Paid In Full: An In-depth Look at the Defining Moments of Christ's Passion (18 page)

Pilate had ordered the murder of many and wasn’t afraid to kill one more. What do you think he saw in Jesus’ eyes that disturbed him so greatly? Why do you think Pilate felt compelled to keep probing for a way to defend Jesus and to seek His release?

It’s frustrating to endure the negative consequences when a person in authority chooses to shift responsibility to someone else because he or she isn’t willing to take a stand and simply do the right thing. Have you ever felt shoved around because someone in authority refused to stand up and speak in your defense when he or she had the opportunity? Jesus felt that way when Pilate shoved Him over to Herod’s court.

If you are getting the runaround because someone isn’t willing to make a correct judgment call, go boldly before the throne of grace and plead your case before your Father God. He is the Righteous Judge who will surely decree what is right. Have you entrusted yourself to Him, asking Him to perfect that which concerns you?

Chapter 19:
Herod Meets Jesus!

After Pilate discovered Jesus was from Galilee, the jurisdiction of Herod, the Roman governor quickly sent Jesus off to see Herod. At that time, Herod was in Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Passover with the Jewish people. But before we get into Herod’s excited anticipation to meet Jesus, let’s first see which Herod this verse is talking about.

Several men named Herod ruled in Israel over the years. The first and most famous was “Herod the Great,” who was made the first governor of Galilee when he was 25 years old. His kingship was launched by the order of Octavius and Marc Antony — the same Marc Antony who had a famous relationship with Cleopatra, the Queen of Egypt. Flavius Josephus, the well-known Jewish historian, recorded that Herod the Great died in 4 BC.

After the death of Herod the Great, his territory was divided among his three sons. These three sons (also named “Herod”) were as follows:
⁵

HEROD ARCHELAUS

Herod Archelaus was made governor of Samaria, Judea, and Idumea in 4 BC when his father died, and he ruled until approximately 6 AD. This makes him the Herod who was ruling when Mary, Joseph, and Jesus returned from their flight to Egypt (
see
Matthew 2:22).

When Herod Archelaus ascended to the throne in 4 BC, things almost immediately went sour for him. The first problem he confronted was a rebellion incited among Jewish students by their teachers. Because the Ten Commandments forbid graven images, these teachers encouraged their students to tear down and destroy the imperial golden eagle that Rome had ordered to be hung on the entrance to the temple. As punishment, Herod Archelaus ordered these teachers and students to be burned alive. The massacre continued until 3,000 Jews had been slaughtered during the Feast of Passover. Soon Herod Archelaus journeyed to Rome to be crowned by the Emperor Augustus. However, fresh riots ensued in his absence, resulting in more than 2,000 people being crucified.

The Gospel of Matthew indicates that Joseph and Mary were troubled about settling in the territories ruled by Herod Archelaus and therefore made their home in Galilee (Matthew 2:22). Herod Archelaus was so despised that the Jews and Samaritans, usually foes, united together and corporately appealed to Rome to request that he should be removed from power. In 6 AD, Herod Archelaus was banished to Gaul (modern-day France) and died before the year 18.

HEROD PHILIP

Herod Philip was educated in Rome, along with his brothers Herod Archelaus and Herod Antipas. When his father, Herod the Great, died in 4 BC, Herod Philip became governor of the distant regions in the northeast territories of his father’s kingdom.

These territories included:

1. Gaulanitis — known today as the Golan Heights.
   
2. Batanaea — the territory east of the Jordan River and the Sea of Galilee.
   
3. Trachonitis and Auranitis (or Hauran) — the southern part of modern-day Syria.
   

The Jews were a minority among Herod Philip’s subjects. Most people under his rule were of Syrian or Arabian ancestry, but he had Greek and Roman subjects as well, usually living in the cities. Herod Philip died in the year 34 AD after having ruled his kingdom for 37 years. Since he left no heir, the Roman Emperor Tiberius directed his territories to be added to the region of Syria.

Flavius Josephus wrote that Herod Philip was moderate and quiet in the conduct of his life and government. When Tiberius died in 37 AD, his successor, Caligula, restored the principality almost in its entirety and appointed Herod Philip’s nephew, Herod Agrippa, as the new ruler —
but he’s another story that we won’t get into today
!

HEROD ANTIPAS

This leads us to the third son of Herod the Great —
Herod Antipas,
the same Herod before whom Jesus appeared in Luke 23:8 and who had long desired to personally meet Jesus. What do we know of this Herod?

Herod Antipas was assigned tetrarch of Galilee and Peraea (located on the east bank of the Jordan). The Roman emperor Augustus affirmed this decision, and the reign of Herod Antipas began in the year 4 BC when his father died.

The name “Antipas” is a compound of two Greek words,
anti
and
pas
. The word
anti
means
against
, and the word
pas
means
all
or
everyone
. Once compounded into one word, it means
one who is against everything and everyone
. This name alone should tell us something about the personality of this wicked ruler.

In the year 17 AD, Herod Antipas founded Tiberias, a new capitol he built to honor the Roman emperor, Tiberius. However, the construction of this city caused an enormous disturbance among his Jewish subjects when they discovered it was being built on top of an old Jewish graveyard. Because these graves had been desecrated, devout Jews refused to enter Tiberias for a very long time.

Herod Antipas tried to style himself in a way that would appeal to the Jewish people, even participating in national Jewish celebrations. But the people were not convinced by this act and viewed him as an insincere fraud. Even Jesus compared Herod Antipas to a fox — an animal that was considered to be the epitome of trickery and that was usually unclean and infected with sickness. In other words, when Jesus called Herod a fox, it was the equivalent of saying Herod was a sneaky, lying, deceiving, dishonest, infected, and sick individual. Those were pretty strong words for Jesus!

Herod Antipas’ first marriage was to the daughter of an Arabian leader. However, he divorced this woman so he could marry the ex-wife of his half-brother, a woman named
Herodias
. Taking the ex-wife of one’s brother was not uncommon, but Herodias was also the daughter of another half-brother, Aristobulus. In Roman law, marriage to one’s niece was also permitted, but marriage to a woman who was both one’s sister-in- law and one’s niece was most unusual. This unusual marriage drew the attention and criticism of John the Baptist. The Gospel of Mark records that John the Baptist died because of the public stand he took against Herod Antipas’ second marriage.

In the year 37, Herod Antipas’ new wife, Herodias, disagreed when her brother Agrippa became king in place of Herod Philip. She thought that the royal title should not be given to Herod Agrippa but to her husband and made plans accordingly for Herod Antipas to be appointed king. Adamantly disagreeing with Herodias, the Roman emperor exiled both her and her husband to live the rest of their lives in Gaul, which is modern-day France.

Luke 23:8 tells us that Herod Antipas was eager to finally meet Jesus: “And when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceeding glad: for he was desirous to see him of a long season, because he had heard many things of him; and he hoped to have seen some miracle done by him.” Notice this verse says, “And when Herod
saw
Jesus.…” The word “saw” is from the Greek word
horao
, meaning
to see; to behold; to delightfully view; to look with scrutiny;
or
to look with the intent to examine.

This word
horao
paints a very important picture for us of exactly what happened when Jesus finally stood before Herod Antipas. It conveys the idea that Herod was
excited
and
delighted
to finally behold the miracle-worker he had heard so much about. Once Jesus stood before him, Herod
literally looked Him over, scrutinizing and examining every detail
of the Man who appeared before him.

The next part of the verse confirms the exhilaration and jubilation Herod Antipas felt about seeing Jesus. It says, “he was
exceeding glad
.” The Greek text uses two words,
echari lian.
The word
echari
is from the word
chairo
, the Greek word for
joy
. The Greek word
lian
means
much, great
, or
exceedingly
. These two words together suggest
extreme excitement
or someone who is
ecstatic
about something. In other words, Herod Antipas was so “hyper” about having the chance to meet Jesus that he was nearly jumping up and down on the inside!

This should tell us how well known Jesus had become during His ministry. If Herod Antipas was this excited to meet Him, it’s no wonder that the scribes and elders were apprehensive about His widespread popularity. Even the nobility longed for a chance to see Jesus’ miracles!

That’s why the next part of the verse says, “...for he was desirous to see him of a long season, because he had heard many things of him....” The word “desirous” is the Greek word
thelo
, which means
to will
or
to wish
. However, the construction used in this Greek phrase intensifies the
wish
, making it a
very strong wish or desire
. According to this verse, Herod had this strong desire for “a long season” — a phrase taken from the Greek words
ek hikanos chronos.
The word
hikanos
means
many
,
considerable,
or
much
. The word
chronos
means
time
, such as
a season, epoch, era
, or
any specified duration of time
. These words together could be translated
for many years, for a long time
, or
for many seasons.

Why had Herod Antipas longed to see Jesus for many years? The verse says, “…because he had heard many things of him….” Jesus was a name that the Herod household had heard for years! I’m sure all three Herod boys —
Archelaus, Philip
, and
Antipas
— heard tales about:

1. Jesus’ supernatural birth.
   
2. The kings from the east who had come to acknowledge Him.
   
3. The attempt of their father, Herod the Great, to kill Jesus by ordering all the babies in Bethlehem to be murdered.
   
4. Jesus and His parents slipping into Egypt and waiting for the right moment to come back into Israel.
   
5. The ministry of Jesus touching the nation with healing and delivering power.
   

Stories of Jesus must have been very familiar to the Herod household. Herod Antipas had longed for a chance to meet this famous personality for many years. Jesus was a living legend, and now He was standing in his presence!

At the end of this verse, we discover the reason that Herod Antipas was most excited to meet Jesus. The verse continues to tell us, “…he hoped to have seen some miracle done by him.” The Greek word for “hoped” is
elpidzo
, meaning
to hope
. But the construction used in this verse is similar to the word
thelo
, noted above, which means
to wish
. Just as Herod’s
wish
to see Jesus was
a
very strong wish
, now his
hope
to see some miracle performed by Jesus was
a very strong hope
or
an earnest expectation.

Herod was expecting to “…
have seen
some miracle done by him.” The word “see” is the Greek word
horao
, the same word used in the first part of this verse when we are told that Herod was
excited to see
Jesus. Now this word is used to let us know Herod was
euphoric
about his chance to see some “miracle” done by Jesus.

The word “miracle” is the Greek word
semeion
, which is
a sign, a mark, or a token that verifies or authenticates an alleged report.
It is used in the Gospels primarily to depict
miracles and supernatural events,
which means the purpose of such miracles and supernatural events is
to verify and authenticate
the message of the Gospel.

But Luke 23:9 tells us that Jesus didn’t work miracles on demand for Herod, nor did He answer the large number of questions Herod put to Him that day. As a result of Jesus’ silence, the following verse tells us, “And the chief priests and scribes stood and vehemently accused him” (v. 10).