The Man Jesus Would Not Answer

The Man Jesus Would Not Answer
David Guzik — enduringword.com

Now when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceedingly glad; for he had desired for a long time to see Him, because he had heard many things about Him, and he hoped to see some miracle done by Him. Then he questioned Him with many words, but He answered him nothing.
_{Luke 23:8-9}

When Jesus was put on trial before the Roman authorities, there were three aspects. There was a first appearance before Pilate (Luke 23:1-7), and then a second appearance (Luke 23:13-25). In between, Jesus appeared before Herod.
This Herod – usually known as Herod Antipas – was the son of Herod the Great, who ruled when Jesus was born. The Romans only allowed him to govern one-fourth of his father’s domain. For this reason, he is also known as Herod the Tetrarch – the word tetrarch meaning “ruler of one-fourth.” His ruled included Galilee, and since Jesus was from Galilee, Pilate was happy to send Jesus to Herod.
So, when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceedingly glad; for he had desired for a long time to see Him. Herod had surely heard much about Jesus, but his only interest was a desire to be amused and entertained. He never took Jesus seriously.
Yet, Herod hoped to see some miracle done by Him. Herod gave his attention to Jesus and was even exceedingly glad to see Him. He wanted to hear from Jesus (on Herod’s own terms) and wanted to see Jesus do a miracle. Yet for all this, Herod’s interest in Jesus was not sincere and this was Herod’s condemnation, not his praise.
At one time Herod Antipas had expressed some religious interest. He heard the word of God from John the Baptist (Mark 6:20) yet intending to continue in his sin and hardened against God and His word, Herod became dead to conscience.
So, Herod only wanted to hear from Jesus what he wanted to hear (he questioned Him with many words) and he demanded a miracle. Many today also demand miracles from Jesus and it may be true that Jesus thinks of them as He thought of Herod.
Herod governed over Galilee, where Jesus spent most of His ministry. He had countless opportunities to hear Jesus – Jesus did not speak in secret meetings or hidden places. Here, Jesus understood the truth about Herod: he was not a sincere seeker. Jesus answered him nothing.
Herod thought, “Let’s hear an answer from the Great Teacher! Let’s see a something spectacular from the Miracle Man!” Jesus understood that Herod was a wretched, shallow man and had therefore nothing to say to Him. The same man who murdered John the Baptist now regarded Jesus as a miracle performer for his own entertainment. Even when others accused Him, Jesus had nothing to say to Herod.

Friends, Jesus is not here to entertain us. Following Jesus Christ is the greatest adventure, but Jesus is not for our amusement. We must reject Herod’s approach to Jesus and instead truly honor, trust, and surrender to the Savior.

Visit David Guzik's commentary on Luke 23!
Assoc. articles:
· Faithfulness and Trustful heart come together
· Restoring the place of the Holy Spirit
· looking intently into the freedom...
· Character of Kingdom Citizens
· Spiritual blessings for the faithful