The Christmas villain

Children’s nativity plays, up and down the land, are blessed with many roles, allowing for a good number of children to take part.

Sometimes there are too many children for parts, so we might include a donkey, a cow and an underage bartender.

As a child, I have a vivid memory of being given the role of an Eskimo. I never thought to ask whether an Eskimo actually appears in the Christmas story, but I had an inkling that teachers were anxious to include every pupil.

While many children would like to be Mary or Joseph, others might want to play Herod the Great. There is something appealing about playing the part of a baddie, and as villains go Herod is near the top. In fact, as the years have passed, we have learned more and more about Herod. The wealth of archaeological and literary evidence all sheds light on the reliability and plausibility of the gospel accounts.

The name of Herod can be confusing in the New Testament, as six members of the Herodian dynasty are mentioned, five of them by the name Herod. Herod Antipas was infamous for the beheading of John the Baptist and met with Jesus at his trial. Herod Agrippa II, before whom Paul would stand trial in Acts 25, was the last king of the dynasty.

Herod the Great was the founder of this dynasty (72–4 BC). He became king of Judea in 37 BC after his appointment by the Roman Senate. He was the king in the nativity story who ordered the massacre of the children of Bethlehem (Matt. 2). Since Herod died in 4 BC, we know that Jesus must have been born some time before that year.

Archaeological evidence for Herod the Great is vast. Many of the most stunning architectural works that a visitor to modern Israel sees can be attributed to the immense building works of his reign.

He built the great aqueduct of Caesarea Maritima, rebuilt the Second Temple of Jerusalem, constructed great palace-fortresses such as Masada, and renovated the Pool of Siloam. To visit the remains of his works at Hebron or Herodium still evokes awe.

The recent discovery of the tomb of Herod the Great, including his sarcophagus, further illustrates the power and wealth of this significant figure. Josephus, the Jewish historian, records many details of Herod’s reign that confirm the Biblical description. Power, megalomania, murder of opponents – all hallmarks of his character.

Because there is no external literary reference to the ‘slaughter of the innocents’ in Bethlehem, it is common for sceptical critics to dismiss Matthew’s work as fiction. But only a few events in the life of Herod have been recorded – and what has been recorded is certainly consistent with what we read in Matthew.

The murders of opponents, including immediate family, are attested throughout his life and his final years were marked by what a 2007 academic article describes as ‘Paranoid Personality Disorder.’ Josephus records that Herod had Jewish leaders rounded up at his death and taken to Jericho. Knowing how hated he was, he intended that they all be executed so that he could ensure there would be mourning in the land at his passing. The records show that he was so reviled that the order was not even carried out.

The picture of Herod the Great in the Gospels is entirely consistent with what we know from elsewhere. It is true that the Gospels provide even more details – such as the order to massacre the infants of Bethlehem. Why did Josephus not record it? Perhaps Herod’s soldiers never carried it out. Given that Bethlehem’s population at the time of the nativity is estimated to have been less than 1,000, the number of infants would have been so small that it would have barely registered among the many crimes of Herod. But there is no reason to doubt that Matthew provides a historical record.

The nativity plays performed over this season will continue to remind us of the tale of two kings called ‘great’. Herod the Great was great for worldly power, wealth, injustice and evil. King Jesus is great in heavenly power, peace, wisdom and goodness: two real people of history, but one belongs to the past; only Jesus remains relevant today.

*Picture: Massacre Of The Innocents from the New Testament shown in an image on a medieval 16th century stained glass window panel. The image shows a Roman soldier slaughtering a boy child on the orders of Herod.