Evil Exists

Read: Mathew 2:16-18

 The Holocaust

World Wars

The Columbine High School Massacre

9/11

The Virginia Tech Shooting

Sandy Hook

The Boston Marathon bombing

King Herod didn’t have a monopoly on evil. It’s just as prevalent today as it was some two thousand years ago. Still, this wicked king made a notorious name for himself in the history books. 

Herod was a Roman-appointed ruler. Although he was a practicing Jew, he was by no means what we would consider devout. In some ways, though, he was a good ruler. He increased the prosperity of the area in which he reigned and was responsible for building fortresses, aqueducts, and many other buildings, most notably the temple. However, his successes did little to abate his paranoia and his cruelty, both of which seemed to grow worse as he aged. Before dying an agonizing death that was at least partially caused from gangrene of the genitalia, Herod killed his wife, a few sons, and many others.

Countless grieving parents were among those left in the wake of his violence.

After Jesus’s birth, it seems that Mary and Joseph settled for a time in Bethlehem. As we all know from our Christmas stories, wise men followed a star to see the young Jesus. Unfortunately, they made a stop in Jerusalem and visited the reigning king. King Herod put on his best poker face and asked the wise men to return when they found the King of the Jews so that he too could worship the baby King.

After meeting and bestowing gifts on Jesus, the wise men heeded an angel’s warning and did not return to Herod’s castle. Joseph and Mary were forewarned and went into hiding as well. What happened next is part of the Christmas story that we rarely talk about. In fact, I would venture to say it’s a part of Jesus’s story that is often completely ignored.

As the holy family escaped to Egypt, Herod, realizing that he had been deceived, threw a fit. He sent his soldiers to Bethlehem and massacred every boy who was two years old or younger.

Can you imagine the horror? Can you imagine the grief?

This part of the nativity raises eyebrows and more than a few questions. Just like evil, the question isn’t new.

  • Why did God allow Herod to massacre the innocent children?

  • Why didn’t He stop the Holocaust?

  • Why did He sit idly by while the planes flew into the Twin Towers?

  • Why does God allow such bad things to happen?

  • Why do evil events take place?

The truth is this—God does not always deliver us from evil on this earth. It’s something that most of us have a hard time swallowing.

Here’s the simple answer. When sin entered the world, it set in course evil that would reverberate throughout the rest of history. Until the time when God wipes away all evil forever and creates all things new, bad things will happen.

Of course, God can stop these things, but He doesn’t, at least not always. God is a God of love. Yet, He allows unthinkable horrors. God is a God of mercy, but innocent people still suffer and die. I know that it sounds contradictory, and to our human brains, it is.  

These are issues that Mary and Joseph must have faced as word got back to them of the slaughter they escaped. Whether you are asking the question because of a personal tragedy or because of something you have witnessed on the ten-o-clock news, it’s a question we all have to answer.

What do we do when God doesn’t make sense?

The answer always involves faith.

Faith is believing in things you can’t see, feel, or touch. It’s trusting even when circumstances don’t work out the way you think they should. It’s accepting that God is who He says He is even when all evidence seems contrary to that fact.

Isaiah 26:3 tells us, “You (God) will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!”

There is no need for faith if everything is already fixed. It’s easy enough to say we believe in God when everything works out according to our plans. It’s much tougher when life seems complicated and evil seems to win.

That’s why we need to take a lesson from the life of Mary and Joseph. We must obediently trust even when it’s tough. We must hold on to hope even when we feel hopeless, and we must always lean heavily upon the knowledge of God’s love. Then, we will know the peace of God now and the promises of a brighter future in eternity.   

Read Tricia’s blog, “Finding Peace in a Painful World.”