Herod the Great was a great killer. Historians tell us that Herod became obsessively defensive of his power and his throne. Jesus was born when Herod ruled the land. The sanctity of human life was not a high political value of Herod’s.

Herod eliminated his predecessors Antigonus and Hyrcanus and those loyal to them. Herod was paranoid about the Hasmonean family line. He killed his brother-in-law, his mother-in-law, and even his wife Mariamne. Toward the end of his reign, he had his own sons killed: Alexander, Aristobulus and Antipater. Herod-as-a-Hitler had a first century Gestapo complete with storm-troopers. He built an intelligence network to keep track of potential threats to his rule. Of course, there were assassination attempts on his life, and woe to those caught who planned and tried to execute them.

Unwittingly, the Magi tipped Herod off to a real threat: the birth of “the king of the Jews”–Jesus. Furious on the inside and feigning adoration on the outside, Herod ruthlessly tracked down this rival to his power. Warned by an angel to flee, Joseph, Mary and Jesus set out for Egypt. Reaching the bottom line that his rival was in Bethlehem, Herod ordered the murder of all males up to two years of age. Small potatoes in a reign of countless, senseless deaths.

Christian tradition labels it a “massacre” with one estimate being as many as 3000 boys killed. Yet, the total population of Bethlehem at the time was probably no more than a 1000 people. Perhaps as many as 20 little boys died on the orders of Hitler/Herod. Whether 3000 or 20, it mattered most to the mothers of those defenseless children. Insanity congealed as government order swept through Bethlehem that night (if it was night). Yes, there was loud weeping, Rachel weeping for her children (Matthew 2:18).

O little town of Bethlehem, how we forget or ignore those cries of terror. We want silent night, holy night and “no crying he makes.” We don’t want evil interrupting and spoiling our Christmas spirit. We don’t want a Hitler vying for attention with St. Nick. When it comes to Christmas we want an evilectomy with only the good, nice parts to comfort us.

Why do I post these things? Not only to decommercialize this season but to desanitize the kind of world Jesus was born into. Real. Bad. World. (See “Unwrap the Jesus Story” a few posts back). “King” was a killing word in the days Jesus was born…and lived. On a board above his head on the cross a sign read: Jesus of Nazareth: King of the Jews. The Jesus Story, yes, with all its wonder, only makes sense and provides hope in a world of ancient/future Hitlers.

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