Now
when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceedingly glad, for he had wanted to see him for a long time, because he had heard many things about him. He hoped to see some miracle done by him. He questioned him with many words, but he gave no answers. The chief priests and the scribes stood, vehemently accusing him. Herod with his soldiers humiliated him and mocked him. Dressing him in luxurious clothing, they sent him back to Pilate. Herod and Pilate became friends with each other that very day, for before that they were enemies with each other.
Luke 23:8-12
Luke 23 [5.] But they insisted, saying, “He stirs up the people, teaching throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee even to this place.” But when Pilate heard Galilee mentioned, he asked if the man was a Galilean. When he found out that he was in Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem during those days.
Luke 23 [8.] Now when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceedingly glad, for he had wanted to see him for a long time, because he had heard many things about him. He hoped to see some miracle done by him. He questioned him with many words, but he gave no answers. The chief priests and the scribes stood, vehemently accusing him. Herod with his soldiers humiliated him and mocked him. Dressing him in luxurious clothing, they sent him back to Pilate. Herod and Pilate became friends with each other that very day, for before that they were enemies with each other.
Luke 23 [13.] Pilate called together the chief priests and the rulers and the people, and said to them, “You brought this man to me as one that perverts the people, and see, I have examined him before you, and found no basis for a charge against this man concerning those things of which you accuse him. Neither has Herod, for I sent you to him, and see, nothing worthy of death has been done by him. I will therefore chastise him and release him.”
Meaning:
Only Luke tells us about this short hearing before Herod Antipas, the ruler of Galilee and Perea. Pilate had sent Jesus to him because Jesus was a Galilean, hoping to be rid of the case. Herod was the man who had imprisoned and beheaded John the Baptist, and he had followed the reports about Jesus for a long time. Now at last the two stand face to face, and the meeting reveals much about Herod and nothing new about Jesus, for Jesus says nothing at all.
- “He had wanted to see him for a long time”
Herod had heard of Jesus’ miracles and teaching for years. When people said that John had risen from the dead, Herod said, “John I beheaded, but who is this, about whom I hear such things?” He sought to see him (Luke 9:9). His interest, however, was curiosity, not faith. He hoped to see some miracle done by him, as if Jesus were an entertainer brought in to amuse the court. Herod had once listened to John the Baptist in a similar way: “When he heard him, he did many things, and he heard him gladly” (Mark 6:20). Yet he never repented, and in the end he had John killed to keep a rash promise (Mark 6:26-28).
- “He questioned him with many words, but he gave no answers”
Jesus answered the council and gave Pilate a short reply, but to Herod he gave nothing. Herod had silenced the voice of John, the prophet sent to prepare the way, and he had no wish to obey God. Jesus had earlier called him “that fox” (Luke 13:32). His silence fulfils the picture of the servant in Isaiah: “As a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and as a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he didn’t open his mouth” (Isaiah 53:7). It also matches his own teaching: “Don’t give that which is holy to the dogs, neither throw your pearls before the pigs” (Matthew 7:6). A person who comes to Jesus only to be entertained, with no intention of listening, may find that heaven is silent.
- “Herod with his soldiers humiliated him and mocked him”
When Jesus would neither perform nor speak, Herod’s curiosity turned to contempt. The chief priests and scribes kept shouting accusations, and Herod and his soldiers treated Jesus as a joke. They dressed him in luxurious clothing, a mock royal robe for a man who claimed to be a king, and sent him back to Pilate. Herod did not condemn Jesus, which Pilate later points out (Luke 23:15), but he also did nothing to protect him. Pilate’s soldiers would soon repeat the mockery with a purple cloak and a crown of thorns (Mark 15:16-20).
- “Herod and Pilate became friends with each other that very day”
Luke notes an unexpected result. Herod and Pilate had been enemies, perhaps because of Pilate’s harsh actions against Galileans (Luke 13:1). Their shared contempt for Jesus brought them together. The psalmist had described rulers uniting against God’s chosen king: “The kings of the earth take a stand, and the rulers take counsel together, against Yahweh, and against his Anointed” (Psalm 2:2). Opposition to Christ can create strange alliances.
The Significance of Luke 23:8-12
- Curiosity is not faith
Herod wanted to see Jesus, but only on his own terms. Many people today are interested in Jesus as a historical figure or a moral teacher, yet never come to him in humility. Jesus does not perform on demand. He reveals himself to those who seek him honestly and are ready to obey.
- The danger of a hardened heart
Herod had heard the truth from John the Baptist and had silenced it. By the time he met Jesus, he had nothing left but mockery. Each time a person hears God’s word and refuses it, the heart becomes harder. The time to respond is while God is speaking.
Cross-References:
Luke 9:9: “John I beheaded, but who is this, about whom I hear such things?” Herod’s long curiosity about Jesus.
Mark 6:20: “When he heard him, he did many things, and he heard him gladly.” Herod listened to John but did not repent.
Isaiah 53:7: “so he didn’t open his mouth.” The silent servant before his accusers.
Psalm 2:2: “the rulers take counsel together, against Yahweh, and against his Anointed.” Rulers united against God’s King.
Conclusion: In Luke 23:8-12 Herod finally meets Jesus, but he wants a show, not the truth. Jesus answers his many questions with silence, and Herod and his soldiers mock him and send him back to Pilate. The scene warns that curiosity without repentance leads to contempt, and that the one who refuses God’s word may in the end hear nothing more.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible