I would encourage people to follow along with our sermon series at http://www.parkhillschurch.com for more on Luke. With these posts, I will try to focus on unique things I’ve learned along the way.

The closing years of Herod the Great’s life were desperate and paranoid. Many in his family and service were left either dead or fearing for their lives. He was Idumean (not Jewish) and wealthy due to the trade routes that went through Palestine, a region under Roman control, but allowed a king as long as things stayed quiet. Herod was connected with Marc Antony and Cleopatra and had to explain himself after Augustus (Octavian) won the war and emperorship. He did so and was allowed to rule yet under the authority of Rome. His massive wealth allowed for significant building projects at Masada, Herodium and of course the temple.

He was known for creating massive palaces and fortresses with huge swimming pools. He was eccentric and Jewish in faith (though condemned by the Sanhedrin for his ways). He was an enigma and caused fear. It should be no surprise that he tries to eliminate the baby King by slaughtering children in Bethlehem – killing one’s own children would certainly be harder than commanding soldiers to eliminate someone else’s child.