Labels and Lordship
16 Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men. 17 Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying:
18 “A voice was heard in Ramah,
Lamentation, weeping, and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children,
Refusing to be comforted,
Because they are no more.”
Matthew 2:16-18
Evil is rarely without excuse. That’s to say, those who perpetrate the most horrific acts of treachery and barbarism are especially adept at explaining and justifying their actions. Despots are only one-dimensional at a distance. I’d dare say they’re quite convincing up close and personal. The weight of their charisma overshadows the corruption in their character, and when it doesn’t, silence is survival.
The wholesale slaughter of the Bethlehem boys likely came with a convincing sales pitch, or at least some solid reasoning. I can imagine Herod saying something like, “If we can kill him, he’s obviously not the messiah. If he is the messiah, he’ll be out to overthrow and kill me regardless. So why not try? Even he would respect my efforts if he is a great king.” It may have been some other line of reasoning, but in any case, I’m sure it made good sense.
It was the same reasoning that would be employed some three decades later. “If he is the messiah, we won’t be able to kill him. God would not allow us. If he isn’t the messiah, he will die and we’ll be done with him.” Reconciling such reasoning was not difficult for the Pharisees and priests either.
From the moment of his incarnation, the Christ would be an inconvenience. Hunted at his birth, hated in his ministry, and harried at his death. The words of Simeon return in this thought:
“Behold, this Child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which will be spoken against (yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.” -Luke 2:34
But what did he mean by falling and rising? Certainly he unseated no kings or governors, he left the Pharisees and Sadducees comfortably intact. He didn’t even break Annas’ nepotistic stranglehold on the high priesthood. By such standards it would appear that this messiah, this savior of Israel in the line of David, did very little at all.
When we lived in the Czech Republic we shopped at a little grocery store called Lidl. If you’ve shopped at an Aldi, it’s very similar and owned by the same parent company. Once or twice a year they would have a promotion, “Big American Week.” It would be accompanied by brightly inked red, white, and blue circulars featuring all of the “American” products they were selling that week. It was always amusing to peruse the ads to see if there really was anything worth buying. Despite hoping for the best, “Big American Week” was usually a let down, as none of the abominations they were peddling were very American at all. Imagine things like meatball pizza, bacon flavored microwave popcorn, and ambiguous “red, white,and blue” yogurts with American flags on the labels. Without fail, one of our Czech friends would comment on the promotion something like, “Did you see it’s American week at Lidl next week? I can’t wait to get some meatball pizza.” My reply would be in the vein of, “Yes, I did see that, enjoy the pizza, but I’ve gotta’ say, I wouldn’t really say that’s particularly American. I’ve never actually seen that in America.” The look on the face would screw up into some form of disbelief accompanied by disappointment. I hated to burst a bubble, but having a pretty good handle on what constitutes quintessential American cuisine, it was hard not to say something about the faire, which always struck me as something more of an attempt by the prepared food producers to throw together some surplus ingredients they had handy lying around the factory, like the repurposed leftovers in my college dorm cafeteria on Saturday afternoon.
I mean to say, what passed for authentic American foods, when scrutinized by an American, were discerned not to be very American at all. But people really didn’t want to hear that. They wanted to eat bacon popcorn and blue-flavored yogurt and tell themselves, “I’m eating like an American right now.” I guess in some ironic sense they were, but the food was not authentic. When the messiah appeared in Israel, both kings and priests felt the sting of their unworthiness and falseness, for a true standard appeared. The repudiation of their sincerity could not have been more shocking.
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. -Matthew 23:27
Despite these poignant revelations, Jesus would not take down the religious class, yet He would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days(Matthew 26:61)...without removing a single stone. But wait, that’s not what he said! That’s what the Pharisees said he said. He actually stated, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up(John 2:19).”
They would destroy the temple, not Jesus. And they did so!
Jesus changes hearts, but before any transformation can happen, hearts must first be revealed. Rising and falling is not a matter of what is revealed, for we know everything revealed will be wicked and deceitful(Jer 17:9). The rising and falling is a matter of human response. When our hearts are revealed and measured against the holy perfection of God, we will buck or we will bend, refuse or repent. He comes with a sword to divide(Matthew 10:34-38). We will be people who humble ourselves before God, or hate Him.
Our greatest trouble is when we resist Lordship but relent in label. Like the Pharisees who identified as sons of God, but harbor self-willed deception. We are better as rotting pine caskets than stone sepulchers, for at least our contents are revealed to ourselves in the former. A soul divided between self and the Son is an affront to our own person, besides an abomination to God. Be wholly submitted or not at all! Monsters are well-reasoned, and none better reasoned than ourselves.
Ask the Holy Spirit to search your heart and root out hypocrisy. Pray God’s Word back to Him:
Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Try me, and know my anxieties;
And see if there is any wicked way in me,
And lead me in the way everlasting.
Psalm 139:23-24
Consider these difficult words of our Lord:
34 “Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. 35 For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; 36 and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’ 37 He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. 38 And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. 39 He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it. -Matthew 10:34-38
