:9-13).

 Pictures courtesy of  Unsplash and the following photographers/artists:

Israel - by Tetiana Shyshkina

Wisemen ornament - by Robert Thiemann

Star - by Ales Krivec