The Massacre of the Innocents

Furious that the Magi didn't return, Herod orders the execution of all boys in Bethlehem two years old and under, based on the timing the wise men had given him. It's one of the darkest moments in the Christmas story — a brutal act of political violence that fulfills Jeremiah's prophecy of Rachel weeping for her children. The horror of it underscores just how threatening this baby was to earthly power.