Luke 9:7-9 (3)

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-If you would, please turn back to Luke 9...

And, as Providence would have it...

We’ve come to a short section (verses 7-9)...

Whose central theme is response...

...to the Word of God.

-Luke inserts this little section in-between the accounts of...

Jesus’ commissioning the Twelve Apostles to go and proclaim the arrival of the Kingdom...

And, the account of their return from that mission.

What it shows us is...

…the various opinions people were having about the identity of Jesus...

…as now, his Apostles, were going about proclaiming him, and...

…performing attesting signs and wonders… in His name.

And, Luke focuses primarily, upon the response of one man...

…who was, at the time, one of Israel’s highest civil rulers.

And in his response we’re reminded, once again...

…of the principle found in:

1 Corinthians 1:26–29 (ESV)

26 ...not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth.

27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong;

28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are,

29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.

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He doesn’t need the help of Kings and Congressman to advance his kingdom!

And, it may not seem like it at a cursory reading of our text...

But, once we’ve examined its parallel passages...

…we’ll see this being confirmed here as well.

-Now, we’re going to begin reading in Verse 7.

Please follow along as I read.

This is the Word of God:

Luke 9:7–9 (ESV)

7 Now Herod the tetrarch heard about all that was happening, and he was perplexed, because it was said by some that John had been raised from the dead,

8 by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the prophets of old had risen.

9 Herod said, “John I beheaded, but who is this about whom I hear such things?” And he sought to see him.

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Pray

-In Verse 7, Luke identifies the civil ruler that I mentioned before, as...

“Herod the tetrarch.”

Mark actually refers to him as “King Herod”

His proper name (as I understand it) was Herod Antipas (AN-tip-uhs)

He was the second son of the infamous Herod the Great...

(The one who had sought to kill Jesus at his birth)

He (Antipas) was one of the four “tetrarchs” (1/4th ruler)...

…that succeeded Herod as puppet kings of Israel...

…under Roman occupation.

Antipas, was the ruler of the province of Galilee...

…where Jesus had been ministering for quite some time now.

-Now, remember what we had been happening prior to this:

Remember, Jesus had:

Luke 9:1–2 (ESV)

1 ...called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases,

2 and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal.

And, then Luke had summarized their obedience in Verse 6, saying:

Luke 9:6 (ESV)

6 And they departed and went through the villages, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.

So, this is most likely what Luke is referring to...

…when he says, in Verse 7, that...

Luke 9:7 (ESV)

7 ...Herod the tetrarch heard about all that was happening, and he was perplexed...

(And don’t overlook the significance of the fact that...

…that Jesus’ renown was so widespread by this point...

…that it had even penetrated into the court of Herod)

(Hardly anyone, could plead ignorance...

…even at his first coming!)

Now, that word that Luke uses to summarize Herod’s response...

…is an interesting one.

In fact, Luke is the only one to use it in Scripture.

It’s a compound word that (literally) means:

“to have no way out”

It coveys the idea that someone has...

...gone through a whole list of possible scenarios...

…and can’t find one that provides the closure that he desires.

It may help you to consider Luke’s other three uses of it...

…in the Book of Acts.

He uses it to describe the response of...

the Jews,

to the gift of languages in Acts 2.

the captain of the temple,

to the angelic jail-break of the apostles in Acts 5.

Peter,

to the “rise, Peter, Kill and eat” vision in Acts 10.

In each scenario...

…they lack the ability to harmonize what they’re seeing/hearing...

…with their concept of reality.

Luke is telling us, then, that King Herod...

…is shaken to his core...

…by these reports.

-And, when we read on in Verse 7...

…we begin to see why it affected him like this...

…more so than most who heard about it.

He says that it was...

Luke 9:7 (ESV)

7...because it was said by some that John had been raised from the dead,

Matthew’s account is more descriptive.

He begins the narrative with:

Matthew 14:1 (ESV)

1 At that time Herod the tetrarch heard about the fame of Jesus,

This shows us that the Apostles were doing their job

And that they weren’t promoting themselves

But, then Matthew says that Herod (at least at some point) surmised:

Matthew 14:2 (ESV)

2 . . . “This is John the Baptist. He has been raised from the dead; that is why these miraculous powers are at work in him.”

He recognized the other-worldly nature of these signs

Bolsters the notion that the signs were meant to attest to...

…the divine origin of the message!

-Now, the last we had heard about John the Baptist...

…He was alive, but languishing in prison.

So, what has happened?

Herod… has happened!

Herod and his family being confronted with the Word of God...

…is what has happened!

And both Matthew and Mark record it...

...And connect it to Herod’s response here.

Mark says:

Mark 6:16–18 (ESV)

16 But when Herod heard of it, he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised.”

17 For it was Herod who had sent and seized John and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, because he had married her.

18 For John had been saying to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.”

You see, John had confronted the vassal king...

…with the Laws of the Suzerain King.

He had told Herod that he had to answer to the Word of God...

…earthly king or not!

And in doing so, John assaulted his pride.

Who was this camel hair wearing...

…bug eating, wild-man...

…to presume to rebuke a king?!?

And so, because John had stood firmly for biblical...

marriage

sexual ethics

morality...

He was cancelled! He was silenced! He was imprisoned!

He didn’t...

Challenge Herod’s throne

Start a coup

Plot against Herod politically...

He just called his sin, sin...

...And that cost him his head

-Mark tells us how it went down...

And, there are great lessons for us within it all.

He tells us that:

Mark 6:19–20 (ESV)

19 And Herodias had a grudge against him and wanted to put him to death. But she could not,

20 for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he kept him safe...

They don’t believe what they say about us being hateful bigots.

Its’ just rhetoric to help them justify their sin!

Their conscience tells them otherwise!

And, look at this surprising detail:

Mark 6:20 (ESV)

20 ...When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed, and yet he heard him gladly.

It was resonating with something deep inside.

The Word of God does that!

It never returns void!

It does SOMETHING!

But… the bitterness and unforgiveness of his offended, incestuous wife...

…would over-power whatever spark of benevolence that remained in Herod.

Mark says:

Mark 6:21–25 (ESV)

21 But an opportunity came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his nobles and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee.

22 For when Herodias’s daughter came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests. And the king said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it to you.”

23 And he vowed to her, “Whatever you ask me, I will give you, up to half of my kingdom.”

24 And she went out and said to her mother, “For what should I ask?” And she said, “The head of John the Baptist.”

25 And she came in immediately with haste to the king and asked, saying, “I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.”

What vile cunning!

And so, Herod — because of his pride — is trapped.

He chooses the glory that comes from men...

...Over the glory that comes from God.

Mark 6:26–28 (ESV)

26 And the king was exceedingly sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests he did not want to break his word to her.

27 And immediately the king sent an executioner with orders to bring John’s head. He went and beheaded him in the prison

28 and brought his head on a platter and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother.

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And thus, at the hands of women...

…the great and final OT prophet is martyred.

But, it would appear from our text...

…that Herod was haunted by what he had done/allowed...

…and that this was the primary reason...

…that He was so disturbed by what he was hearing.

-Now, in verse 8, Luke tells us about some other ideas...

…that, no doubt, added to his perplexity.

At the end of verse 7, he had said:

Luke 9:7–8 (ESV)

7 ...he was perplexed, because it was said by some that John had been raised from the dead,

8 by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the prophets of old had risen.

Remember, that Elijah’s coming was highly anticipated by Jews in the 1st Century.

The prophet Malachi had foretold that Elijah...

…would come as the forerunner to the Messianic King...

…and would prepare the way for His coming in Judgment.

Surely Elijah, who had...

never died,

been living in heaven for centuries...

…would be able to work miracles such as these when he comes!

This appears to be why...

…people considered this to be a plausible scenario.

-What’s the irony, here?

Who came as the fulfillment of Elijah?

Who prepared the way for the Messianic King?

John the Baptist (Jesus said that)

And Herod, had...

rejected his work of preparation

silenced his proclamation.

-The third musing that was being tossed around was...

…that of the resurrection of an Old Testament prophet.

Again, that might explain the invasion of heaven’s power on the earth.

This too, was a prophetic expectation.

Remember, God had told Moses:

Deuteronomy 18:18–19 (ESV)

18 I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him.

19 And whoever will not listen to my words that he shall speak in my name, I myself will require it of him.

And again, what is the irony here?

Who is the fulfillment of that promise?

Jesus!

And, to whom does Herod (Ultimately) NOT listen?

Jesus!

And God WILL require it of him!

-Now, look at Herod’s unwittingly wise statement in verse 9:

Luke tells us:

Luke 9:9 (ESV)

9 Herod said, “John I beheaded, but who is this about whom I hear such things?” . . .

That’s the question we saw being answered...

…back in chapter 8, isn’t it?

Who possess the authority to commission and enable his servants to...

Heal the sick

Cast out demons

Raise the dead?

Who possesses, and is able to give, heavenly power?

The One from heaven

The Son of God

The Son of Man

The Messianic King!

That’s who this is...

…about whom Herod is hearing!

He is the solution to Herod’s perplexity.

And, He’s (ultimately) the solution to our perplexities and well.

It’s in Him and the work of His Cross, that we...

Make sense of good and evil

Resolve every biblical paradox

See God in the fulness of His attributes

Understand the purpose for our existence

Jesus, is the solution to all of that!

That’s, “who this is about whom...

…Herod has been hearing such things!

-Now, Luke tells us one more thing in Verse 9.

It sounds surprising at first...

But, it really isn’t in the end.

He concludes:

Luke 9:9 (ESV)

9 ...And he sought to see him.

Don’t mistake this for any good desire.

This is nothing more than novel curiosity.

One Commentary explains:

Herod kept trying to see Jesus; but Jesus, unlike some modern “religious celebrities,” did not make it a point to go out of His way to mingle with the high and mighty.

Jesus called the evil king a “fox” and was not intimidated by his threats (Luke 13:31–32).

When Herod and Jesus did finally meet, the king hoped to see a miracle, but the Son of God did nothing and said nothing to him.

Evil King Herod had silenced God’s voice to him (Luke 23:6–12). — Bible Exposition Commentary

We’ll finish with this piercing application from Philip Ryken...

And I would just emphasize our need...

…to hear what he says carefully.

He says this:

Herod’s example shows how absolutely crucial it is to make a firm decision for Christ.

If we do not receive him by faith, we are really rejecting him, and eventually he will reject us.

This is true even if we express some interest in Jesus. Herod was interested in Jesus, too. He found Jesus fascinating. He wanted to meet him and know more about him.

But he never trusted him for salvation.

It takes more than idle curiosity for someone to come to Christ.

It takes repentance for sin and faith that Jesus is the Son of God and the Savior of sinners. — Philip Ryken

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Let’s ask the Lord to help us do that.