Luke 23:8-16 — Curious?!

READ THIS: Luke 23:8-16

8 When Herod saw Jesus, he was greatly pleased, because for a long time he had been wanting to see him. From what he had heard about him, he hoped to see him perform a sign of some sort. 9 He plied him with many questions, but Jesus gave him no answer. 10 The chief priests and the teachers of the law were standing there, vehemently accusing him. 11 Then Herod and his soldiers ridiculed and mocked him. Dressing him in an elegant robe, they sent him back to Pilate. 12 That day Herod and Pilate became friends—before this they had been enemies. 

13 Pilate called together the chief priests, the rulers and the people, 14 and said to them, “You brought me this man as one who was inciting the people to rebellion. I have examined him in your presence and have found no basis for your charges against him. 15 Neither has Herod, for he sent him back to us; as you can see, he has done nothing to deserve death. 16 Therefore, I will punish him and then release him.”

WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY?

In short, Pilate and Herod bond over messing with Jesus, but they both agree that He shouldn't be punished. But, Pilate decides to punish Jesus a little to appease the crowd, but to release Him. 

An interesting part of this passage is the way Herod is described. He's excited to examine Jesus and potentially see a sign, even though he isn't Jewish. Herod reminds me of many nonbelievers I know. A lot of times, we can think that people who don't believe in Jesus will be offended if we talk to them about Christianity and Jesus, but in reality, many people have a whole lot of curiosity about other people's religions. Herod was beyond curious, and despite the fact he was being given work to do while he was hanging out in Jerusalem, he was eager to do it.

THINK ABOUT IT:

1. How do you think your conversations with people would be different if you thought they were genuinely curious about Jesus?
 
2. Why do you think the part about Herod and Pilate becoming friends is included in the Bible? (Your guess is as good as mine is!)

TRY THIS:

Go into every conversation you have today with the thought "they might be genuinely curious in Jesus" in the back of your head, and see what happens! If it helps, write "curios?!" on the back of your hand!

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