Luke 23:6-12 * Midweek Lent 4,
PERSONALITIES OF THE PASSION:
HEROD
Dear Friends in Christ,
The first personality we considered during this series was Jesus. He, of course, is the center of this season, and it is His passion we gratefully remember during Lent. From Jesus we moved to Judas, the disciple who betrayed Him. Last week we considered Peter, the disciple who denied Him.
Tonight we step outside the ring of Christ and His disciples and focus on a man who, at least in title, was considered the King of the Jews. His name is Herod.
Continuing the pattern we’ve established, we’ll begin with a thumbnail sketch, move to the part he played in the passion of Christ, and conclude with the lessons we can learn from him…
The very first order of business is to determine which Herod we’re talking about, because historically the name “Herod” is affixed to a number of men who “ruled” (with Roman permission) the Holy Land or parts of it during Bible times. There are a bunch of them, but for our purposes it will be helpful to know that there are four specific Herods recorded for us in Scripture, each one of which had a definite impact on Christianity. We’ll begin with an overview and then narrow it down to the Herod of our text.
The first Herod we come into contact with is known as “Herod
the Great.” The tail end of his rule
corresponded with the birth of Jesus Christ.
Herod the Great was the one who ordered the slaughter of the babies in
One of these sons, and the one who became ruler over the
area of
The third Herod referred to in the New Testament is Herod
Agrippa. This Herod eventually
became king over all of the
The final Herod we should be aware of is Herod Agrippa’s
son, who, not surprisingly, goes by the name of Herod Agrippa II. We also hear about him in the Book of
Acts. You may recall that at one time
the Apostle Paul had been unjustly imprisoned. As a Roman citizen he appealed
his case to the highest court in the empire.
This would eventually lead to a voyage to
That, then, is a brief overview of the Herods that are important in Scripture. Let’s circle back to the Herod of our text, Herod Antipas…
What do we know about him? Of interest is the fact that although he called himself the King of the Jews, he did not have a drop of Jewish blood in him. So he wasn’t really a peoples’ king, and had to rely on other resources to stay in power. To that end, history characterizes him as all the other Herods. He was enterprising and keen of intellect, but also immoral and willing to do whatever needed to be done to protect his interests. For example, Herod Antipas is the one who had John the Baptist put to death.
Let’s briefly review that account. Herod Antipas had fallen for a woman named Herodias, the wife of his half-brother Philip (also known as Herod), and began to take up with her. This presented three problems. Number one – Herodias was still married to Philip. Number two – Herod was married to someone else at the time. And number three – marrying a brother’s wife while that brother was still alive was a violation of God’s Old Testament law.
As far as Herod and Herodias were concerned, these were messy but minor details. But John the Baptist didn’t think so. He openly and boldly spoke about Herod’s sin and publicly called him to repentance. Herod responded by throwing John in prison.
Herodias wasn’t too crazy about John’s pronouncements either. One night at a party her daughter, Salome, delighted Herod with a dance so much that he promised her just about anything. When Salome conferred with Herodias as to what she should ask for, Mom told her to demand the head of John the Baptist. And although he knew it was wrong, Herod complied. But this didn’t put the matter to rest. In fact, it only made it worse…
Some time later, when Herod heard of Jesus and the work He was doing, Scripture tells us he made this remark: “This is John the Baptist! He is risen from the dead!” These would seem to be the words of a man with a guilty conscience; a man who knew he had shed innocent blood.
But although these words indicate Herod had been told of Jesus, it was not until the event we have before us that he actually met Him. Let’s turn to it now…
“On hearing this,
Pilate asked if the man was a Galilean.
When he learned that Jesus was under Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent him
to Herod, who was also at
“When Herod saw Jesus, he was greatly pleased because for a long time he had been wanting to see him. From what he had heard about him, he hoped to see him perform some miracle.” Herod’s desire to see Jesus was anything but in the interest of justice. Herod wanted to be entertained. He had heard about Christ and His miracles. Now was the chance for a private showing – up close and personal. So…
“He plied him with
many questions, but Jesus gave him no answer.
The chief priests and teachers of the law were standing there,
vehemently accusing him.” Isaiah
53:7 comes to mind: “He was oppressed and afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as
a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.”
Having received no magic show and no answers, our text continues: “Then Herod and his soldiers ridiculed and mocked him. Dressing him in an elegant robe, they sent him back to Pilate.” Herod was probably too scared to condemn Jesus – his conscience still haunted by the specter of John the Baptist – but he was also too put off to acquit him since his perverse curiosity had not been satisfied. So he and his guards ridiculed the Lord of Lords and treated with contempt the One who would soon hang on the cross to wash away their sins, as well as the sins of the whole world.
Upon completion of that demeaning little exercise, they sent him back to Pilate. Our text ends with this final piece of information: “That day Herod and Pilate became friends – before that they had been enemies.” Why they had been enemies we don’t know. In Luke 13 we’re told that Pilate executed some of Herod’s subjects (probably for political reasons). Perhaps that was the basis for their hostility. At any rate, all tension came to an end that day with the shuffling back and forth of the Savior of the world.
What part did Herod Antipas play in the passion of Jesus Christ? In his judicial shallowness and surface understanding of who Jesus was and what He came to do, in his self-serving desire to have Jesus perform a miracle at his command and then his mocking dismissal of Christ when the Lord refused to do so, Herod may be the most contemptible figure in the passion history. If Judas embodied betrayal and Peter represented denial, Herod is the passion poster child for the term “despicable.”
Nevertheless, we can learn from him. I believe there is one great lesson we can draw from this man and this incident. It is this: Beware of judging the Lord or making a determination about His effectiveness on the basis of outward results.
Herod was a sign-seeker. We don’t know what’s going on in his head, but maybe he said to himself: “I’ll believe all this stuff about Jesus being God when I see him prove it.” When he didn’t get what he wanted or expected, he simply dismissed Jesus – both physically and spiritually.
Again the lesson: Let us beware of judging the Lord on the basis of outward results or on his record of performance in our lives. Any pastor can tell you a story of an individual who entered Christianity with great enthusiasm but then left with great indifference. Their reason? Nothing outward changed when they became Christians. A better job didn’t come along. Problems at home did not disappear. Breaks didn’t start going their way. Being a Christian didn’t seem to pay off in any sort of tangible way. So they abandoned ship.
We can shake our heads at such surface Christianity, but you know what? Those of us who have been Christians for a while are not immune to that line of thinking. In our weaker moments I suspect we all have been guilty of thinking of our faith-life in pretty shallow terms. Sort of like an investment, with the expectation that somewhere along the line Jesus will pay off for us in a measurable way. And often He does. Who of us cannot think of an example of answered prayer?
But when He doesn’t “produce,” when in His wisdom He withholds that which we may fervently be praying for, we might find ourselves disappointed in His performance. Maybe even a little put off by His silence. Kind of like Herod.
Then we must remember that the gage of Christ’s love for us is not measured by the miracles He has performed for us or even the prayers He has answered. The gage of Christ’s love for us and effectiveness in our lives is the cross. Here is where sins have been forgiven. Here is both the promise and assurance of eternal life. Here is all the proof we need that we are loved, that Christ cares, and that He is indeed effective. So effective that we will have an eternity of joy to reflect on His grace and goodness to us.
How unfortunate that this was lost on Herod and all other
sign-seekers throughout the ages. How
unfortunate when people allow themselves to fall into a Herod-like shallowness
that demands Jesus perform at their command and fails to see the ultimate act
of love carried out on
Herod Antipas. The sign seeker. The shallow one. The despicable one who saw Jesus as a personal commodity to be used rather than a Savior from sin to be adored. Herod may have had the title, but we who know Christ for what He is and who He is are truly kings. Amen.