Why would Herod be so afraid of one child? Because he understood the “power of one.” In Herod’s day, for 1500 years the story of Moses had given testimony of what “one” can do. After all, he was “one baby boy who got away,” but he led Israel out of captivity and back into the Promised Land.

What, then, might this recently born “one” do?

What This Means to Me… and You

Sometimes — for the average American especially — its difficult to comprehend what a find like this means. Our history is relatively young. As Christians, even, it might be a little confusing. What does this have to do with me? Allow me to explain:

Herod believed — fervently believed — in his own press. History and archeological sites in Israel prove this beyond doubting. But Herod could not succeed against the plans of the Lord. Though he may have gone to his tomb believing that he’d done so, Christians will come with a different knowledge and faith: knowledge in the sovereignty of a living God and faith in a baby boy who grew to be the “King of the Jews.”

The Irony

Ironically, there are two places in Israel that commemorate the “tomb of Jesus.” And both of them are empty.

Truly, no man — no matter how great he thinks he is — can thwart the plans of God.

Eva Marie Everson is a regular contributor to Crosswalk.com. She is an award-winning author of numerous books and is currently writing a work about Israel for Thomas Nelson with her friend Miriam Feinberg Vamosh, based on articles written about Israel in 2002 for Crosswalk.com. www.EvaMarieEverson.com

Miriam Feinberg Vamosh is the author of Women at the Time of the Bible (in press); Food in the Bible: from Adam’s Apple to the Last Supper; the best-selling Daily Life at the Time of Jesus; Israel, Land of the Bible (Palphot) and Pathways Through The Land of the Hart (Gefen). She is also the author of numerous articles on Holy Land history and lore, and guides to Israel’s heritage sites. She a veteran tour educator specializing in Christian pilgrimage. A native of Trenton, New Jersey, Miriam, has lived in Israel since 1970.

Photo Captions

1 (Lead article image). Excavating the foundations of Herod's tomb, Monday, May 7. (Doron Nissim)

2. The rosette and other finely worked pieces found so far and an artist's reconstruction of the appearance of the kingly sarcophagus they came from. (Courtesy Hebrew University)

3. Professor Ehud Netzer, center (in red shirt), and colleagues, on the podium of Herod's tomb, Monday, May 6. (Doron Nissim)

4. Herodian (Doron Nissim)

Photo Credits

Doron Nissim ( www.pbase.com/doronnissim/profile ) is the official photographer for the Israel Nature and Parks Authority