Biblical Nations - Jewish Herodians

Herodians

Key Scripture: Mark 3:6

Figures: Herod the Great, Archelaus, Antipas, Philip, Agrippa I, Agrippa II

This week we're going to deviate a bit from our study of nations in the Bible to begin looking at some people groups within the Jewish nation that played a part in the New Testament story.  As is the case during modern times, not everyone within a particular nation could agree on their philosophy or ultimate societal goals.  Politics existed even in the first century, after all, and exerted influence on the individuals we read about in Scripture.  Sometimes unusual coalitions were formed among those who disagreed when a common enemy appeared, and Jesus Christ led a group that would eventually threaten the positions and authority of a great many civil leaders.  To lead off, we'll investigate a group known as the Herodians.

The Jews who existed in the first century AD were under the control of the Roman Empire, but had experienced foreign rule for the majority of the previous five centuries.  It was under the Greek rule instituted by Alexander the Great that a single language became the de facto language of the known world: a dialect known as Koine Greek.  The culture that was spread was so radically different from anything previously found in the Middle East that it created a schism in the population between those who maintained the old way of life and those that embraced the ways of Greece, and later of Rome.  Those who were ethnically, but no longer culturally, Jews were referred to as being Hellenized - not merely acting as Greeks but speaking their language as well.  Among those Hellenized Jews were those who supported the local leadership that had been put in place, or at least saw their rule as an avenue for personal or collective benefit.  The family of Herod the Great spawned an entire political faction of those who supported and sought to extend their rule. 

Having been governor of Galilee for roughly a decade, Herod the Great eventually ascended to the "throne" in approximately 37 BC when he was named King of Judea by the Roman Senate, ending the Hasmonian dynasty in Jerusalem.  With an Idumean (Edomite) father and Nabatean mother, Herod was a different race than the bulk of those he ruled.  Although he had been raised in the Jewish religious tradition his reign did not fully embrace their commands and customs, although he did ingratiate himself with his pious subjects by initiating a massive expansion of the Second Temple.  It is generally understood that he secured his rule more through military and might than by diplomacy or tact.  He is remembered by history for his slaughter of the innocents, as recorded in the Gospels, so being named as "Great" is not necessarily a positive moniker.  Nevertheless, the Herodians (some of whom were likely related or otherwise affiliated with the tyrant) saw a benefit in keeping his family in charge as well as promoting Greco-Roman culture. 

Scripture first mentions this group in Mark 3, and just as Herod tried to kill Jesus as a baby his supporters joined forces with the Pharisees to eliminate the individual who presumably threatened their position.  It was an unlikely match for such a secular group to take sides with the keepers of Mosaic law, but this was clearly a first-century instance of a common foe creating strange bedfellows.  Herodians once again appear in the Gospels as they attempt to trick or discredit Jesus by asking questions without an obvious answer that would be welcomed by his listeners.  Perhaps these Hellenized Jews saw a strong political leader as a kind of savior for their people that had been oppressed, but Jesus warned the disciples that their actions were corrupt "leaven" that would continue to spread if not avoided.  Eventually Jesus was crucified, visiting Herod's son Antipas during his trial, which would seem to indicate his enemies got their way except the ruling dynasty failed to survive the first century and Jerusalem was crushed in AD 70 by future Roman Emperor Titus.  With the death of Herod Antipas II, either in AD 92 or 100, the aspirations of the Herodians officially ended and the group faded into history.