The War Against Christ - Herod's Killing Spree

 "Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old and under, according to the time he had ascertained from the wise men." Matthew 2:16

Couldn't we linger longer on the birth of Jesus, the shepherds and wise men worshipping Him and the angels praising Him with glorious song? Why speak of these ghastly details, Matthew? 

"If we skipped these verses, we would be missing something that Matthew wants to tell us. Embedded in Matthew's Gospel from the very beginning is the message that Jesus the Savior is for all the nations. Matthew begins with the Savior's family tree punctuated by Gentile women, tells us about Gentile scholars from the East seeking Him, and then records Jesus Himself being carried to the land of Egypt. And the Gospel ends with Him sending His apostles to make disciples of 'all nations.' His birth has worldwide significance. To use the language of Revelation, Jesus has come so that 'Satan...might not deceive the nations any longer' (Revelation 20:2-3). 

It is against this background that Matthew records how Satan tempted Jesus (Matt. 4:1-11); how one of His own disciples sought to divert Him (16:21-23); how religious leaders plotted against Him (21:45; 26:3-5); how another of His disciples betrayed Him (26:14-16); and eventually how His enemies, spiritually blinded, crucified the Lord of glory (26:47 - 27:50; 1 Corinthians 2:9). 

We have seen the explanation for this. At the center of Matthew's Gospel stands Jesus' vision statement:    'I will build my church!' (Matt. 16:18). He does this on enemy-occupied territory in the face of the 'gates of Hell.' (look into Mount Hermon and Caesarea Philipi and the incredibly wicked practices that went on there - Caesarea Phillipi). Jesus didn't want His followers hiding from evil. He wanted them to storm the gates of Hell. He was commissioning them to a huge task: to attack evil, and to build the Church on the very places that were most filled with moral corruption and wickedness. And He assures us, the gates of Hell 'shall not prevail.'

But it will not be for want of trying. Herod's murder of these little boys tells us how vicious Satan's opposition to Jesus is. This was the opening salvo of a war that would be waged against our Lord for the rest of His life. Herod himself was but a lieutenant in the history-long strategy of Satan to prevent Jesus accomplishing what He came into the world to do: namely, 'save His people from their sins' (1:21).

Taken from The Dawn of Redeeming Grace by Sinclair B. Ferguson