The events of Matthew 2 foreshadow the opposition to the authority of Jesus that would continue throughout his life and even right through church history. When Jesus comes to us, he comes with an absolute claim over our lives. If you choose to obstinately hold on to goals and dreams that are not of God, then you will naturally see Jesus as a threat. A lot of people feel threatened by Jesus. Herod was a very ambitious man. He wanted to be a great king like Solomon, so he mimicked Solomon by making extravagant renovations to the temple. He did this to try and win the respect of the people, but the Jews continued to despise him, which only made him more desperate to hold onto power. So, it is not surprising that we find Herod willing to destroy all the baby boys in Bethlehem to eradicate any potential rivals, particularly if they happened to be legitimate candidates for the throne. The fact that foreign dignitaries, guided by a star, were coming to pay homage to a newborn king in Judea made it all the more evident to Herod that this rival was probably the real deal. You would think that Herod would be afraid to defy God like this. But he had his ambitions, and he was prepared to fight God for them. He had, after all, killed some of his own sons for similar reasons. Be careful of your ambitions lest they put you in conflict with God. Selfish ambition is the hardest thing to yield over to God, but it is also the thing that is most oppressive to us.
Yield all your dreams and ambitions over to God and find freedom from the things that oppress you.
Read Matthew 2.
