Luke 23:6-16 (ESV)

⁶ When Pilate heard this, he asked whether the man was a Galilean. ⁷ And when he learned that he belonged to Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent him over to Herod, who was himself in Jerusalem at that time. ⁸ When Herod saw Jesus, he was very glad, for he had long desired to see him, because he had heard about him, and he was hoping to see some sign done by him. ⁹ So he questioned him at some length, but he made no answer. ¹⁰ The chief priests and the scribes stood by, vehemently accusing him. ¹¹ And Herod with his soldiers treated him with contempt and mocked him. Then, arraying him in splendid clothing, he sent him back to Pilate. ¹² And Herod and Pilate became friends with each other that very day, for before this they had been at enmity with each other. ¹³ Pilate then called together the chief priests and the rulers and the people, ¹⁴ and said to them, “You brought me this man as one who was misleading the people. And after examining him before you, behold, I did not find this man guilty of any of your charges against him. ¹⁵ Neither did Herod, for he sent him back to us. Look, nothing deserving death has been done by him. ¹⁶ I will therefore punish and release him.”

We meet Herod Antipas again, an outrageously immoral man. He was the one who had John the Baptist executed for speaking out against his “marriage” to Herodias, his half-brother’s daughter and the wife of another one of his half-brothers. (So Herodias was his niece and his sister-in-law.) Herod persuaded her to leave his half-brother and marry him. He clearly didn’t live according to the Law of God. Just as he heard about John the Baptist and wanted to check him out, Herod heard about Jesus and wanted to see him as well. Herod was probably in Jerusalem celebrating the Passover. At last, he was finally able to meet Jesus. He was hoping maybe Jesus would perform a sign for him. Herod actually spent a long time questioning Jesus, who knew that Herod wasn’t interested in anything spiritual, but instead wanted to see a “magic show.” So Jesus didn’t respond. Had there been any honest desire on the part of Herod to seek or know truth, Jesus would have spoken with him. But conversation was useless. Even though Herod stood face-to-face with the Son of God, his conscience was seared. He went on to have Jesus dressed in a robe and mocked. How scary to think that this man was able to look right at and even question Jesus for hours, yet remain clueless about who he really was. It is dangerous thing to look long at God and make no change.

Herod and Pilate were on opposite ends of the political spectrum. Herod represented Jewish interests and Pilate represented Roman interests, but they both agreed to put Jesus to death, though they could find no fault in him. Verse 12 is strange and declares, “Herod and Pilate became friends with each other that very day.” There’s an old saying that states, “The enemy of my enemy is my friend,” meaning when two people at odds share a common enemy, they “suddenly” become friends on that basis. Mankind’s primary enemy, the devil, was behind these two political leaders, using them to carry out his purposes. Jesus kept quiet and focused. Stop and pray that God would open your eyes to see the way Satan may be manipulating people and circumstances in your life to get you off track. At the same time, God won’t let his kids wander too far. Thank God that he is sovereign over the schemes of darkness.