EDWIN TADIWANASHE MAPEZA

Question 1

Herod reacted the way he did when he heard about the birth of Jesus who is the Messiah?

"When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him."

The Jesus question is somewhat one of the most stated stories in the history of time. Surely The
birth of Jesus did not give Herod enough time to rest. The issue of Jesus was not an easy issue to
contemplate especially for people who were holding higher positions during the time he was
born. It was so confusing to Herod how and why the Wise Men travelled a long way over this
and at the same time how the scrolls of the Scribes were so explicit on the matter. This essay will
however further elaborate on why Herod reacted the way he did at the birth of Jesus.

Mat 2:2 KJV “Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in
the east, and are come to worship him”. In view of this passage of scripture this message must
have given Herod a heart attack, It instilled fear in him hence his reaction. The question of the
Wise Men according to Carter (2001) was highly non-diplomatic revering Jesus' position of king
above that of Herod's. This puts the magi in their conventional role as posing a threat to ruling
powers. This juxtaposition was so frightening to Herod that he sought to kill Jesus. In addition to
that In an article, France (2007) argued that Herod was a puppet of Rome, appointed to maintain
peace and order in Jerusalem on behalf of the Roman Empire, and was terrified at the thought of
losing his power or position. Matthew introduces Herod and Jesus each as a king by way of
contrast. King Herod did not want a new king to come along, he wanted to remain the king. So
he went to the Jewish religious leaders to inquire on the matter. Therefore Herod's reaction was
an act of fear.

In their view of the above case Herod reacted because he felt deceived by the Magi. Matthew’s
gospel records that the wise men lied to Herod about the birth location of the baby Jesus, who
was said to be King of the Jews. Herod became furious, reacting to his fear of being deposed.
Herod ordered his guards to go to Bethlehem and kill all male children, infants and toddlers
under two. The words of the Magi had special emphasis on the nature of the Child. Herod knew
this was no ordinary child. There was something about this boy that struck fear in his heart. So,
he deceived the Magi, and he began to work out an evil plan. Therefore in this view Herod
reacted because he felt deceived.

The report of the chief priests was bearing witness to the Messiah being born. After the wise man
came with the news to King Herod, he gathered the Chief Priests and Scribes so that they would
consult their scrolls on the issue. They must have came across Micah 5:2 which was an answer to
Herod's question. Carson (1984) argued that Herod's concern about a potential rival, which led
him to summon the experts. To his surprise his fears were turned into a reality.

In a nutshell therefore it is beyond any reasonable doubt that Herod response was an act of fear
as contributed by the report of the scribes and chief priests as well as the report of the Wise Men.

References

Carson, D.A. (1984). Matthew. The Expositor's Bible Commentary, vol. 8. Grand
Rapids: Zondervan.

Carter, W. (2001). Matthew and empire. Initial explorations. Harrisburg: Trinity

Press International.

France, R.T.(2007). The Gospel of Matthew. Michigan & Cambridge: Eerdmans.