King Herod was a political survivor as well as an excellent administrator and builder. He was also insecure and brutally eliminated all threats to his throne. He murdered one of his wives, his mother-in-law, two brothers-in-law, and three of his sons. He also slaughtered the innocents in Bethlehem.
We live in a sometimes brutal world. The good news in all the mayhem is that Jesus whose flesh was pounded with nails does not shy away from the brutality of our world. He is the one kneeling next to the slumped body, and telling about a room prepared in his father’s house. He is the one whose arms brace weak-kneed mourners. He is the one whispering in the ears of mayhem makers, “I am your king. Lay down your swords and follow me.”
It’s ironic that Herod who slaughtered the innocents could not stop a king who was innocent when slaughtered. Jesus had the last word when he left a tomb empty in Judea.
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