Day Eight: A Tale of Two Kings

We began today in Jerusalem, ascending to the Temple Mount. It is impossible not to be overwhelmed by the scale of what King Herod constructed here. Nearly twenty-seven American football fields in size, it would have been the largest temple platform in the ancient world. Herod leveled mountains and raised up walls, moving stones of unimaginable size, one weighing 570 tons.It rests some thirty feet in the air. How he did it, no one can say. Herod was a man who built monuments to power.

From there we traveled to the Herodium, Herod’s fortress-palace in the Judean wilderness. He literally made a mountain where no mountain existed, raising up earth to create his stronghold. Here he sought security, glory, and control. Yet under the shadow of this artificial mountain, Matthew’s Gospel introduces another king.

This king came not with fortresses or armies, but with humility. He did not bribe emperors, execute rivals, or build cities to immortalize his name. He emptied himself (Philippians 2:7). He arrived not in a marble palace but in a crowded cave, laid in a manger once used for animals. Magi followed His star. Shepherds heard heaven’s song and came running in the night.

Here Matthew sets two kings side by side.

    •             One kills to keep power; the other dies to give life.

    •             One fills the land with monuments; the other fills the world with disciples.

    •             One’s deathbed reeked with decay; the other’s empty tomb declares incorruption and resurrection.

Matthew asks us the question: Which king will you serve? Which king will truly reign? The answer resounds through history and eternity alike, Jesus is King.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, You are the true King. Strip us of the false kingdoms we cling to, the monuments of pride we try to build. Teach us to walk in Your humility, to serve in Your love, and to live under Your reign. Amen.

“Herod sought to be king of the Jews; Christ came to be King of the world.” – F. B. Meyer

For the King,

Jerrell