Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? (Matthew 2:2)

Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? (Matthew 2:2)

You know the story of the wise men who came from the East seeking Jesus. They followed a star. They were probably astrologers who followed pagan notions. But somehow, God got their attention and set them on the right path. And so they brought gifts to baby Jesus, and we expect that we will see them in heaven. Who knew that among those who first worshipped Jesus, there would be some from Iran?

But that’s not the whole story, because on the way to see Jesus, they first had to see Herod, or, as he liked to be called, “Herod the Great.” Herod was a master politician who had positioned himself to gain the favor of the Roman emperors, and had finagled his way to a position in Israel called, of all things, “king of the Jews.”

One would suppose that to be “king of the Jews,” one should probably actually be a Jew. But that was not the case. In the language of the time, or at least how it’s translated now, Herod was an Idumaean. That word was an update of an older word used often in the Old Testament. Herod was as Edomite.

Edomites were the descendants of Esau. Esau was the grandson of Abraham, and the firstborn of Isaac. He was born a twin, and his younger brother, Jacob, got the upper hand: the birthright; the blessing; and father of the people of Israel. Esau was set aside. 

Jacob had twelve sons, roughly the heads of the twelve tribes of Israel. Jacob’s 4th son, Judah, would be the tribe from which most kings of Israel would come, and certainly the line of David. These would be the true kings of the Jews.

So Herod, from Esau, was a fake. He was a powerful fake, and a ruthless face. But he was also an insecure fake, because he knew that he wasn’t the true “king of the Jews.” And so one day, when strangers from out of town came seeking the one born “King of the Jews,” he suspected that what he always feared was about to take place. Esau was about to be set aside once again, in the person of Herod.

Scheming, lying, and threatening had always worked for Herod. But it didn’t work now. The wise men were led by a star, and Herod wasn’t it.

Jesus’ path was strange as well. He avoided the throne and embraced the cross. But even in His death, there was a sign above his head that spoke the truth: “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.”