I find no fault in this Man

 

 Then the whole multitude of them arose and led Him to Pilate.  And they began to accuse Him, saying, "We found this fellow perverting the nation, and forbidding to pay taxes to Caesar, saying that He Himself is Christ, a King."  Then Pilate asked Him, saying, "Are You the King of the Jews?"  He answered him and said, "It is as you say."  So Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowd, "I find no fault in this Man."  But they were the more fierce, saying, "He stirs up the people, teaching throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee to this place."  

When Pilate heard of Galilee, he asked if the Man were a Galilean.  And as soon as he knew that He belonged to Herod's jurisdiction, he sent Him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem at that time.  Now when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceedingly glad; for he had desired for a long time to see Him, because he had heard many things about Him, and he hoped to see some miracle done by Him.  Then he questioned Him with many words, but He answered him nothing.  And the chief priests and scribes stood and vehemently accused Him.  Then Herod, with his men of war, treated Him with contempt and mocked Him, arrayed Him in a gorgeous robe, and sent Him back to Pilate.  That very day Pilate and Herod became friends with each other, for previously they had been at enmity with each other.

 

- Luke 23:1-12 

 

Yesterday we read that the men who held Jesus mocked Him and beat Him.  And having blindfolded Him, they struck Him on the face and asked Him, saying, "Prophesy!  Who is the one who struck You?"  And many other things they blasphemously spoke against Him.  As soon as it was day, the elders of the people, both chief priests and scribes, came together and led Him into their council, saying, "If You are the Christ, tell us."  But He said to them, "If I tell you, you will by no means believe.  And if I also ask you, you will by no means answer Me or let Me go.  Hereafter the Son of Man will sit on the right hand of the power of God."  Then they all said, "Are You then the Son of God?"  So He said to them, "You rightly say that I am."  And they said, "What further testimony do we need?  For we have heard it ourselves from His own mouth."

 

  Then the whole multitude of them arose and led Him to Pilate.  And they began to accuse Him, saying, "We found this fellow perverting the nation, and forbidding to pay taxes to Caesar, saying that He Himself is Christ, a King."  Then Pilate asked Him, saying, "Are You the King of the Jews?"  He answered him and said, "It is as you say."  So Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowd, "I find no fault in this Man."  But they were the more fierce, saying, "He stirs up the people, teaching throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee to this place."   My study Bible points out here that the religious accusations against Jesus (see yesterday's reading, above) would not be enough to justify a death sentence under Roman occupation.  So, therefore, the chief priests have invented false accusations (see Luke 20:20-26), which are politically charged, so that they may persuade Pilate to put Jesus to death.  Pilate's question ("Are You the King of the Jews?"), my study Bible says, is more a mockery of this accusation than it is of Jesus, as it is clear that he does not take the political charges seriously ("I find no fault in this Man").  My study Bible comments that Christ's answer,  "It is as you say," can also be translated with the more ambiguous, "You say so."

 

 When Pilate heard of Galilee, he asked if the Man were a Galilean.  And as soon as he knew that He belonged to Herod's jurisdiction, he sent Him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem at that time.  Now when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceedingly glad; for he had desired for a long time to see Him, because he had heard many things about Him, and he hoped to see some miracle done by Him.  Then he questioned Him with many words, but He answered him nothing.  And the chief priests and scribes stood and vehemently accused Him.  Then Herod, with his men of war, treated Him with contempt and mocked Him, arrayed Him in a gorgeous robe, and sent Him back to Pilate.  That very day Pilate and Herod became friends with each other, for previously they had been at enmity with each other.  My study Bible suggests that Herod sees Jesus as a novelty.  It notes for us that Christ's silence is an act of compassion.  This is because to reveal divine mysteries in the face of such blasphemy would have brought Herod even greater condemnation.  St. Ambrose sees Herod as a figure who represents all unrighteous people who, if they do not recognize Jesus as the Christ, will never understand His words nor recognize His miracles.  

It's quite interesting that Herod is seen as somewhat of a highly destructive bumbler through the Gospels.  He's consistently a person for whom holy people have the kind of draw of unusual and exotic animals from strange lands.  He is fascinated with John the Baptist.  In Mark's Gospel, we're told that although Herod had him arrested for criticizing his marriage to Herodias, he "feared John, knowing that he was a just and holy man, and he protected him. And when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly" (Mark 6:20).  One gets the feeling that John the Baptist was a sort of protected thing of interest for private audience.  But then Herod rashly (and perhaps drunkenly) swears to Herodias' daughter, because he's moved by her dancing at his birthday party, "Ask me whatever you want, and I will give it to you" and "Whatever you ask me, I will give you, up to half my kingdom" (Mark 6:22-23).  And then, when she's counseled by her mother, who hates the Baptist, she asks Herod for John's head on a platter.  At that stage, Herod is "exceedingly sorry; yet, because of the oaths and because of those who sat with him, he did not want to refuse her" (Mark 6:26), so he follows through with her wish.  Both Mark and Matthew also tell us that when Herod heard of the things that Christ was doing, he was curious to see him.  But then he also became paranoid, believing that possibly Jesus was John the Baptist returned from the dead, and that was the explanation for Christ's power (Matthew 14:2; Mark 6:14).  In today's reading, Herod is once again like an immature child.  He wants to see Jesus because he had heard many things about Him, and he hoped to see some miracle done by Him.  Herod wants to be amused and dazzled by what he does not understand.  He behaves like an overspoiled person, who sees others as things to be acquired and consumed like entertainments for his pleasure and wonder.  Christ's response is telling by His silence.  There is nothing to engage in Herod.  So, once again without any sense of understanding or wisdom, Herod behaves as a sort of spiteful teenager -- and, of course, is once again surrounded by his court as he was at his birthday party.  We're told that with his men of war, treated Him with contempt and mocked Him, arrayed Him in a gorgeous robe, and sent Him back to Pilate.  Perhaps these are the same men of war before whom he was afraid to back down on the oath he swore to Herodias' daughter.  His character is consistently unwise, overindulgent, and vainly destructive.  Christ, accused of proclaiming Himself king of the Jews, stands before a worldly king who fails in every possible aspect we associate with good leadership.  Herod's earthly father was known as Herod the Great.  Also known as Herod the Builder, he built many monuments, but the most splendid and famous is not doubt the beautiful temple in Jerusalem at the time of Christ, which would be completely destroyed by the Romans in the year AD 70, in response to a Jewish uprising.  Herod the Great is the same Herod who slew the infants in Bethlehem, seeking to kill Christ (Matthew 2:16-18), having heard of the birth of Jesus from the Wise Men who'd come to pay homage to Him.  Herod the Great, even in a world known for its brutality and use of raw power, was considered to be ruthless even by such earthly standards as kings and emperors of the time.  Perhaps we should contrast Herod's father with Christ's Father, so that we understand that when we choose to worship Christ, we choose also to participate in an entirely different set of energies than the ruthless worldly power of the family of Herod.  In the contrast between Herod Antipas, the son, and Jesus Christ the Son, we see the contrasting outcome between the two.   The Gospel today tells us afterward, that very day Pilate and Herod became friends with each other, for previously they had been at enmity with each other.  One Roman representative becomes friends with another, and they will share in the violence done to Him, despite their knowledge that He is a holy Man.  For if we watch the way of the world, we will see that this is the way that violence works so often:  denying its culpability, and hiding behind titles and falsehoods.  Both men know that Jesus is innocent, but each somehow excuses his role.  Christ stands before them, but the real truth here is that they stand before Him.  We live in a world that still remains one of expediency, even ruthlessness, caught in a web of presumably good intentions assigned to large institutions, whole countries, administrations, and human affairs of all kinds.  But we each stand before Christ nevertheless, for He is with us.  Some leave lasting marks on the world, but none more so than the One who is condemned as an Innocent.  Let us consider what we think of as great, and what it is we might leave behind us.