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Hespeler, December 28, 2025 © Scott McAndless – First Sunday after Christmas Day
Isaiah 63:7-9, Psalm 148, Hebrews 2:10-18, Matthew 2:13-23
King Herod was convinced that he was the greatest king who had ever ruled over the people of Israel. But he had been king for over thirty years now, and there was no way around the fact that he was getting older. He was already in his late seventies. Where had the time gone?
And he was starting to show his age. He was retaining fluids, he fell asleep in meetings, and his mind was just not as sharp as it used to be. At least, that’s what some people were saying. There were reports about it all over social media (by which I mean people talking to other people in social interactions).
Herod insisted that all of this was fake news. He was particularly upset that everyone was talking about such things rather than how great he was and how wonderful all his accomplishments were. This was not right. He had to do something to Make Herod Great Again®.
Truth®
And so, Herod decided to employ his own private social media system to get his Truth® out. He had his slaves print out his thoughts on little slips of parchment. And then he sent them out in the hands of his servants to proclaim to the populace.
There were, to be honest, thousands upon thousands of these posts. Sometimes Herod would be up all night dictating them. But they were all thought to be lost to history. But recently, a few of these long-lost texts were discovered in a trash heap at Herod’s palace at Masada. And these texts have given us an incredible insight into the twisted mind of an ancient authoritarian.
Building Projects
Take this text for example:
“The people of Judea have never had such a hard-working king as me, your favourite king. I have so many building projects going on all over the place. I’ve built up the city of Caesarea Maritima with a HUGE new harbour. The kind of harbour that they’ve wanted to build for over 150 YEARS. I’m building the Herodium, the best palace/tomb combo anywhere in the world. And I’m finally fixing up the temple of that WOKE LOSER, King Solomon. It was in such sad shape. Everyone was saying it. But MY temple will have the biggest stones that anyone has ever seen. And yet, does anyone appreciate all that I do? The priests just complain about some wall that I demolished without getting the proper permits. I AM THE KING, I DON’T NEED PERMITS.”
Strange Visitors
Yes, the collected posts of King Herod the Great contained a great deal of similar material, so I won’t become repetitive by reading it all. But, in the years just before his death, Herod’s posts definitely took a more, let us say, paranoid turn. Take this post, for example:
“Some very important men showed up in Jerusalem today. They call themselves Magi. I hear they are dressed like you wouldn’t believe and they have camels and tremendous gifts of GOLD and some other stuff. I am sure that they have heard about how great Herod is and all that he has accomplished. Probably have come to give me a PEACE PRIZE or something like that. That just goes to show that these Magi are pretty wise. Going in to bless them with my presence now.”
Magi Hoax
However, this original text was quickly followed up with another:
“It turns out that these so-called Magi are not quite so wise as everyone says. They came into my throne rooms and started spouting some wild HOAX about a king of the Jews being born – a king, mind you, who has nothing to do with Herod or his family. They have obviously been influenced by my many TREASONOUS enemies here in Judea. Going now to consult with my Department of the Law about who we can prosecute for this TERRIBLE CRIME against my kingdom.”
Lawyers Are in on It
But it seems that that meeting with the experts in the Law did not quite go as expected for only shortly afterwards Herod posted this:
“Well, it seems that even my Department of the Law has fallen victim to Herod Derangement Syndrome or HDS. They too have fallen for the Magi Hoax of a new king being born. In fact, they tell me that there is a prophecy about just such a thing happening. They say that this new king is supposed to come from Bethlehem, which is a very weak city – barely even a town – and yet they say a ruler would come from it. Anyways, as soon as I heard that, I knew that somebody was starting a new hoax, the Bethlehem hoax I call it. But Herod is too smart for these people. So I go into these Magi, these wise guys, and I tell them that they should go down to Bethlehem and report back to me on what they find. That’s why they call me GENIUS. I get them to do all the work of searching and then I can take care of this hoax and kill it in the cradle, as they say.”
Failure to Return
Sometime afterwards, the posts indicate that Herod felt disappointed by the Magi:
“Can you believe these so-called ‘Wise Men?’ They are a total DISGRACE! I told them, very clearly, “Go find the child and COME BACK.” Simple! But they GHOSTED me. Lied! They took their gold, oh, their beautiful gold, and ran off like cowards. Very disloyal. Very FAKE. They were supposed to help me ‘worship’ the child, but instead I hear that they listened to a DREAM. A dream! Not even a real person! Total setup. Deep state nonsense.”
Anger at the Magi
And then, well, I am sad to say that the posts take a very dark turn as Herod rages in his sense of betrayal:
“The FAKE MAGI betrayed me. Said they’d return with info on the so-called “King of the Jews.” Very dishonest. But Herod cannot just forget about this. Their fake story about a child born in Bethlehem, some kind of Messiah, is a dangerous idea and a threat to national security! We can’t allow radical elements to destabilize Judea. I’ve made this kingdom the hottest country in the world, made the Temple GREAT AGAIN — and now this? A baby uprising? I am consulting with my Secretary of War about taking STRONG action to protect the kingdom. No threats to the throne. No Magi-backed “kings.” We will RESTORE ORDER and CRUSH the chaos.”
Anger at the Children
But soon, Herod seemed to forget about the Magi. Perhaps they somehow managed to leave the country without him knowing. That is when he turned his attention to a new and unexpected foe:
“A lot of people don’t realize this, but the children of Bethlehem are a danger to our kingdom. I’m talking about the ones who are 2 years old or less. They bring absolutely nothing to this kingdom. In fact, they are little better than garbage. And, because they live in Bethlehem, they are probably victims of the woke idea that someone from there could be born a king. Something definitely needs to be done about this whole situation. And only the HEROD ADMINISTRATION has the courage to do what needs to be done to protect our great kingdom. Please stay tuned and thank you for your attention to this matter.
Innermost Thoughts
As you have probably picked up, there is no secret cache of lost posts made by Herod the Great that has been unearthed in Israel or Palestine. I made up all of it. But wouldn’t it be something to have some of that kind of information?
We live in a modern age of social media, which means that anyone, if they choose to do so, can share their innermost thoughts with the whole world. And some celebrities and some leaders do actually choose to do that. I suspect that some others don’t choose to reveal those innermost thoughts, but they do have a way of coming through their posts, whether they want it or not.
But with ancient people, you don’t get those deep insights. We don’t get them with a fascinating character like Herod the Great. We have to figure out what he was thinking and what was motivating him by reflecting on what he did.
The Slaughter at Bethlehem
And it is all that harder when it is difficult to know what he did. His slaughter of the children in Bethlehem is an example. We have good historical sources on Herod’s life and career, and there are good accounts of the atrocities that he did commit. But none of them mention an attack on Bethlehem. In fact, the archeological record indicates that hardly anyone was living there at the time.
So it is hard to prove that Herod committed that crime. But everything we know about the man indicates that he was quite capable of doing exactly that kind of thing. He never hesitated to wipe out anyone who stood in his way, and that not only included children, it included his own children.
So wouldn’t you like to know what makes someone do something like that? That’s why I wish we had this kind of post for Herod. And I suspect that, if we did, we would discover a man who might have seemed powerful and decisive on the outside, but on the inside was deeply insecure.
Those who have the power that enables them to lash out against anyone they choose and choose to use that power are afraid. They are afraid that, if they show a bit of weakness, someone will exploit that weakness. Most of all, they are afraid that, if they lose the power that they have, they won’t be anything anymore.
A Scared, Dangerous Child
I have no doubt, therefore, that, if we got that look into the psyche of Herod the Great, we would find a scared looking child staring out at us. A dangerous child to be sure, but a child none-the-less.
We seem to be cursed to live in a moment when authoritarian leaders like Herod are on the rise. This is something that is happening all over the world right now and it is disturbing. I hope that you might find a little understanding of what might have been going on in Herod’s mind helpful in such a moment.
Authoritarians Don’t Get the Final Word
But there is another reason why I focus on Herod at such a time. That is because the disturbing slaughter of children in Bethlehem is not the final word on him. The king that the Magi were searching for, the king that Herod so feared, did come. He had no more power to prevent that than if he had been trying to prevent an incoming tide.
You see, the tyrants, they don’t just feel weak on the inside. They are weak on the outside and their power is an illusion. God is taking history somewhere, and it is not towards the twisted goals of the powers of this dark world. That is the message of Christmas, and it flies in the face of all the tyrants of this world.