Epiphany 2003
Herod and the Magi

Week of Monday, January 6, 2003

Lectionary Readings
Isaiah 60:1–6
Psalm 72
Ephesians 3:1–12
Matthew 2:1–12

This week on January 6 western Christians celebrate the feast of Epiphany, which takes its name from the Greek word epiphaneia, meaning disclosure, manifestation, unveiling or appearance. In this case Christians commemorate the appearance of the wise men from the east (literally, magoi).

Matthew writes that immediately after the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem wise men or astrologers from the east came to Jerusalem. This was “during the time of King Herod,” he says, which is an odd detail to include since it would have been obvious. These Gentile foreigners had one purpose in mind, to find him who was born “king of the Jews” and then to offer that newborn king their worship (1:2). This is exactly what they did. Upon seeing Jesus, they bowed down to him in joy and adoration, offering to Jesus gold, incense and myrrh. In so doing they remind us at Epiphany that Jesus who was born King of the Jews was born not only for Jews but for all peoples of all the world. In fact, God providentially used these pagan astrologers to save the life of the newborn king.

Maybe you have already noticed; Matthew has mentioned two kings over one people (the Jews). The subplot of King Herod almost overshadows the main plot of the worship of the newborn King by the Gentiles. Most of the time when we read the Bible we read for some spiritual benefit, and rightly so; but in the Gospel text for this week (Matthew 2:1–12) it is difficult if not impossible to ignore a brutal encounter with power politics.

Matthew writes that when King Herod heard the news of another king he responded in fear and paranoia. Herod the Great (c. 73–4 BC), as he was known, had been given the title “King of the Jews” in 40 BC, and after consolidating his power he ruled over Judea for 33 years (Luke 1:5). The last thing he wanted was a rival over his Judean domain. So suspicious and insecure was he that called a secret meeting of religious leaders and extracted information about the exact time and place of the birth of this new king, knowledge that would later prove lethal. It is not incidental or without biting irony that Matthew says that Herod feigned the exact same purpose as the wise men, that he too wanted this information “so that I too may go and worship him” (1:8). But Matthew also tells us what his true motive was; he really wanted to murder Jesus (1:13), to eliminate his rival.

After worshiping Jesus, the wise men set out to return to their country. But God spoke to these pagan astrologers and warned them in a dream not to return to Herod, who had demanded that they come back with precise information. They refused and returned home “by another route.” When he learned that the magi had tricked him, Herod flew into a furious rage of senseless violence. In a desperate act of genocide he murdered all the male children two years old and younger who lived in Bethlehem and its vicinity. Meanwhile, Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus fled to Egypt where they found asylum. In the end it was King Herod the Great who died, about 4 BC, not Jesus. King Jesus returned to settle in the town of Nazareth in the district of Galilee, although he was careful to avoid Herod's son Archelaus who took his place.

There are in fact five Herods in the New Testament, and to a person they all persecuted Jesus and the early church. In addition to Herod the Great whom we have just considered, there is his older son Archelaus born of his wife Malthace (Matthew 2:22), who reigned only a few years and was deposed in 6 AD. Third, there is Herod's younger son by Malthace, Herod the tetrarch (Luke 3:19), who is famous for murdering John the Baptist who denounced his marriage (Mark 6:14–28) and for his encounter with Jesus at his trial (Luke 23:7). Then there is Herod King Agrippa (Acts 12:1), the grandson of Herod the Great, who murdered James and tried to murder Peter (Acts 12:1ff). Finally, there is King Agrippa's son, also named Agrippa, who bantered with Paul amidst great pomp and exclaimed that Paul was trying to convert him (Acts 25:13–26:32).

What is the connection between the magi who come to worship Jesus and King Herod the Great who says that he wants to worship Jesus but really intends to murder him? At first these two plots seem distinct and unrelated, but I believe that there is a clear link.

The worship of the pagan astrologers reminds us that Jesus, who is King of the Jews, is also the King of all the world. The magi expand our vision to include the Gentiles. This is especially noteworthy in Matthew's Gospel because most scholars believe that he wrote his Gospel for the Jewish community. For example, he incorporates far more Old Testament quotes than the other Gospel writers, using the formula “that it might be fulfilled.” Some scholars even suggest that his Gospel might have been written in Hebrew. So, while Matthew focuses on Jesus as King of the Jews, right at the beginning of his Gospel he includes a poignant and symbolic reminder that Jesus's kingship is universal.

This was one of the hardest lessons for the early church, which at first was entirely Jewish, the shocking idea that the Gentiles were, from God's perspective, on equal footing with the Jews. In our lectionary text from the epistles for this week, this is precisely Paul's point (Ephesians 3:1–12). His ministry, he writes, is “for the sake of the Gentiles,” but for long ages past this has been a certain “mystery” (a word he uses three times here). But in Jesus this mystery has now been revealed, “that through the Gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 3:6). The magi symbolize the unveiling of this mystery and expand our vision of God's kingdom, reminding us that it cannot be limited to the Jews.

King Herod does the opposite of the magi; he wants to narrow God's kingdom, and even make it subservient to his state and political ideology. If this means murdering Jesus, so be it. At least we should give Herod credit because he understood something fundamentally important, which is that if Jesus is Lord, then Caesar is decidedly not lord.

Herod through his negative example and the magi through their positive example remind us that God's kingdom will never be subservient to other kingdoms or ideologies. We should never restrict his kingdom to our own narrow vantage point, be it ethnic, social, economic, political, cultural, and so on. How easy it is to exclude from God's kingdom those whom we find pagan and unclean, like the Jews regarded the Gentiles. And how tempting it is to try to domesticate God's kingdom and align it with our own narrow, petty and self-serving interests and concerns. Jesus is Lord of the pagan magi, and he is certainly Lord over all the Herods of the world. He is Lord for all and Lord over all.

The Journey with Jesus: Notes to Myself Copyright ©2003 by Dan Clendenin. All Rights Reserved.