King Herod, King of the Jews – The Troubled King

Matthew 2:1 CSB – After Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of King Herod

Introducing Herod the Great!… in the days of King Herod

Politically & Personally, Herod was ambitious.

Proverbs 27:24 CSB – for wealth is not forever;
not even a crown lasts for all time.

The power to tax is the power to destroy. – Chief Justice John Marshall

Matthew 2:1 CSB – After Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of King Herod  

Matthew 2:1-7 CSB – After Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of King Herod, wise men from the east arrived in Jerusalem, 2 saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star at its rising and have come to worship him.

3 When King Herod heard this, he was deeply disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him.

4 So he assembled all the chief priests and scribes of the people and asked them where the Messiah would be born.

5 “In Bethlehem of Judea,” they told him, “because this is what was written by the prophet:

6 And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah:
Because out of you will come a ruler
who will shepherd my people Israel.”

7 Then Herod secretly summoned the wise men and asked them the exact time the star appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. When you find him, report back to me so that I too can go and worship him.”

Matthew 2:9-12 CSB – After hearing the king, they went on their way. And there it was—the star they had seen at its rising. It led them until it came and stopped above the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were overwhelmed with joy. 11 Entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and falling to their knees, they worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12 And being warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their own country by another route.

Matthew 2:13 CSB – After they were gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Get up! Take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you. For Herod is about to search for the child to kill him.”

Matthew 2:16 CSB – Then Herod, when he realized that he had been outwitted by the wise men, flew into a rage. He gave orders to massacre all the boys in and around Bethlehem who were two years old and under, in keeping with the time he had learned from the wise men.

Matthew 2:17-18 CSB – Then what was spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled:

18 A voice was heard in Ramah,

weeping,  and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children;
and she refused to be consoled,
because they are no more.

Psalm 30:5b CSB – Weeping may last for the night,
But a shout of joy comes in the morning.

Matthew 2:19 CSB – After Herod died

King Herod – The Dead King

Matthew 1:15 CSB – Mary and Joseph..  stayed there [Egypt] until Herod’s death

Matthew 2:19-20 CSB – After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, 20 saying, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, because those who intended to kill the child are dead.”

Application:

King Herod, The King of Anxiety or Jesus, King of Peace

James 4:1-3 CSB – What is the source of wars and fights among you? Don’t they come from your passions that wage war within you? 2 You desire and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and wage war. You do not have because you do not ask. 3 You ask and don’t receive because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.

Luke 12:18-19 CSB – Then he said, ‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry.”

Luke 12:20 CSB – But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?’ 21 So is the man who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”

Romans 5:1 CSB – Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Isaiah 26:3 CSB – You will keep the mind that is dependent on you in perfect peace, for it is trusting in you

Philippians 4:12-13, 19 CSB – I know how to make do with little, and I know how to make do with a lot. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being content—whether well fed or hungry, whether in abundance or in need. 13 I am able to do all things through him who strengthens me.

And my God will supply all your needs according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

#1 Bible Verse Searches During 2020

Isaiah 41:10, Do not fear, for I am with you.  (US, India, South Africa, the Netherlands, and the Philippines)

Philippians 4:8, “Do not be anxious …” (Ghana)

Romans 8:28, “in all things, God works for the good …” (Kenya)

Isaiah 54:10 CSB – Though the mountains move and the hills shake,
my love will not be removed from you
and my covenant of peace will not be shaken,”
says your compassionate Lord.

Luke 12:29-32 CSB – Don’t strive for what you should eat and what you should drink, and don’t be anxious.30 For the Gentile world eagerly seeks all these things, and your Father knows that you need them.

31 “But seek his kingdom, and these things will be provided for you. 32 Don’t be afraid, little flock, because your Father delights to give you the kingdom.

Luke 12:31-32 CSB – “But seek his kingdom, and these things will be provided for you. 32 Don’t be afraid, little flock,because your Father delights to give you the kingdom.

King Herod, King for a Moment or Jesus, King of Eternity

James 4:14b CSB – For you are like vapor that appears for a little while, then vanishes.

Psalm 90:10, 12 CSB – The length of our days is seventy, or eighty if we have the strength;

Yet their span is but trouble and sorry, and we quickly fly away.

  • Hammerin’ Hank Aaron
  • Paul Westphal
  • Tommy Lasorda
  • Don Sutton (these guys legends when I was growing up)
  • John Chaney (when he coached Temple, I always picked his teams to be my sleeper in the NCAA tournament)
  • Pirate, Grant Jackson
  • Boxer, Leon Spinks (toothy! Olympics!)
  • Marty Schottenheimer !
  • Vincent Jackson (WR… I thought he was still playing in the NFL)
  • Joe Altobelli (O’s fans)
  • Marvin Hagler (he’s not fighting anymore?)
  • Elgin Baylor (the most underrated NBA player ever)
  • Howard Schnellenberger
  • Greg Clark (Dallas fans all remember his catch in the Super Bowl)
  • JR Richards! (100 mph)
  • Sam Huff (Sonny, Sam & Frank)

Matthew 6:24 CSB – “No one can serve two masters.  Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be doted to the one and despise the other.”

Mark 8:36 CSB – For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?