Luke 23:7-12 – Jesus before Herod

Pilate wanted to extricate himself from having to make a judgement on Jesus so he passed the buck to Herod who happened to be in Jerusalem at that time. Herod had quite a large force under his control and was in town to help keep law and order during the time of the feasts. Of course he was glad to have the opportunity to cross examine Jesus. In Luke 9:9, we are told that Herod was curious concerning the report of miracles he heard Jesus was performing. He had John the Baptist beheaded and was wondering who Jesus was, and had been wanting to see Him. So here he must have again been reminded of the miracles Jesus did and was hoping to see some signs being performed by Him.

Luke tells us in verse 9 that Herod questioned Jesus at great length. But as Isaiah had said earlier: - like a sheep led to His shearers Jesus did not open His mouth. Meanwhile, the chief priests and the scribes were accusing Him intensely. Jesus remained silent answering neither Herod nor the priests and scribes.

Not being able to induce Jesus to perform the miracles he had hoped to see, Herod became frustrated and turned spiteful. So he and his soldiers began to mock Jesus. They showed utter disregard for Him and poured out great contempt upon Him. He dressed Him in a gorgeous robe and then sent Him back to Pilate. It must be noted that though Pilate and Herod were rivals and hated each other bitterly, they became friends because of this incidence.

Here, the Lord left us an example on the necessity to control our tongues, especially in times of overwhelming pressure. It is good to keep silent in those moments. If we need to speak, do so only discerningly. And as Jesus had promised that the Holy Spirit will come alongside us, we need to learn to tune in to His presence. We must seek to guard against speaking words that we may later regret. Bear in mind the words of Proverbs 17:27:- “He who restrains his words has knowledge, and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding.”