Massacre of the Innocents

Few stories in the Bible are as terrible as the story of Herod murdering all the infants around Bethlehem following the visit by the Magi. When told of the newborn king, Herod sent troops to kill every boy 2 years old and younger. The Bible is unvarnished in its depiction of the evil found in the heart of mankind.

I saw this painting in a museum in Spain recently. The artist set the biblical story in a more modern setting, in the low countries of Europe in the late 1500s. A close view reveals the callous horror of the crime. I stood for several long minutes, soaking in the pain and loss. Visit the website of the museum, enlarge this painting and take a long look.

Here’s a reminder of what the spiritual forces in this world will do to keep Jesus from those he came to save. I’m reminded that although we “battle not against flesh and blood,” we certainly do battle. Sometimes our faith is challenging, and sometimes our faith involves life and death. Sometimes evil murders innocents. Understand the gravity of our faith. Gratefully, this is not how the story ends, but these stories are hard to deal with while we wait.