Herod the Great in Matthew 2: Rage and the Child
Matthew 2 introduces Herod the Great as a frightened king who meets the news of Jesus with deceit and slaughter. The passage keeps its focus on God, who preserves the child through dreams and flight and fulfills the prophets even through a ruler's rage.
Matthew 2:16–18: Herod's Rage and Rachel's Grief
Matthew does not explain why God permits children to suffer. He shows what a frightened ruler's rage did, and he keeps the weeping of Rachel in view without silencing it.
Why Did God Let Herod Kill the Babies?
Matthew does not tell us why God permitted Herod's slaughter of the children of Bethlehem. He tells us who did it, and he says God had spoken of such grief long before it happened.
Isaiah 53: The Suffering Servant Who Bears Sin
Isaiah 53 presents one servant of Yahweh who is rejected, wounded, and dies as an offering for sin, then is vindicated and satisfied. The New Testament writers point to Jesus as that servant.