On January 11, the church honors the memory of the first Christian martyrs, innocent infants killed on the orders of King Herod.
Martyr means “witness” in Greek. This was the name of the dead Christians, which testified to Christ. But the first martyrs were too small to bear witness. Their testimony is special, they told about Jesus through their death.
The reason for their untimely death was the king of the Jews Herod.
Sages from the East in search of a newborn king came to Herod for help. Fortunately, he was not very fond of religion and did not know anything about predicting the coming of the Messiah. The cunning king decided to use sages to get more information. But they were warned by the angel, and after worshiping and giving gifts, they returned home by another way.
The only information Herod could find in the holy books was that the Savior would be born in Bethlehem. To secure his throne, Herod decided to do something terrible. He ordered the slaughter of all the infants in Bethlehem and its surroundings. And in order not to be mistaken, he ordered to kill not only newborns, but also older children, up to 2 years old.
This incident became news throughout the Middle East. Thus, indirectly confirming the coming of the Savior.
Man can make plans, but only God can make them happen. Herod’s plan didn’t work. How could he? The Lord sent his Son to save the world from sin; it was not Herod who decided the fate of such a child. An angel of God warned Joseph and he took his family to Egypt. They stayed there for several years until Herod died, eaten alive by the worms.
Theologians believe that the figure of 14 thousand children has a symbolic meaning. It is unlikely that in all tiny Judea there would be so many babies. In Bethlehem, even more so. But clearly Herod would not have stopped any number of children.
The children of Bethlehem received a martyr’s crown. They are saved in heaven by the grace of God.
On this day, it is customary to pray not only for them, but also for all unborn children, babies who died prematurely, for the victims of abortion.
The story of Herod teaches us to accept God’s will and not try to direct our procession according to our own understanding. And the story of infants shows that Christ can be served both by life and death.
Days of Remembrance
January 11
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