Herod the Hearer
8 When Herod saw Jesus, he was very glad, for he had been wanting to see him for a long time, because he had heard about him and was hoping to see him perform some sign. 9 He questioned him at some length, but Jesus gave him no answer. 10 The chief priests and the scribes stood by, vehemently accusing him. 11 Even Herod with his soldiers treated him with contempt and mocked him; then he put an elegant robe on him, and sent him back to Pilate. 12 That same day Herod and Pilate became friends with each other; before this they had been enemies. (Luke 23)
There is something about hearing that is dangerous, because once one has heard they become, to some extent, accountable. Think about it, if I hear my mom asking me to get her purse I am responsible for getting the purse to her. If I overhear a plot to commit a crime, I am (or should be) responsible for alerting the authorities.
Some words that we hear carry more weight, and demand more attention than others. The law enforcement officer, your spouse, a teacher, etc. When we hear a word from individuals like this we are required to respond in some way.
In the above passage we encounter a character who is used to hearing. We might call him "Hearing Herod" (sorry about that, I know it's corny) because he apparently loves to hear and talk about religious stuff. If you jog your memory and flip through your Bible you'll see what I mean.
Way back when John the Baptist was alive Herod was enamored with his preaching:
"Herod was in awe of John. Convinced that he was a holy man, he gave him special treatment. Whenever he listened to him he was miserable with guilt-and yet he couldn't stay away. Something in John kept pulling him back." (Mark 6:20 MSG)
So he would hear, but never obey. For him hearing was enough because it probably gave him things to wrestle with. Perhaps it titillated his mind and made him wonder about things, but the word he was hearing was from God, the response needed was repentance; but rather than repent he just desired to keep hearing.
Fast forward a few years and we find that John the Baptist is dead, but Herod's longing for religious listening and questioning lives on.
"When Herod saw Jesus, he was very glad, for he had been wanting to see him for a long time, because he had heard about him and was hoping to see him perform some sign."
This day, for Herod, is a lottery winning day! He had been hoping to see Jesus and speak with Jesus for a long time, but as of yet he had no opportunity to do so. But now the Son of God stands before him. How fortunate for Herod; certainly Jesus will give him what he needs. Maybe Jesus will preach a better word than John the Baptist did. Maybe he'll wow him with a miracle; after all, this is a great opportunity for both of them. On the one hand Jesus can gain a very influential follower that would certainly grant him his freedom. On the other hand Herod would finally be able to truly find life and live.
So here we go, Herod is shooting off the questions. I imagine he was wishing he knew Jesus was coming in advance so he could have arranged his thoughts; but he must seize this opportunity. He begins "plying him with many questions" (KJV), but Jesus gives no answer. He simply remains silent...
WHAT!?
Why is Jesus being such a bad evangelist? Why is he neglecting the opportunity to make a disciple? Certainly he wishes that all people would come to follow him, so why is he balking at the opportunity to bring Herod to repentance?
He doesn't respond because for Jesus intent comes before content. In other words he see's the condition of Herod's heart. He knows that Herod is "a serial listener," and he knows that his heart is so closed up to the word that listening, for Herod, is the end, it never leads to doing.
Therefore when Herod begins firing off questions Jesus remains silent!
This is actually a bit frightening, don't you think? You see, like the people at the beginning of this post that we said their words require a response, God's word requires an immediate response! And if we continue to hear without responding to his word eventually our hearts will grow too familiar and to hard to be moved to action by that word.
Herod perhaps thought his intentions were good, in the same way that Mr. and Mrs. "See-you-at-church-every-opportunity-I-get-but-don't-expect-me-to-repent" think their motives are pure. Always present when the doors are open, always eager to listen to the word of God, always feeling the conviction of the Holy Spirit, never actually doing what it says. But little do they know that the master is requiring fruit from the word sown into their lives, and as he does in the parable (Luke 13:6-9) he comes to check to see if there is any fruit at all.
What a dreadful situation to be in. Standing before the Lord of creation, but getting nothing from him.
This lesson should remind us that God requires something from us when we receive the word. He speaks so that we can have the joy of doing what he says. But to find satisfaction in simply hearing the word is to place yourself in grave danger. For maybe you, like Herod, will wait until just the opportune time; but when that time comes you will find that you actually have no interest in Jesus.
Herod could have fallen in his knees at the silence of Jesus, "Please sir, I want to know you more, I need your salvation!" But instead the hardness of his heart is revealed in the fact that he begins treating Jesus with contempt, mocking him with the rest of the crowd.
Scripture always speaks of salvation and responding to God as a "Now" event:
For he says, "In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you."
I tell you, now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation. (2 Corinthians 6:2 NIV)God again set a certain day, calling it "Today." This he did when a long time later he spoke through David, as in the passage already quoted: "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts." (Hebrews 4:7 NIV)
Another disciple said to him, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father." But Jesus told him, "Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead." (Matthew 8:21, 22 NIV)
So today, if you hear the word of God, do what it says. Don't put it off until the opportune time, because the only opportune time is right now.
Your fellow hearer and doer,
God's Court Jester