a friend I have been. That’s what I shall be to you. Octavian, no stranger to realpolitik, reaffirmed Herod’s place as king of the Jews. For Herod, the news of what had happened, and what it meant in terms of what would shortly happen, created a challenge to which he responded by casting himself on the mercy of the one who would now become king. It worked. Good news creates a new situation and calls for new decisions.
