The Plot to Kill Jesus

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.

Matthew 2:16

Anger can make us do some pretty stupid things. It can be anger over little things, like bad service at a restaurant, or anger over huge events, like betrayal by a friend or loved one.

I did something stupid not long after I bought my first car, and as soon as it happened, I was deeply convicted of the power that anger can have. I was behind a very slow driver and I was running late for work. At the first opportunity, I sped around her at break-neck speed and realized that I needed to make my turn at about that time. I made the turn, but I was going entirely too fast, and I hit the curb and gave myself two flat tires. I was lucky that it wasn’t worse, but have you ever had two flat tires at the same time?  You only get one spare tire! I had to have someone come and help me; it cost me a lot of money to replace two tires; and I couldn’t go to work that day, so I lost money there too. Plus, I was embarrassed by my actions and how anger had taken control of me.

Here, we see anger getting to Herod, but with much worse consequences than two flat tires. According to the Scripture, he was angry at being mocked by the wise men. He had asked them to come back and tell him where to find the Baby Jesus, so that he might go and worship him. Never mind that he was lying and intended to kill the Child instead. When the wise men were warned in a dream and did not come back, Herod’s anger drove him to a terrible act.

I can just picture him, waiting day after day for the wise men to return. He was probably thinking of them and picturing where on their journey they might be. He was waiting for the crucial news of where he would find this Baby King who threatened his own position as king of the Jews. What is ridiculous is that Herod had plenty of servants at his disposal. He easily could have sent someone else to find the Baby. The town of Bethlehem wasn’t that large, and with his many resources, he very well could have sent out others to find the news he needed to know.

But, his anger blinded him to rational thoughts or acts, and he lost his head, calling for the massacre of all the baby boys under two years old. And in the end, his anger got him nothing but the wrath of many parents who lost their children in this terrible act, because he didn’t succeed in killing Jesus.

There is an anger that is profitable though, and that is righteous anger. The Lord is angry over the sin of the world, but according to Psalm 103:8-10, his anger is slow and merciful, and He doesn’t act against us in that anger:

“The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy. He will not always strive with us, nor will He keep His anger forever. He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities.” (Psalm 103: 7-11)

God’s anger was poured out on One Man for the sins of the world. The sins of me and of you. God’s wrath required a perfect sacrifice, and that sacrifice was His Own Son, Jesus Christ. When Jesus died on the cross, He died for the sins of every person who would accept Him as their sacrifice, and as the slain Lamb, He felt the full wrath of God.

Oh, that our anger would be focused on the sins of this world. May we be like God, merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in mercy, that people might see Him in us. May we have righteous anger for the sins of this world, but may we lead people to redemption in the shed blood of Christ.