“When Powers Collide”
Matthew
Intro.: The struggle for power is evident in our
everyday lives. During these days
preceding elections everyone seems to be competing for political power. There are international power struggles in
meetings between diplomats and on battlefields between soldiers. There are power struggles at work – the never
ending competition to be energetic enough, assertive enough, bright enough and
productive enough to get ahead while someone else is always nipping at your
heals. At school there are similar power
struggles – you train to be stronger and more skilled than other athletes,
study to be smarter and higher ranked than other students, and politicize to be
more popular and have better friends than the rest. Sometimes these power struggles can have
disastrous effects on the people around us.
Our Gospel reminds us of this as innocent
two year old and younger boys in the region of
I.
King Herod’s Idea Of Power.
A. King Herod’s idea of power was to move up and
stay on top, which produced in him tremendous fear and paranoia. As our text begins Herod the Great, the
all-powerful king of
Herod was a true monster. He was born into a well-connected family in
73 B.C. and was destined for a life of political hardball. History records his obsession with moving up
the ladder and his hunger for power. His
father was poisoned by a political opponent, which turned Herod into a shrewd
and vicious leader fueled by hatred and revenge. Shortly after his father’s death he invited the
conspirators over for a dinner party and as they arrived had them
butchered by hired thugs. From that
point on Herod did everything he could to climb up. He used extortion and blackmail to get what
he wanted, and when that didn’t work he ordered countless arrests, beatings,
tortures and executions. Herod married
ten times, usually for political advantage.
In his desire to hold onto power he had two of those wives executed
along with three of his sons. There was
little that Herod the Great would not do to move up and secure power.
C. I can
almost hear you all saying, “Thank God, I am not like Herod! I try never to raise an angry hand against a
poor innocent child; I pay my taxes and slip a little money into the offering
plate. Once I even played beingo with some old folks at the nursing home.” But if we were to take a good hard look deep within, we would see in the mirror a little Herod staring
back at us. Our sinful nature seeks
Herod’s kind of power. We, like Herod,
like the idea of moving up and getting ahead.
Call it office politics, turf wars, marital rights, or parental
rule. We share that part of Herod that
would rather rule than serve, that part that would rather wield power than
submit to another’s authority and be honored rather than remain humble so that
someone else may be exalted. Our idea of
power and our obsession with being little kings over our little parts of the
world is very much like Herod’s. After
all, that is the kind of power the world understands and rewards.
Transition: For the most part Herod’s idea of power
worked pretty well for him. He ruled for
more than thirty years, accumulated great wealth, built massive buildings as
memorials to himself, and was feared by all the people. It worked pretty well for him – that is until
another King was born – Jesus, the infant king of
II. Christ’s Idea Of Power.
A. In
contrast to Herod’s idea of power, Jesus’ concept of power seems foolish. His goal was not to rise up but to move
down. He was as far up as anyone could
ever be! As the second person of the
Trinity, whom we confess to be very God of very God from eternity, He was at
the top. He was the object of worship
and praise for angels and archangels and all the company of heaven. All the powers of heaven and earth were at
his command and the riches of the nations belonged to Him. But at Christmas, “the Word became
flesh.” He took the biggest step down in
the history of the world. He stepped
down to become a helpless child in the womb of a simple handmaiden from the
town of
B. Jesus humbled himself because it was only by
submitting himself to the law and humbling Himself in obedience unto death that
He could work God’s power to save the world from its sin. Herod was willing to bring suffering and kill
all in order to save himself, but Jesus was willing to suffer all and be killed
in order to save us. It seems that the
only characteristic that Herod and Jesus seem to share in common is that they
both believe there is nothing that bloodshed cannot cure.
Transition: According to the law of physics, the force of
an impact depends on the speed and direction of the objects that are
colliding. Jesus and Herod were both
moving fast, from totally opposite directions – one going up and the other
moving down. One king is bent on promotion,
the other on demotion. One is a tyrant,
the other a servant. One is consumed
with self-interest, the other consumed with love for others. One manipulates,
slanders, deceives, and coerces; the other heals, cries, loves, bleeds, and
dies. In the little town of
III. When Powers Collide God Always Wins.
While on the surface it would seem that
Herod’s idea of power is more practical for living in this world of sin,
perhaps it would be better to examine the result of the actions and lives of
these two kings and even how they died.
A. Herod’s idea of power as always moving up
left him miserable and led to a bitter, eternal death. Herod lived out his days in fear and
suspicion. He was hated by the people he
ruled, ridiculed by the foreign powers he reluctantly served, and doomed to
give up his wealth and power to another.
In the final year of Herod’s life his body was infected with disease;
his pain was so intense that often in the middle of the night his screams could
be heard throughout his palace. But
there was more than the physical pain.
He was devastated by the knowledge that his death would be mourned by
very few and in fact it may result in shouts of joy throughout his
kingdom. He wanted tears not rejoicing
at the moment of his death. So he came
up with one, final desperate and evil plan.
He would bring together the top leaders of the land, men who were
respected and loved as he was not. He
would call these men together for a meeting in
B. In contrast to Herod’s idea of power, Christ’s
idea of power is one that brings life and joy to all. After living down all His life, Jesus
descended even further. He humbled
himself under judgment, the Roman whip and even death on a cross. His cries, like Herod’s pierced the darkness,
but they were cries offered for us.
Cries of forsakenness and abandonment and cries of thirst offered in our
place, and cries of compassion, mercy, forgiveness and the promise that we
would dwell with him in paradise. There
is an important difference between the death of Herod and that of Jesus. For all his power, Herod could not save
himself from death – for all His power Jesus could have saved Himself, even as
He was challenged to do, but He did not.
And so, while Herod’s body rotted in a granite grave, Jesus had the
power to rise again and conquer death.
Jesus had the power live and give life to others! He was raised and exalted to the place of
highest power and glory so that every knee must bow and every tongue confess that He is Lord over all. All of the history of God’s people pointed to
and was fulfilled by King Jesus, not Herod.
When powers collide God always wins!
He wins and offers us the blessings of this victory!
Now, through Christ’s power weeping and
mourning are replaced with eternal joy and shouts of praise and
thanksgiving. Rachel’s tears are wiped
away because God has come to comfort His people with the Gospel of
salvation. Christ comes to us today,
with the seemingly foolish powers of water, bread and wine, and spoken, written
and sung words, to destroy the power of sin in our lives. He comes to serve us with baptismal cleansing
and rebirth, with His body and blood for our forgiveness, and with the Gospel
that is the power of God unto salvation.
He makes no promises that he will move you up in earthly power or
worldly wealth. He offers you the real
power of peace with God, the contentment of living with a servant’s heart, and
eternal life. Whatever power struggles are burdening you and whatever forces
are crashing in on you and your world, the Lord promises you this: When powers collide God always wins and gives
you the victory in Christ. Amen.