![Duccio di Buoninsegna 027a](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5e/Duccio_di_Buoninsegna_027a.jpg)
Jesus at Herod's court refers to an episode in the
New Testament
The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chri ...
which describes
Jesus
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...
being sent to
Herod Antipas in
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
, prior to
his crucifixion.
[''New Testament History'' by Richard L. Niswonger 1992 page 172] This episode is described in the
Gospel of Luke
The Gospel of Luke), or simply Luke (which is also its most common form of abbreviation). tells of the origins, birth, ministry, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ. Together with the Acts of the Apostles, it makes up a two-vol ...
().
[''The Gospel according to Luke'' by Michael Patella 2005 page 16]
Biblical narrative
In the Gospel of Luke, after the
Sanhedrin trial of Jesus
In the New Testament, the Sanhedrin trial of Jesus refers to the trial of Jesus before the Sanhedrin (a Jewish judicial body) following his arrest in Jerusalem and prior to the trial before Pontius Pilate. It is an incident reported by all t ...
, the Court elders ask
Pontius Pilate
Pontius Pilate (; grc-gre, Πόντιος Πιλᾶτος, ) was the fifth governor of the Roman province of Judaea, serving under Emperor Tiberius from 26/27 to 36/37 AD. He is best known for being the official who presided over the trial of ...
to judge and condemn Jesus in Luke
23:2, accusing Jesus of making false claims of being a king. While questioning Jesus about the claim of being the
King of the Jews, Pilate realizes that Jesus is a Galilean and therefore under Herod's jurisdiction. Since Herod already happened to be in Jerusalem at that time, Pilate decides to send Jesus to Herod to be tried.
Herod Antipas (the same man who had previously ordered the death of
John the Baptist
John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...
and, according to some
Pharisees, had plotted to have Jesus killed as well) had wanted to see Jesus for a long time, hoping to observe one of the
miracles of Jesus
The miracles of Jesus are miraculous deeds attributed to Jesus in Christian and Islamic texts. The majority are faith healings, exorcisms, resurrections, and control over nature.
In the Synoptic Gospels (Mark, Matthew, and Luke), Jesus refus ...
.
[''Pontius Pilate: portraits of a Roman governor'' by Warren Carter 2003 pages 120-121] However, Jesus says nothing in response to Herod's questions, or the vehement accusations of the chief priests and the scribes.
Herod and his soldiers
mock Jesus, put a gorgeous robe on him, as the King of the Jews, and send him back to Pilate. That day, Herod and Pilate, who had previously been enemies, become friends.
The Gospel of Luke does not state that Herod did not condemn Jesus, and instead attributes that conclusion to Pilate who then calls together the Court elders, and says to them:
"I having examined him before you, found no fault in this man touching those things whereof ye accuse him: no, nor yet Herod: for he sent him back unto us; and behold, nothing worthy of death hath been done by him."
After further conversations between Pilate and the Court elders, Jesus is sent to be crucified on
Calvary.
Christology
This statement by Pilate that Herod found no fault in Jesus is the second of the three declarations he makes about the innocence of Jesus in Luke's Gospel, (the first being in
23:4 and the third in
23:22) and builds on the "
Christology
In Christianity, Christology (from the Greek grc, Χριστός, Khristós, label=none and grc, -λογία, -logia, label=none), translated literally from Greek as "the study of Christ", is a branch of theology that concerns Jesus. Differ ...
of innocence" present in that Gospel.
[''The character and purpose of Luke's christology'' by Douglas Buckwalter 1996 pages 109-111][''Early narrative Christology: the Lord in the Gospel of Luke'' by Christopher Kavin Rowe 2006 page 183][''Luke's presentation of Jesus: a christology'' by Robert F. O'Toole 2004 pages 96-101] In the narrative that follows this episode, other people beside Pilate and Herod also find no fault in Jesus.
In
23:41 one of the two thieves crucified next to Jesus also states Jesus' innocence, while in
23:47 the Roman
centurion says: "Certainly this was a righteous man."
The centurion's characterization illustrates the Christological focus of Luke on innocence (which started in the courts of Pilate and Herod), in contrast to
Matthew 27:54 and
Mark 15:39 in which the centurion states: "Truly this man was the Son of God", emphasizing Jesus' divinity.
John Calvin considered the lack of response from Jesus to the questions posed by Herod, his silence in the face of the accusations made by the Jewish elders, and the minimal conversation with Pilate after his return from Herod as an element of the "agent Christology" of the crucifixion.
[''The Reading and Preaching of the Scriptures'' by ]Hughes Oliphant Old Hughes Oliphant Old (April 13, 1933 – May 24, 2016) was an American theologian and academic. Until his retirement in 2014 he was the John H. Leith Professor of Reformed Theology and Worship at Erskine Theological Seminary. Previously he had taught ...
2002 page 125[''Calvin's Christology'' by Stephen Edmondson 2004 page 91] Calvin stated that Jesus could have argued for his innocence, but instead remained mostly quiet and willingly submitted to
his crucifixion in obedience to the will of
the Father, for he knew his role as the "willing
Lamb of God".
The "agent Christology" reinforced in Herod's court builds on the prediction by Jesus in
Luke 18:32 that he shall be: "delivered up unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and shamefully treated."
In Herod's court, Luke continues to emphasize Jesus' role not as an "unwilling sacrifice" but as a willing "agent and servant" of God who submitted to the will of the Father.
[''Holiness and ecclesiology in the New Testament'' by Kent E. Brower, Andy Johnson 2007 page 115]
See also
*
Chronology of Jesus
A chronology of Jesus aims to establish a timeline for the events of the life of Jesus. Scholars have correlated Jewish and Greco-Roman documents and astronomical calendars with the New Testament accounts to estimate dates for the major even ...
*
Pilate's court
In the canonical gospels, Pilate's court refers to the trial of Jesus in praetorium before Pontius Pilate, preceded by the Sanhedrin Trial. In the Gospel of Luke, Pilate finds that Jesus, being from Galilee, belonged to Herod Antipas' jurisdi ...
*
Passion (Christianity)
In Christianity, the Passion (from the Latin verb ''patior, passus sum''; "to suffer, bear, endure", from which also "patience, patient", etc.) is the short final period in the life of Jesus Christ.
Depending on one's views, the "Passion" m ...
References
{{Reflist, 2
Passion of Jesus
Gospel of Luke