Herod's change of heart?

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whatevergirl

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I went to church this evening, and the Gospel is about partially how Herod wanted to see the baby, Jesus, upon His birth. What struck me as confusing with this, was why and when do you suppose Herod changed his way of thinking, to be somewhat like a Pharisee towards the day of Jesus’ crucifixion? He didn’t defend Christ, and if anything, seemed to mock Him. How could Herod have wanted to ‘pay Jesus homage,’ upon hearing of His birth–but then turned skeptic towards the end? Are there any Scriptural passages that address the transition?

Interested in what you think??:confused:
 
Well, first, there were TWO king Herods. It was the first who is spoken of in the infancy narrative, and the second in the Passion.

The first King Herod died (as you’ll remember) a few months or years after the birth of Jesus.

Here is the story: Herod was approaching the end of his reign. And it was a long and bitter one. He was surprised by the wise men, and certainly worried that this story of a King being born meant the end of him, or his dynasty, and this is why he wished to know where the child was–in order to kill him. The proof is in Matthew 2:
16 Then Herod perceiving that he was deluded by the wise men, was exceeding angry; and sending killed all the men children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the borders thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men.
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He was making sure (he thought) to get rid of any possible rival to the throne.

As for his sons who went on, the Herod at the time of the Passion. He was educated at Rome but liked to think of himself (as his father did) of being Jewish. His personal life was, like his father’s, pretty unsavory, and he was also responsible for the death of John the Baptist.

So I hope this answers your question. Herod I was never interested in worshiping Jesus; Herod II didn’t want anybody interfering with “his” kingdom either.
 
whatevergirl said:
I went to church this evening, and the Gospel is about partially how Herod wanted to see the baby, Jesus, upon His birth. What struck me as confusing with this, was why and when do you suppose Herod changed his way of thinking, to be somewhat like a Pharisee towards the day of Jesus’ crucifixion? He didn’t defend Christ, and if anything, seemed to mock Him. How could Herod have wanted to ‘pay Jesus homage,’ upon hearing of His birth–but then turned skeptic towards the end? Are there any Scriptural passages that address the transition?

Interested in what you think??:confused:
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Herod did not want to “pay Jesus homage.” He feared the prophecy that a king would be born to challenge him. He wanted to know where Jesus was so he could get him out of the way. When the magi did not return to him, that is when he ordered the slaughter of the innocents. No change of heart at all. And as the previous poster indicated, the Herod who killed John the Baptist is not the same Herod,
 
There are two Herods referred to in the gospels. Herod the Great, appointed by Rome in 37 BC, was the ruler of all the Palestinian lands of the Jews at the time Jesus was born. He died shortly thereafter in 4 BC. His son, Herod Antipas, is the “King Herod” refered to during the years of Jesus’ adulthood. He was not in fact a king but was the Tetrarch of approximately one-third of his father’s domain - namely Galilee and Perea - during the years 26-36 AD. His brothers Archelaus and Philip ruled the remainder.
 
He definitely wanted to see him alright…he wanted to see him, so he could murder him, since he perceived him a threat to his power. He did not care to honor him in any way though.
whatevergirl said:
I went to church this evening, and the Gospel is about partially how Herod wanted to see the baby, Jesus, upon His birth. What struck me as confusing with this, was why and when do you suppose Herod changed his way of thinking, to be somewhat like a Pharisee towards the day of Jesus’ crucifixion? He didn’t defend Christ, and if anything, seemed to mock Him. How could Herod have wanted to ‘pay Jesus homage,’ upon hearing of His birth–but then turned skeptic towards the end? Are there any Scriptural passages that address the transition?

Interested in what you think??:confused:
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gelsbern said:
There are two Herods referred to in the gospels. Herod the Great, appointed by Rome in 37 BC, was the ruler of all the Palestinian lands of the Jews at the time Jesus was born. He died shortly thereafter in 4 BC. His son, Herod Antipas, is the “King Herod” refered to during the years of Jesus’ adulthood. He was not in fact a king but was the Tetrarch of approximately one-third of his father’s domain - namely Galilee and Perea - during the years 26-36 AD. His brothers Archelaus and Philip ruled the remainder.
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There are actually FOUR Herods mentioned in the New Testament. From the Navarre Bible:
  1. “King Herod”: four different Herods are mentioned in the New Testament. The first is Herod the Great, referred to in this passage and in the next; the second, his son, Herod Antipas, who had St. John the Baptist beheaded (Matthew 14:1-12) and who abused our Lord during His passion (Luke 23:7-11); the third, Herod Agrippa I, a nephew of Herod the Great, who executed the Apostle St. James the Greater (Acts 12:1-3), imprisoned St. Peter (Acts 12:4-7), and died suddenly and mysteriously (Acts 12:20-23). The fourth, Herod Agrippa II, was Herod Agrippa’s son. It was before him that St. Paul answered Jewish accusations when he was a prisoner in Caesarea (Acts 25:23).
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ugh…i’m embarrassed:o :o :o i thought there was only one Herod. The Bible can be a bit confusing, at times. I should read more of Biblical history, thank you for the link fidelis!! and thank you for the clarification everyone–you’re the best.🙂
 
Hi people 🙂

There were TWO Herod’s in Jesus’ life on earth: Herod of His birth & Herod of the passion. This is similar to the existence of TWO Pharaohs in Moses’ lifetime: Pharaoh of his infancy & Pharaoh of the Exodus. Evangelist Matthew highlights this amazing association between Moses & Jesus through the use of the word “enemy” in plural form while referring to the angel’s announcement of Herod’s death. To compare:

Exodus 4:19. And the Lord said to Moses, in Madian: Go, and return into Egypt; for they are all dead that sought thy life.

Matthew 2:19-20. But when Herod was dead, behold an angel of the Lord appeared in sleep to Joseph in Egypt, Saying: Arise, and take the child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel. For they are dead that sought the life of the child.

In both accounts, Egypt was a point of departure or arrival. Another similarity indicating God’s mysterious plan at work 😉

Peace to all,
Angelos N.
 
The 1st Herod, at the time of Jesus’ birth, was he not Jewish?

If he was, why was he not waiting for the Messiah, as all Jews are?

Why was he not happy when he heard that the Messiah had been born?

I know he didn’t want to lose his throne, so was the Messiah back then meant to rule the land as well, as in a civil leader as well ??
 
kellie said:
The 1st Herod, at the time of Jesus’ birth, was he not Jewish?

If he was, why was he not waiting for the Messiah, as all Jews are?

Why was he not happy when he heard that the Messiah had been born?

I know he didn’t want to lose his throne, so was the Messiah back then meant to rule the land as well, as in a civil leader as well ??
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Peace to you,

Neither Herod was Jewish or Hebrew. Both those rulers were Romans and probably pagans since the Holy Land had been under the Roman invasion at that time.

Since Herod was not Jewish, he by no means expected to see the Messiah. He primarily mocked & despised such a Jewish expectation since he did not believe in the promises of the God of Abraham!

He was not happy to hear that the Messiah had been born because that was bad news for him! He was devastated to see that such a promise had come true. More, the news was not announced by Jews, but by people that lived far off the Holy Land and had no primary notice of the biblical promise!

Herod could not have known that Jesus would not be a political figure calling Jews to insurrection! Almost every Jew at that time believed that the Messiah would be a real earthly king with much power & might like David. However, Jesus proclaimed the Kingdom of Heaven on earth, denying an earthly & temporary kingdom:

John 6:15. Jesus therefore, when he knew that they would come to take him by force and make him king, fled again into the mountains, himself alone.

John 18:36. Jesus answered: My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would certainly strive that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now my kingdom is not from hence.
 
whatevergirl said:
I How could Herod have wanted to ‘pay Jesus homage,’ upon hearing of His birth–but then turned skeptic towards the end? Are there any Scriptural passages that address the transition?

Interested in what you think??:confused:
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you did not read the rest of the story, Herod told the magi he wanted to pay the infant homage, his actions tell the real story, he ordered his soldiers to kill all the male children two years and under in Bethlehem to insure the infant was killed.

the Herod (Antipas) who was tetrarch of Galilee when Jesus was crucified was the son of the Herod of the infancy narriatives in the gospel, we just had a thread on that question around Christmas time.
 
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