Ten Minute Bible Talks Devotional Bible Study - Who Is Your King? | Christmas | Matthew 2:1-12

Episode Date: December 20, 2021

What kingdom are you under? Are you ruled by wealth? Power? Popularity? In today's episode, https://twitter.com/KeithSimon_ (Keith) compares the kingdom of Herod with Jesus's kingdom. Which one would you rather be a part of? Tune in as Keith walks through https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%202%3A1-12&version=NIV (Matthew 2:1-12). Like this content? Make sure to leave us a rating and share it with others, so others can find it too. Use #asktmbt to connect with us, ask questions, and suggest topics. We'd love to hear from you! To learn more, visit our https://www.thecrossingchurch.com/ (website) and follow us on https://www.facebook.com/TenMinuteBibleTalks (Facebook), https://www.instagram.com/thecrossingcomo/ (Instagram), and https://twitter.com/tmbtpodcast (Twitter) @TheCrossingCOMO and @TenMinuteBibleTalks. Social Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TenMinuteBibleTalks (https://www.facebook.com/TenMinuteBibleTalks) Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thecrossingcomo/ (https://www.instagram.com/thecrossingcomo/) Twitter: https://twitter.com/tmbtpodcast (https://twitter.com/tmbtpodcast) Passages https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%202%3A1-12&version=NIV (Matthew 2:1-12) Your support makes TMBT possible. Ten Minute Bible Talks is a crowd-funded project. Join the TMBTeam to reach more people with the Bible. Give now.

Welcome to Tim Minna Bible Talks, where we connect the Bible to your life in the time it takes to get to work. I'm Keith Simon. I'm Tanya Wilmuth. And I'm Patrick Miller. Right now, we're in the middle of our Christmas series. But starting in January, we're getting back to the basics. We're going to go through the first books of the Bible. And of course, we're going to start in the first book, the book of Genesis. Invite a friend to join you on the journey. It all starts January 1st. In the ancient Near East, kings were a standard fair. There was nothing unusual about being ruled by a king. But in the United States of America, we don't like kings. We don't have kings. Our country was started by overthrowing a king. So when we hear that Jesus is a king, we're not sure that's good news. Today, we're going to talk about two different kinds of kings and two different

kinds of kingdoms. Here's Matthew chapter two verses one to three. Listen for both kings in these verses. After Jesus was born in Bethlehem and Judea, during the time of King Herod, okay, that's the first king, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and said, where is the one who has been born King of the Jews? That's the second king. We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him. When King Herod heard this, he was disturbed and all Jerusalem with him. So you heard two kings, right? King Herod and King Jesus, the one who was born King of the Jews. Jews. So this is a story about two kingships. One kingship is built on fear and violence. The other is on love. One is going to be built on control. The other on freedom. One kingship is going to be built on

oppression and bondage. The other on liberation. Who is King Herod? And how did he get the title King of the Jews? Well, King Herod got that title because of his father's political connections in the Roman Senate. So they named Herod, who was only 25 at the time, king of the Jews, and he ruled there for 37 years. When the Magi come through looking for the Messiah, Herod is about 69 years old. He's absolutely massive in size, and he has incessant medical problems that make it almost physically impossible for him to leave his palace. He's in bad physical shape, but he's learned to live with all these ailments.

What he hasn't learned to live with is a threat to his kingship. Herod took his rivals seriously. Herod had all of his rivals killed. No one was safe from his executions. He'd ordered deaths by hanging and stoning, strangulation, fire, the sword, live animals, beating, and a type of public suicide where people were forced to hurl themselves off tall buildings. Herod was married ten times. He had 43 children.

He had only one wife that he ever really loved, and her name was Mariam. He married her when she was 15, and she had five children in seven years. Then Herod decided that he couldn't fully trust her loyalty, so he had her executed. He wasn't too sure about her mom either, so he had his mother-in-law executed. Two of his sons, he thought were getting a little too ambitious, and he wasn't real comfortable with that. So he had two of his own sons executed, because he didn't. want them to try to take over for him before he was ready. When he was close to dying, he was

afraid one of his other sons was trying to take over a little too quickly. So he had a third son executed. That was just five days before he died. When Herod's barber tried to stick up for his sons, he killed his barber. Herod's accomplishments and paranoid violence were known well throughout the empire. Caesar Augustus in Rome joked that it was preferable to be Herod's pig than Herod's son, because as a nominal Jew, Herod at least had some scruples about killing pigs. Herod had heard the Old Testament prophecies about a coming Messiah, a coming king, but he first heard about that king's arrival from the magi, who stopped to pay respects to King Herod before going to worship King Jesus. Herod wasn't interested in sharing power with another

king. King Herod was also known as Herod the Great, and that was for good reason. everything Herod did was great, whether it was good or bad. He was known for his building projects, his wealth, and his power. Herod was a visionary builder. All of his buildings were strategic. They were part of his effort to gain support and stay in power. The last temple that ever stood, the one that Jesus would have known, was called Herod's temple because of all the improvements that he had done for it.

Herod's temple was one of the biggest construction projects in that time, and some people have compared it to one of the seven wonders of the world. But the temple wasn't the only building that Herod built. In the middle of the wilderness, he built a fortress called Masada. He also built a palace on top of a man-made mountain. He built a port city named Cessaria, and so much more. And he financed all these building projects through exorbitant taxes that made life unbearable. terrible on the average person. Herod had tremendous wealth and he controlled major trade routes. Some people suggested that he might have been the richest person of his day. Herod was insecure

and he would stop at nothing to maintain his grip on power. When he became king, he executed 45 of the 70 centred members who had voted against him. He appointed the high priest, but when the high priest got a little too popular, Herod invited him over, filled him with wine, suggested that he go for a little swim and then drowned the high priest. As you hear about Herod, you get the sense of why people would have longed for deliverance from him. They lived in a time in which they were powerless in the face of injustice. They were being taxed far beyond what they could afford. They could barely make a living. Herod lived with unrivaled power, and it looked like things would never change.

It's into this context that a baby is born in the shadow of one of Herod's fortresses in a little town called Bethlehem. The Christmas story is for people who, like those that lived in Herod's Day, are longing for deliverance. They're longing for justice. There are many people today who know what it's like to be powerless, to long for freedom from injustice and deliverance from evil. The birth of Jesus is for people who long for Herod to be overthrown and for justice and freedom to reign. Can you imagine how hard it would have been to believe that this little baby born in Bethlehem was the true king?

How can someone believe that the Messiah is in a manger while Herod sits in power in Masada, his fortress? How could they believe that contrary to appearances, it's not Herod who is in power, but that little baby boy in a stable? You see, it takes eyes of faith to see God's reality. Isn't that the same today? All the forces that stand against Jesus and the gospel, they seem so overwhelming. The kingdom of this world stands in opposition to God, and it seems like it's in complete control.

In ancient Israel, if anyone had asked if there was a more important person than Herod, the answer surely would have been no. His kingdom was undisputed. But in the birth of Jesus, a new kingdom is revealed, a kingdom that seems insignificant. a kingdom that looks weak and vulnerable. The confrontation between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of this world began, and it looks like no contest. If Vegas was setting the odds, they'd pick Herod every time. Herod struggled to keep his kingdom by force,

but Jesus became king by self-sacrifice. Herod was a king obsessed with power, prestige, possessions. Jesus was obsessed with obeying his father's will. Jesus is the only king who said, I did not come to be served, but to serve others. Herod had a noble birth, and his family had royal connections. Jesus was born in a manger to a family too poor to offer the normal sacrifices in the temple. Herod was so highly regarded by the Romans that they made him the king of the Jews.

Jesus was called king of the Jews, but only in mockery when he was dying on a cross. Herod was the friend of Rome. Jesus was the friend of sinners. Herod rewarded his friends and he was ruthless toward his enemies. Jesus challenged his friends and was gracious to his enemies. Jesus turned everything upside down by how he was born, how he lived, and what he taught. You must die to live. You must lose to gain.

Weakness is strength. Power is restraint. Love those who persecute you. Pray for those who hate you. Herod isn't the true and lasting king. It's not the strong and the wealthy who will inherit the earth. but the meek and the lowly. Mourners, peacemakers, the merciful, the persecuted,

they can all find blessing in the kingdom of Jesus. Two kingdoms war on this earth. One is led by Herod, the other by Jesus. One is built on war, oppression, wealth, power, self-interest, and control. The other is built on love, faith, hope, freedom, grace, compassion, and truth. One demanded sacrifice. The other offered a sacrifice in our place. 2,000 years later, no one is singing songs to Herod or giving themselves to his kingdom.

Herod's kingdom is dust. But billions of people gather in the name of Jesus every Sunday. The kingdom opposed to King Jesus will not stand. Matthew is giving us hope. No matter how dark there is hope, a baby has been born. Matthew is giving his hope, but he's also forcing us to ask ourselves this Christmas, who's your king? Power, wealth, accomplishment, reputation, passions, influence, material things? All of this is what King Herod has. Jesus doesn't have any of those. If those are the things that are

king in your heart, Jesus wants to start a revolution and overthrow them, King Jesus wants to sit on the throne, not just of the universe, but also of your heart, of your life. You see, a new king has been born. Herod and all that he stands for is going down. Don't bet your life on the kings of this world. Don't invest your life in building kingdoms here. The herds of this world always die and their kingdoms fade away. The kingdom of Jesus keeps going for all eternity. Christmas isn't about presents and reindeer and snowmen.

Christmas is a story about a new king and a new hope. Christmas is the sure promise that a better king rules and will one day establish his kingdom here. light will drive away darkness, truth will replace confusion, all because a baby was born. Oppressers don't win. Injustice doesn't triumph. Herod is going down, and Jesus is building a kingdom of love and grace and truth. The challenge for us is with what attitude do we approach Jesus?

How do we come to worship him? Do we come like Herod threatened by this new king who wants to take over our life, Who wants to sit on the throne of our heart? Or do we come like the magi to worship that king, to surrender our life to him? Thanks for listening. If you've enjoyed this content, please subscribe and give us a rating. That helps others find this podcast more easily. Also ask yourself who you could share this podcast with.

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