Herod Hears of Jesus - Luke 9:7

The beloved physician Luke wrote how Jesus and His disciples, “departed, and went through the towns, preaching the gospel, and healing every where”, and in chapter nine and verse seven of his book Luke shared about, “Herod the tetrarch” where we read:

Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was done by him:

and he was perplexed, because that it was said of some, that John was risen from the dead;

The verse reads, “Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was done by him:” Luke began with the words, “Now Herod the tetrarch” or “at that time Herod whose name means heroic and was surnamed "Antipas", was the son of Herod the Great and Malthace, a Samaritan woman. After the death of his father he was appointed by the Romans tetrarch of Galilee and Peraea” “heard of all that was done” which means “was given the faculty of hearing, perceived, understood and knew each, every, the whole and everything that was performed” “by him” or “through and by means of Jesus”. Luke shared how “Herod” learned of “all the works and sayings” of Jesus.

The verse continues, “and he was perplexed, because that it was said of some, that John was risen from the dead;” Luke added the words, “and he was perplexed” which means “and Herod was entirely at a loss and in doubt”, “because that it was said of some” or “since and on account that some people were uttering, declaring and proclaiming”, “that John” which refers to “that John the Baptist whose name means Jehovah is a gracious giver” “was risen from the dead” which means “arose, was resurrected and came back to life from being lifeless, without breath and inanimate”. Luke shared how “Herod” was “confused” because some people were declaring that John the Baptist arose from being “dead”.

When we meditate upon Luke's words in this verse, we learn about a ruler named “Herod” who heard about all Jesus was proclaiming and doing among the people. Some people told Him that John the Baptist was resurrected from the dead, and this confused him greatly. We shall see why Herod was so concerned over this news in the next few verses, but for now let it suffice us to realize God desired for His Son Jesus to be well-known even among the governing entities, and all of them play into His mighty plan for the salvation of mankind. God loves people, and even when leaders learn of Him, His desires is for everyone to yield their lives to Him as their personal “Savior and Lord”.

Next time Luke shares how some people thought, “that Elias had appeared”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".