King Herod the Great played a significant role in the early stages of Jesus’ life, albeit a dark one. As an infant, Jesus faced imminent danger due to Herod’s actions. The Roman Senate, with Antony’s recommendation, first appointed him as governor in 47 BC, and in 40 BC gave him the title of king. He ruled the Jews for a lengthy period until his death in 4 BC. His epithet, “the Great,” reflects his adept rule, which brought peace and stability amidst turmoil, marked by ambitious construction projects such as the reconstruction of the Temple in Jerusalem. He was generous to his people in relation to any economic difficulty or starvation they faced.
Herod’s claim to authority over the Jews, sanctioned by the Roman emperor, was met with resistance due to his mixed heritage and lack of direct lineage to King David, a prerequisite for Jewish kingship according to scripture. Herod’s lineage, being half Jewish and half Idumean, stemmed from his Jewish mother and Idumean father, Antipater.
Herod was anxious about the rejective mentality of the Jews towards him, and he was vigilant in safeguarding his kingship. His fanaticism for power made him kill even his wife Mariamne, her mother Alexandra, his sons Antipater, Alexander, and Aristobulus. Such an insane and power-obsessed king would eliminate an infant born as the legitimate king of the Jews to replace him. The Jews in the whole of Jerusalem were troubled because they knew how Herod would get rid of any king born as their liberator.
King Herod was in Jerusalem when the Magi arrived from the East, though he had other residences. He was afraid when he heard from the Magi that a licit king was born for the Jews. Since he could not identify the infant King, he gave orders to kill all children below two years of age in and around Bethlehem, prompting the Holy Family to flee to Egypt and live there as refugees. The whole of Jerusalem was troubled because the Jews in Jerusalem knew that the power- hungry Herod would get rid of any king that would be born to save them.
REFLECTION
Though King Herod the Great was generous to the Jews by reconstructing the Temple as magnificent as Solomon’s Temple, he did that for his own glory and not for God. When Jesus, the proper King of the Jews, was born, the power-hungry Herod killed many infants to get rid of Jesus. Craze for worldly ambitions is an obstacle for our heavenly glory.