16 When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. 17 Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:
18 “A voice is heard in Ramah,
weeping and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children
and refusing to be comforted,
because they are no more.”
These three verses refer to what has traditionally been known as the “Massacre of the Innocents.” There is considerable scholarly debate over the historicity of the event, as Matthew is the only Gospel to record it. Regardless, Herod was by all accounts a really bad guy, murdering multiple family members (wives and offspring) perceived as threats to his throne, drowning a priest, unsuccessfully planning the execution of all the Jewish religious leaders, and committing numerous other such atrocities during his reign.
Verse 18 in this passage is a quote from the prophet Jeremiah, aptly named “the weeping prophet.” Prophesying for almost 40 years, he endured a tremendous amount of suffering and was subject to great persecution in his own town, often from those he knew. He was constantly warning people of the consequences of turning from God, and prophesied of Judah’s destruction, which eventually would come true with Babylonian captivity. I highly encourage you to read chapter 31, from where this passage in Matthew is taken. It is a beautiful picture of God’s mercy and redemption. God speaks to His people and says “You survived the sword? You cried out for salvation and deliverance? You’re surrounded by evil? You mourn and find no comfort? Here’s what I will do: I will build you up again. I’ll lead you where you won’t stumble. You’ll plant vineyards, you’ll dance, you’ll be filled with joy, and you’ll sorrow no more.”
Scripture has a lot to say about suffering and redemption, and sometimes not in the way we think, or at least what we may have been “cultured” into. If you read the Psalms for instance, you’ll notice that most of them spend about 80% of the time complaining to God, or against God, asking God where He is, or why He’s not doing anything, or why He’s not addressing suffering and evil. And then near the end there is a turn, essentially “Yet You are my God, and I will praise you still.” There’s one Psalm (88) that has no such resolution. And of course there is an entire book (Lamentations - credited to Jeremiah) which could be an instruction manual for Christian lament and response to suffering.
Most all of us (mercifully) have not had to endure the unbearable loss of a child. Tragically some have, and we cannot imagine it. However, the law of incarnation is the law of suffering. ALL of us born and who live experience it at one time or another, in some capacity, small and great. It’s common for Christians to be dismissive of suffering as merely “refinement in the fire,” or perhaps hold a belief rooted in “punishment for something done to offend God,” or maybe worst of all “consequences for a severe lack of faith.” All of us are looking for an end to suffering, a pain-free existence, a way to make meaning out of it. Often though in scripture we are pointed to an ultimate redemption that happens not in this lifetime. It’s largely accepted that after Jerusalem fell, Jeremiah remained there for a time, but eventually was taken to Egypt, where he continued to prophesy until his death. He never saw the restoration of Israel. He didn’t even return to his home after he left. Nevertheless, he lived with the belief that God would not merely punish evil - but that God, in His divine justice and mercy, will overcome evil with good.
This is God’s same promise to us. In the Advent waiting, in the quiet Christmas incarnation, in the Lenten mortal suffering, in the Passion sadness, there is Easter resurrection.
So let us weep and mourn, let us not seek to escape suffering, let it be OK to be sad, but let us never be those who “grieve without hope.” Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, who is even now making all things new, so that we can “boast in the hope of the glory of God” and “also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us” (Romans 5:3-5).
