Text -- Luke 23:6-12 (NET)

Jesus Brought Before Herod

23:6 Now when Pilate heard this, he asked whether the man was a Galilean. 23:7 When he learned that he was from Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent him over to Herod, who also happened to be in Jerusalem at that time. 23:8 When Herod saw Jesus, he was very glad, for he had long desired to see him, because he had heard about him and was hoping to see him perform some miraculous sign. 23:9 So Herod questioned him at considerable length; Jesus gave him no answer. 23:10 The chief priests and the experts in the law were there, vehemently accusing him. 23:11 Even Herod with his soldiers treated him with contempt and mocked him. Then, dressing him in elegant clothes, Herod sent him back to Pilate. 23:12 That very day Herod and Pilate became friends with each other, for prior to this they had been enemies.

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Luk 23:7

¹ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

² sn Learning that Jesus was from Galilee and therefore part of Herod’s jurisdiction, Pilate decided to rid himself of the problem by sending him to Herod.

³ sn Herod was Herod Antipas, son of Herod the Great. See the note on Herod in 3:1.

⁴ sn Herod would probably have come to Jerusalem for the feast, although his father was only half Jewish (Josephus, Ant. 14.15.2 [14.403]). Josephus does mention Herod’s presence in Jerusalem during a feast (Ant. 18.5.3 [18.122]).

map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

NET Notes: Luk 23:8

¹ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

² tn Grk “to see some sign performed by him.” Here the passive construction has been translated as an active one in keeping with contemporary English style.

³ sn Herod, hoping to see him perform some miraculous sign, seems to have treated Jesus as a curiosity (cf. 9:7-9).

NET Notes: Luk 23:9

¹ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the previous statements in the narrative about Herod’s desire to see Jesus.

² tn Grk “he”; the referent (Herod) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

³ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

NET Notes: Luk 23:10

¹ tn Or “and the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 5:21.

² sn Luke portrays the Jewish leadership as driving events toward the cross by vehemently accusing Jesus.

NET Notes: Luk 23:11

¹ tn This is a continuation of the previous Greek sentence, but because of its length and complexity, a new sentence was started here in the translation by supplying “then” to indicate the sequence of events.

² sn This mockery involved putting elegant royal clothes on Jesus, either white or purple (the colors of royalty). This was no doubt a mockery of Jesus’ claim to be a king.

³ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Herod) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

NET Notes: Luk 23:12

¹ sn Herod and Pilate became friends with each other. It may be that Pilate’s change of heart was related to the death of his superior, Sejanus, who had a reputation for being anti-Jewish. To please his superior, Pilate may have ruled the Jews with insensitivity. Concerning Sejanus, see Philo, Embassy 24 (160-61) and Flaccus 1 (1).

² tn Grk “at enmity with each other.”