HOPE OF ALL THE EARTH
Outwitted
December 23, 2025
SCRIPTURE
MATTHEW 2:1-2, 7, 12, 16
After Jesus was born in Bethelehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him."... Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared.... And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.... When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi.
MATTHEW 2:1-2, 7, 12, 16
After Jesus was born in Bethelehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him."... Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared.... And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.... When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi.
Part of the purpose of including the Magi in the incarnation story is to show that the gospel is never, ever exclusive. Prevailing thought said that when Messiah came, he would come as the saviour of the Jewish people, and they would finally be elevated to their rightful place above all others. The Magi show us that from the very beginning of the life of Christ on earth, his message was for all people. His love is so extravagant that it cannot be limited or contained.
The love of God always draws, always invites, always embraces. It makes room at the table for us—whoever we've been, whatever we've done, however we've failed or fallen. And if that love welcomes us, if it embraces us—how could we think to exclude anyone else? How could we think to deny anyone else the same welcome we've received? How could we think we have the right to shut the door in someone's face when that same door has been flung wide open to draw us in?
We all know people who are not easy to love. Herod was not easy to love. Considered a brutal tyrant by his peers, his slaughter of the boys in Bethlehem was very much in character. He murdered members of his own family, including his wife, in order to secure his reign, so killing peasant children he had never met would not have bothered him in the least.
Herod was unlovely; by any reasonable measurement, he was unlovable. Yet Christ came for Herod's sake too. Christ lived, died, rose again, ascended into heaven, and will one day return to make all things right for Herod--and for all the Herods of the world.
God loves the unlovely and the unlovable. He loves those who seem to go out of their way to escape his love, to render themselves outside his love, to make themselves immune to his love.
That means there's hope for all the Herods in our lives--even if it turns out those Herods might be ourselves. There's hope for all of us! We have all been guilty of unloveliness. Through word or thought, feeling or deed, we have all proven our inadequate, misdirected, disordered love. We have lived what Martin Luther would call lives curved in on ourselves. Yet we remain utterly, desperately loved by God.
No one is beyond the reach of God's love. No one has done too much or gone too far or fallen too low. There is always room in the story of salvation—because there is always room in the heart of God—for people like me, and you, and Herod. God's love is for all of us, and it is for all of them--even our enemies and opposites and irritants.
The love of God always draws, always invites, always embraces. It makes room at the table for us—whoever we've been, whatever we've done, however we've failed or fallen. And if that love welcomes us, if it embraces us—how could we think to exclude anyone else? How could we think to deny anyone else the same welcome we've received? How could we think we have the right to shut the door in someone's face when that same door has been flung wide open to draw us in?
We all know people who are not easy to love. Herod was not easy to love. Considered a brutal tyrant by his peers, his slaughter of the boys in Bethlehem was very much in character. He murdered members of his own family, including his wife, in order to secure his reign, so killing peasant children he had never met would not have bothered him in the least.
Herod was unlovely; by any reasonable measurement, he was unlovable. Yet Christ came for Herod's sake too. Christ lived, died, rose again, ascended into heaven, and will one day return to make all things right for Herod--and for all the Herods of the world.
God loves the unlovely and the unlovable. He loves those who seem to go out of their way to escape his love, to render themselves outside his love, to make themselves immune to his love.
That means there's hope for all the Herods in our lives--even if it turns out those Herods might be ourselves. There's hope for all of us! We have all been guilty of unloveliness. Through word or thought, feeling or deed, we have all proven our inadequate, misdirected, disordered love. We have lived what Martin Luther would call lives curved in on ourselves. Yet we remain utterly, desperately loved by God.
No one is beyond the reach of God's love. No one has done too much or gone too far or fallen too low. There is always room in the story of salvation—because there is always room in the heart of God—for people like me, and you, and Herod. God's love is for all of us, and it is for all of them--even our enemies and opposites and irritants.
QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION OR DISCUSSION
Think about the adage that those who need love the most often ask for it in the most unloving ways. What makes us capable of loving unlovable people? Why try at all?
When have you been the unlovable person (perhaps even the Herod) in someone else's life?
Think about the adage that those who need love the most often ask for it in the most unloving ways. What makes us capable of loving unlovable people? Why try at all?
When have you been the unlovable person (perhaps even the Herod) in someone else's life?
PRAYER
Write a prayer asking God to help you learn how to recognize and offer love to those deemed unlovable.
Write a prayer asking God to help you learn how to recognize and offer love to those deemed unlovable.