May 14 / Luke 3:19-20; 9:7-9

Luke 3:19-20, 9:7-9

“Notice what you notice.” Luke’s account of the death of John the Baptist… Luke has very little to say about John’s death, only that Herod acknowledged having beheaded him, but with no more details. There is one sentence that has always struck me – the whole of our reading from chapter 3: But Herod the tetrarch, being rebuked by him concerning Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, and for all the evils which Herod had done, also added this, above all, that he shut John up in prison. (Luke 3:19-20, NKJV) I can just picture Luke writing this sentence, almost in astonishment – that in spite of and in addition to all the evils that Herod had already done, he even added more to them by arresting John!! A literary quirk, but intriguing to me…!

In that same sentence Luke’s wording creates the same confusion in me that I had reported yesterday. The confusing phrase is …being rebuked by him concerning Herodias; I have always interpreted the word “concerning” as “in connection with”, whereas yesterday I read it translated as “for the sake of”. Read yesterday’s post if you want that spelled out more clearly.

So Luke does not report explicitly on the events surrounding John’s death, only that Herod had beheaded John and wanted to see Jesus. (Luke 9:9) Herod finally gets his wish a year or two later when Jesus is sent to him by Pilate. Here is the prelude to that meeting: When Pilate heard this, he asked whether the man was a Galilean. 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. 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. (Luke 23:6-8) So Herod had his wish partially fulfilled, but his meeting with Jesus left him disappointed. Appropriate!

Slava Bohu!