Luke 9:7 Now Herod the tetrarch heard about all that was going on. And he was perplexed because some were saying that John had been raised from the dead,
Sometimes you want to hide some information, so you stuff it in the middle of something else. But other times the opposite is done. Do you remember one of the opening scenes of the movie A Christmas Story when Ralphie places the Red Rider advertisement in the middle of his mother’s magazine, all in a ploy to get his parents to make his longed for purchase?
At every turn Ralphie blows his not so subtle attempts to give clues about what he really wants for Christmas. He is met with “You’ll shoot your eye out!” at every turn. His disappointment and desperation form one of the many plot lines of this classic tale. In the end, he receives his coveted Red Rider. But his bliss doesn’t last long.
Our text is sandwiched in the middle of the two accounts of Jesus sending out His disciples to multiply the Kingdom’s reach and their triumphant return to home base. So why is this quick story about Herod mentioned here? What was Luke’s purpose in including this foray into John the Baptist’s death and Herod’s guilt?
The previous verse ends by stating that news about the disciple’s proclaiming and healing has reached “people everywhere.” Now we have not only Jesus’ doing these miracles and proclaiming this message, but the disciples are doing the same. What the leaders thought they could contain has now become uncontainable. Multiplication has happened.
So how far had the news spread about this multiplication? All the way to the Roman leader in that area. Herod ruled one quarter of the territory of his father Herod the Great, the Herod who probably killed the babies in an attempt to kill Jesus.
It is this son, who has many of the same traits as his father, who now hears about the multiplication of teaching and miracles. He gets reports about people being healed in multiple places. He has probably already heard about Jesus’ miracles and teaching, but now multiple reports from multiple places are brought to his attention.
Herod has some paranoid tendencies and thinks that perhaps John the Baptist, whom he murdered at the deceptive desires of his wife, that this John has come back to life. I think they make medication for this type of thing!
Luke includes this report about Herod here to show the extent of the reports of what the disciples have done. This was not a small event that took place. The disciples went to different places at once, and taught and healed. And they did some traveling around to multiple places as well. This can not be hidden.
But Luke also includes it here as a way to set up the what happens and is reported in the Book of Acts. After Jesus’ resurrection and ascension, the Holy Spirit comes on the inhabitants of the Upper Room and the multiplication breaks out again. They turn their world right side up. And nothing can stop it.
Today, remember that nothing can stop the message of hope we have in Jesus. Name calling can’t stop it. Labeling us can’t stop it. Arresting us can’t stop it. Convicting us can’t stop it. Killing us can’t stop it. We are on the winning side, even if at the present moment things don’t look that way.
But Jesus…. He is at work. Look for His hands. Be His hands. Preach and bring healing. The mandate and power have not changed. Our longed for Red Rider is in our future.
The Arnold Journey 