Holy—to be set apart for the purposes of God

Holiness—Being like Jesus

John 6:38

For I have come down from heaven to do the will of God who sent me, not to do my own will.

Unlike the manger, we get to choose whether or not we will be set apart for the purposes of God, whether or not we will be holy. 

Matthew 2:1–3

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem 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 in the east and have come to worship him.” When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him.

Matthew 2:7–8

Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”

Matthew 2:16

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 . . .

• It actually happened.
• It reveals something essential.

Genesis 6:5

The Lord saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time.

Jeremiah 17:9

The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure.

Mark 7:21–23

For from within, out of a person’s heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. All these vile things come from within; they are what defile you.”

King Herod’s reaction to Jesus is more familiar to me than any other character’s reaction in the Christmas story. 

If you want to be king, and someone else comes along saying he is king, then one of you has to surrender.

Luke 14:26

“If you want to be my disciple, you must, by comparison, hate everyone else—your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple.

Romans 8:7

…the sinful mind is hostile to God.

Romans 8:6–7

So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. For the sinful nature is always hostile to God.

I sought the things God could give me—love, forgiveness and happiness, but I did not seek God himself.

I was seeking God as I wanted him to be, but not as he reveals Himself in Scripture.

This dark episode of King Herod’s violent lust for power points to our natural resistance to, even hatred of, the claims of God on our lives. We create gods of our liking to mask our own hostility to the real God, who reveals himself as our absolute King.

--Tim Keller

Where is the true king?

In every heart . . . there is a “little King Herod” that wants to rule and that is threatened by anything that may compromise its omnipotence and sovereignty. Each of us want to be the captain of our own soul, the master of our fate.

--Tim Keller