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8 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 a sign of some sort. 9 He plied him with many questions, but Jesus gave him no answer. 10 The chief priests and the teachers of the law were standing there, vehemently accusing him. 11 Then Herod and his soldiers ridiculed and mocked him. Dressing him in an elegant robe, they sent him back to Pilate. 12 That day Herod and Pilate became friends—before this they had been enemies. ~ Luke 23:8-12
Pilate, at the end of his first trial of the Lord Jesus, concluded He was guiltless. The Jews rejected his verdict, but when they mentioned the Lord Jesus was from Galilee, Pilate seized the opportunity to send the Lord Jesus to Herod Antipas who was the ruler of Galilee and just so happened to be in town.
Herod Antipas was one of the sons of Herod the Great who was a long time Roman ruler in Israel. He died in 4 B.C. When Herod the Great died, he had planned to divide the kingdom of Israel up among his sons. One of those sons was Herod Antipas. And to him was given the region of Galilee.
Now, Herod the Great was a very formidable ruler and a sole ruler of the whole land of Israel. And Herod the Great was a great builder, as we all know. He built the great Herodian temple which stood until 70 A.D., the temple with which the Lord Jesus was so familiar.
So after his death, he divides this kingdom up into parts. He gives one part to Herod Antipas, one of his sons, who rules there from 4 B.C. to 39 A.D. Forty-three years, this man had a presence there. Since Rome was in control of Israel, no one could accept any kind of appointment without Roman approval.
So, Herod Antipas, even though he was appointed by his father who was the king, had to go to Rome to have it confirmed. He had lots of friends in Rome, so it wasn’t difficult because he was educated in Rome. When he was young, his father, Herod the Great, had sent Herod Antipas to Rome to be educated.
In v.8-9 we read, "8 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 a sign of some sort. 9 He plied him with many questions, but Jesus gave him no answer."
Herod must have been nervous when the guards brought the Lord Jesus to him, but the more he questioned Him, the bolder he became. Perhaps the Lord Jesus might even entertain the king with a miracle! In spite of the king’s persistent interrogation and the Jews’ vehement accusations, the Lord Jesus said nothing.
In Isaiah 53:7 we read, “He stood there silent like a sheep before the shearers is dumb, so He opened not His mouth.” The Lord Jesus had been silent before Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin until finally He had to speak because they placed Him under oath to God to answer back in Luke 22:67. He only answered when they obligated Him by an oath to God to answer; otherwise, He said nothing in His own defense.
In v.10 we read, "The chief priests and the teachers of the law were standing there, vehemently accusing him." Imagine the ones who were known as God's representatives accusing the Lord Jesus of sin. Despite the fact this wasn't true, it had to be this way so that the process would end in the Lord Jesus dying for the sinfulness of man. The sinful accuse the sinless so that the sinful could become sinless.
We are positionally sinless in Christ. Having believed that His death on the cross procured the forgiveness of our sin from God, God sees us through the lens of His son. Practically, we still sin. In fact, we will struggle with sin until the day we go home to heaven.
In v.11 we read, "Then Herod and his soldiers ridiculed and mocked him. Dressing him in an elegant robe, they sent him back to Pilate."
The king finally became so bold as to mock the Lord Jesus and permit his soldiers to dress Him in “an elegant robe,” the kind that was worn by Roman candidates for office. Herod did not issue an official verdict about Jesus, but in time, it became clear that he did not find Him guilty of any crime worthy of death. This was the completion of the second Roman trial.
In v.12 we read, "That day Herod and Pilate became friends—before this they had been enemies."
The only thing accomplished by this maneuver was the mending of a broken friendship. Herod was grateful to Pilate for helping him to see the Lord Jesus and for honoring him by seeking his counsel. A friendship built around the mistreatment of the Lord Jesus. A friendship built around a common hatred for the intimidating Jews to which they had to acquiesce.
While Pilate sent the Lord Jesus to Herod to confirm his guiltless verdict, the guilt and innocence of anyone was to be confirmed in the mouth of two witnesses according to Deuteronomy 19:15. Well, here are two witnesses concluding “Not guilty.”
Acts 4:26 is a quote from Psalm 2:2 which reads, “The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the Lord and against His Anointed.” Then in Acts 4:27 we read, “Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed.” That’s the fulfillment.
The message of the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ is: if we believe that He died for the forgiveness of our sin, we will be saved. It is this message of the cross that is the axis between God and man, bridging mankind back into a personal relationship with the One who came and died for His creation.
