[Journey with Jesus – Day 3]
There is only one King of the Jews. I have earned this position. I have fought for this position, I have killed for this position. You don’t get to where I’ve got, through hard work and skilled negotiation, for it to be snatched away. Anyway, the Romans put me here – and you don’t mess with them. I am a friend of the Romans, and a friend of Caesar’s after all. Mess with me, you’re messing with them. No one who threatens me survives – I don’t care who they are. My brother-in-law, mother-in-law, even my beloved wife, Mariamne (how it hurt when I had learned of her betrayal), and three sons Alexander, Aristobulus and Antipater discovered that they could not undermine me and hope to live. Those pharisees who refused to acknowledge me. They too learned that there is only one King of the Jews.
I know what the people say about me – that I’m not a proper Jew – that I’m not of the chosen race, that I haven’t shown enough respect to the precious Jewish faith, but I’ve more than earned respect from them. So what if I’ve built temples for pagan gods. Look at that temple I’ve built for our God. It’s greater than any other building in the world. No other god has been given such honour – and it is me, the King of the Jews, who has made it happen. So what if I had to raise taxes to make it happen – these things don’t pay for themselves, and no one seems to remember that I’m doing this great work for them. Me, Herod the Great, the one and only King of the Jews.
There is only one King of the Jews. That’s me. I will have no rival. When these astrologers arrived from the East at first I didn’t think much of it. I thought it was just another group of foreign dignitaries who were coming to show me some respect. Quite right too – I deserve the honour – if only the people from my own nation would see this. But, I was deeply disturbed when I heard that they were asking for the whereabouts of the one born King of the Jews. They had seen a star that heralded his coming and had come to worship him. King of the Jews? That’s me – and don’t even begin to say that I wasn’t born king of the Jews – I have earned my throne. So, what were these foreigners doing claiming to have been told about another one – there is only one King. That’s me.
But I had to act, and quickly. So, I gathered the chief priests and scribes of the people together and asked them where the Messiah was to be born. People think I’m ignorant, but I’m not. I know about this talk about some sort of rescuer who will come, apparently to rescue the people from the Romans – and me – well, we’ll see about that. Anyway, they referred me to some prophecy which says that “a ruler who will be shepherd of my people, Israel” would be born in Bethlehem. Bethlehem – it’s a nothing place, just a few miles from here. This would be where these magi would want to go.
Then, I thought, I have an opportunity here … perhaps this visit was a gift! So, I summoned the magi in secret and asked them all about when this star had appeared. I then sent them on their way. “Go and search carefully for the child. When you find him, report back to me so that I too can go and worship him.” Of course, I didn’t mean it – I had other plans. There is only one King of the Jews, after all.
But those magi tricked me. They didn’t come back. My spies reported seeing their retinue leaving for their own country by another route. I was outraged to be disrespected in such a way. How dare they! But I would not be denied. There is only one King of the Jews. I couldn’t take any chances. So, I called for the captain of my soldiers. “Go to Bethlehem. Find all the boys in that village who are two years and under. Kill them. Kill them all.” He went off unquestioningly. He understands who has the power. All of Judea will know that I am the true King. There is only one King of the Jews. That’s me.
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