"Herod"

INTRO: Today is the day we know as Epiphany day. Let me introduce this day from a message I did some years ago to help us understand why we commemorate this day. “The day we commemorate on January the sixth is called Ephiphany from the Greek word epiphaneia, meaning manifestation. It is one of the three oldest traditional festival days celebrated by Christians. These three are Christmas, Easter and Epiphany. In the West Epiphany commemorates the first manifestation of Jesus to the Gentiles, namely the magi or wisemen of the East. Apparently, in the Eastern churches it also commemorates His manifestation of divinity at His baptism. But in the West it commemorates the visit of the magi.”

On this day we commemorate the visit of the Magi, the first Gentiles to see Jesus. Here Christ was first manifested, epiphania, to the Gentiles. Let us go to Matthew 2 to see this manifestation (read 2:1-12). What I want to do this morning is show us some of the political scene into which Jesus Christ was born. We will do this by taking a look at this man named Herod, of whom we have just read. I am modifying a message I did a good number of years ago.