And Herod the tetrarch heard of all the things which were done [by him], and was in perplexity, because it was said by some that John was risen from among [the] dead,
The twelve have just gone out through the villages, preaching and healing. The news travels far — all the way to the ruler's palace. Herod the tetrarch had already put John the Baptist to death. Now he hears what is happening, and he cannot settle in his mind who is behind it.
One writer points out how unlikely a listener Herod was, and why the news still reached him.
The rumour had reached even the apostate king of the Jewish people. That is what he was, though he now ruled only part of the land. But he ruled the part where Christ's ministry mainly took place. He was the prince of that land, and normally the last and farthest of all from hearing such news. The Lord left them without excuse.
Herod is not weighing evidence. The preaching of plain men touched something buried in him, and what came up was the memory of his own crime.
They had neither money, nor bag, nor purse; they were what we would call destitute men. Yet these were the men who moved hearts and got at people's consciences. They struck the hardened conscience of that despicable man Herod. He was a monster who indulged his lust and then committed a foul, vile, mean murder. The moment news of the fame of Jesus reached his ears through the ministry of His servants, his conscience woke up. He said, "That is John!" Have you not often found the same thing? The word of God comes in power to your soul. Some hidden sin lies there, coiled up and hidden like a snake. Then the light and heat and power of the word of God brings it out.
Herod's own explanation involved a man rising from the dead. He held that belief, and one writer weighs what it did for him.
It is striking: this hardened man believes in resurrection. But believing a doctrine gives no satisfaction and no rest of conscience. On the contrary, it only increases the torment. "He was perplexed." He wanted to be rid of this vague terror. It had gripped him at the thought of meeting again the one he had put to death. So he seeks to see Jesus — perhaps to kill Him too. Anything is better than uncertainty. But the uncertainty stays with him all the same.
Alongside Herod, the crowds trade their own theories about Jesus.
The recent displays of power drew everyone's attention and set people talking and debating who this was among them. Opinions varied, but they were opinions and nothing more. All such guesses were wide of the mark, and whatever different people thought, they showed no real concern about it. With Herod, the king, the matter took a very serious turn.
The "risen John" idea ran against facts the public already knew. One writer also names who gains from such confusion.
There was no excuse for such ignorance, for it was well known that John and Christ had been publicly seen together. Both were preaching the Word at the same time. John gave special witness that he was lower than this One, who was infinitely greater than himself. But people had many ignorant guesses about Christ, as they do today. Satan tries every means of robbing Christ of His proper glory.
Herod's next move is to want to see Jesus for himself. One writer weighs what such a wish is worth.
But desire in divine things never comes to any good unless conscience is also at work — a sense of sin on the one side, and of God's grace on the other. Many a man has heard God's testimony gladly and then given it all up. Many a man has respected the messengers. But look at Herod. That respect did not stop him beheading John. Later it did not stop him taking his part in the final scene of the Lord's deepest humiliation. There was nothing of divine life in the working of his conscience. There was no working of grace, because he had no sense of his own sin and need in God's sight, which might have driven him to God.
- Heard — the twelve's preaching carried the news so far that it reached the ruler least likely to hear it. He had no excuse.
- Haunted — Herod does not reason his way to "John is risen"; a guilty conscience, struck by the word, hands him the answer.
- Hollow — he believes in resurrection, yet the belief brings torment instead of rest. A doctrine held without a sense of sin only feeds fear.
- Hearsay — the crowd's theories were opinions and nothing more. All were wide of the mark, though John and Jesus had been seen together in public.
- Hardened — wanting to see Jesus is not the same as coming to Him. Herod's curiosity later left him free to share in the Lord's humiliation.
and by some that Elias had appeared, and by others that one of the old prophets had risen again.
The news of Jesus reached Herod's palace. Nobody there could settle the obvious question: who is this man? Some said John the Baptist had come back from the dead. Others named Elijah. Others said one of the old prophets had risen. Every guess sounds respectful. Not one is true.
News of what Jesus was doing reached Herod. One writer links these rumours to Herod's uneasy conscience and to the ignorance of the crowd around him.
Next comes a brief mention of how puzzled Herod, the ruler of Galilee, was when he heard of the works of the Lord Jesus. Some suggested that Christ was John the Baptist risen from the dead, and this troubled Herod's conscience… But people had many ignorant speculations about Christ, as they do today. Some considered Him to be a reincarnation of Elijah or of some other long-dead prophet. Satan tries every means of depriving Christ of His proper glory.
The Elijah theory was not random. It came from Malachi, the last book of the Old Testament, which promises a prophet before the day of judgment.
Popular opinion said of the Lord that He was Elijah, the promised prophet (Mal. 4:5), or one of God's prophetic messengers. The public did not all agree…
Those who named Elijah may have sensed that something serious was about to break over the nation. They missed who was standing in front of them.
Some said He was Elijah, the great prophet from 900 years earlier. They must have known that the Day of the Lord was a day of judgment. Those who said the Lord Jesus was Elijah may have recognised that judgement was deserved and was on its way. But if only they had accepted Jesus for who He was! Then they would have seen what the Lord God was doing in His mercy. He was not bringing the judgement of the Day of the Lord. He was giving them His Son, their Messiah.
Look at what these people would accept. A man back from the grave. A prophet from centuries past now walking in Galilee. What they would not consider was that God might be doing something fresh.
This miserable king had such a bad conscience that he at once assumed that John the Baptist, his victim, had come back to life. Others considered Christ to be Elijah, or one of the old prophets. No one knew, for no one thought of God as able to do some new thing.
These crowds were willing to believe something incredible. But one explanation never made the list.
Crowds of people were willing to believe the incredible: that someone who had died had come back to live on earth again. In Elijah's case, he had been taken to heaven alive. One thing the disciples did not suggest was that people thought of Him as just an ordinary man. That was not a credible option. There was something very special about this teacher called Jesus. The crowds could only make sense of Him by suggesting that He was a great and godly person from the past, come back to life, even raised from the dead.
These are not Herod's private theories. Later in the same chapter, Jesus asks His disciples what the crowds are saying. Back come the same three names.
So this was the reply of the disciples to the Lord's question, "Who do the crowds say that I am? And they answered, John the Baptist. But others say, Elijah, and others, that one of the prophets of old has risen." Whether it was Herod and his servants, or Christ with the disciples, the same story reaches the ear: the uncertainty varies, but the unbelief never changes.
Being happy to keep guessing about Christ tells you something about the guesser.
The reply shows that men could only put forward idle opinions and speculations, despite a perfect testimony. Those guesses left them in hopeless uncertainty. Men are content to speculate about Christ and willing to stay uncertain. This is solemn proof that they have no sense of need and no faith. With a sense of need they would have had discernment; with faith they would have reached certainty. What is more, with all their speculations, they never once came near the truth. This shows how unable man is, in himself, to discern the glory of Christ, even in the most favourable circumstances and in the presence of the Son of God Himself.
- Rumour — This verse gives two theories: Elijah has appeared, and an old prophet has risen. People used both to explain the works of Jesus.
- Root — The Elijah guess grew from Malachi's promise of a prophet before the day of the Lord, a day of judgment.
- Refusal — People believed a dead prophet had returned, but not that God was doing something new.
- Repetition — Jesus later asks His disciples the same question, and the same three names come back.
- Result — Guessing never reaches the truth. It leaves people impressed by Christ and still unsure who He is.
And Herod said, John *I* have beheaded, but who is this of whom I hear such things? and he sought to see him.
Herod Antipas hears the reports about Jesus, and his own crime rises up to meet him. He knows the preacher he silenced is dead. So who is this? That unanswered question sends him looking for a meeting he will not get for a long time.
Herod knew what he had done to John, and the reports about Jesus set his conscience moving. But a stirred conscience is not the same as God's work in a soul.
Herod's conviction was that he had beheaded John: he knew this too well. But desire in divine things never comes to any good on its own. The conscience must be at work, feeling sin on one side, and God's grace on the other. Many a man has heard God's testimony gladly, and given it all up... There was nothing of divine life in the action of his conscience. There was no working of grace, because there was no sense of his own sin and need in God's sight, which might drive him to God.
People guessed at who Jesus was: Elijah, or some old prophet come back. Every guess took from Christ the glory that is His.
There was no excuse for such ignorance. Everyone knew that John and Christ had appeared together in public... But people had many ignorant guesses about Christ, as they do today. Some considered Him to be a reincarnation of Elijah or of some other long-dead prophet. Satan tries every means of depriving Christ of His proper glory. Still, in curiosity Herod desired to see Him (v.9), for Herod had a religious bent, but no evident faith.
Herod's question was not his alone. It runs like a refrain through the whole account of the Lord's life.
His life history was punctuated by constant questioning: Who is this? The scribes and Pharisees began to reason, Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Those who sat at the table with Him in Simon's house said among themselves, Who is this who forgives sins? Herod was perplexed and said, Who is this about whom I hear such things? When Jesus made His final entry into Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred, saying, Who is this? This bears out that He came to His own and they did not receive Him, and that the world did not know Him.
The verb does not describe one passing impulse. It describes something Herod kept doing.
"Sought" is in the imperfect tense — the same as "would seek," a habit: compare Luke 23:8.
Herod's fear did not last. What took its place is the real warning here.
A real awakening can come into a person's conscience under ministry and power sent from God. Even so, it can slowly stop taking account of the first stirrings that touched it... That is what we see in Herod; a hardening process goes on, until at last it stops stinging altogether... In him you see the first movements of terror and fear, the cringing dread of a man whose sins have found him out. But notice what happens afterwards. All of it is lulled into quiet and rest. And then what takes its place? Curiosity! First fear, and when fear is drugged or rocked to sleep in the devil's cradle, then curiosity. What an amount of curiosity there is at the present time! Men who were once afraid are now curious.
Wanting to see Jesus is not the same as wanting Jesus. Herod got his meeting, and it answered him with silence.
He hears people talk of Jesus and His miracles. "John, whom I beheaded, has been raised," he says. Striking fact — this hardened man believes in the resurrection, as the Pharisees did. But believing a doctrine gives no satisfaction and no rest of conscience. On the contrary, it is a way of increasing the torment... A vague terror had gripped him at the thought of meeting again the man he had put to death. His wish to be rid of it makes him seek to see Jesus, perhaps to kill Him too. Anything is better than uncertainty. But the uncertainty remains anyway. When Herod at last sees the Saviour, he can neither see His miracles nor hear Him. He meets on earth a silent Christ, whose voice he will not hear until later, when he will see Him as Judge.
- Question raised. The reports about Jesus forced one question on everyone, Herod included: who is this? The guesses around him gave Christ any identity but His own.
- Conscience stirred. Herod's memory of what he did to John made him uneasy. But a stirred conscience leads nowhere without a sense of sin before God and the work of grace.
- Desire misdirected. He kept wanting to see Jesus. Commentators read the motive as relief from his own dread, even as a plan to kill Him.
- Fear replaced. Terror quieted down, and curiosity took its place. Many who were once afraid are now just curious.
- Wish answered. Herod saw Jesus at last and met silence. The voice he did not hear on earth he will hear from the Judge.