Read: Matthew 2:1-6, 16-18 (King Herod)
Have you ever known a bully? Someone who pushed other people around and tried to make themselves greater by making everyone else feel less? The biggest bully on the block in Israel during the first century was a man named Herod. Herod was a ruthless man who was always paranoid that someone else would take his position or power. Herod’s fear of losing power caused him to go into a full panic when he heard that someone was born (Jesus) who was the promised Messiah. Amazingly, Herod tried to kill all the baby boys in Bethlehem around the time of Jesus birth, but God protected Jesus’s life. King Herod took the lives of many. The King of Kings (Jesus Christ) would give His life to provide forgiveness and eternal life for all who would receive Him.
Question of the Day: What are ways in which you (or people you know) act like Herod sometimes? (Maybe not act as BAD as Herod did, but try to take things from people instead of giving life to others?)