6 When Pilate heard this, he asked if the man was a Galilean. 7 And learning that Jesus was under Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent Him to Herod, who himself was in Jerusalem at that time.

8 When Herod saw Jesus, he was greatly pleased. He had wanted to see Him for a long time, because he had heard about Him and was hoping to see Him perform a miracle. 9 Herod questioned Jesus at great length, but He gave no answer.

10 Meanwhile, the chief priests and scribes stood there, vehemently accusing Him. 11 And even Herod and his soldiers ridiculed and mocked Him. Dressing Him in a fine robe, they sent Him back to Pilate.

12 That day Herod and Pilate became friends; before this time they had been enemies.

REFLECTIONS

Written by Stephen Shead

There are so many different responses to Jesus packed in these few verses. Pilate procrastinates on making a decision about him. The religious leaders, as usual, reject Jesus outright. The soldiers ridicule him and mock him.

But I found Herod’s response the most interesting. Herod wants Jesus to perform miracles for him. He wants to see some impressive feats of power, some razzle-dazzle – either to amuse him or so Jesus will prove himself. But what he gets is … complete silence. I checked through this month’s devotions, and this is the first passage which doesn’t contain a single word from Jesus. Instead, we’re told, “Herod questioned Jesus at great length, but He gave no answer” (v 9).

That got me thinking about our expectations. What do you expect from Jesus? Have you ever felt disappointed in him, like Jesus has failed to deliver on what you thought he would bring to your life?

Jesus’ disciples, like Herod, had expected Jesus to perform a miracle instead of being arrested – the miracle of smashing the Romans and crowning himself king. But if they had understood the Old Testament Scriptures like only Jesus understood them, they would have fully expected this silence, because of Isaiah’s prophecy of the suffering Servant who would come:

7 He was oppressed and afflicted,
             yet He did not open His mouth.
He was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
             and as a sheep before her shearers is silent,
             so He did not open His mouth.
8 By oppression and judgment He was taken away,
             and who can recount His descendants?
For He was cut off from the land of the living;
             He was stricken for the transgression of My people. (Isaiah 53:7-8)

Jesus was silent for us, so that he could bear God’s wrath against our sin through his rejection, suffering, and death.

We can long for Jesus to do all kinds of things. In fact, he loves us to present our longings and requests to him – though we mustn’t ever think he’s ours to demand things from. Sometimes we might experience what seems like silence. But what you can expect is that Jesus will fully forgive your sins, save you from God’s judgment, and raise you to eternal life if you simply ask him. You can expect that he will fill God’s kingdom with countless multitudes, and that on the last day we will see just how good and glorious and kind he is. All of that is worth a million times more than some short-term miracle here and now.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Stephen is our senior minister.