Herod the tetrarch heard about everything that was going on. He was perplexed, because some said that John had been raised from the dead, some that Elijah had appeared, and others that one of the ancient prophets had risen. “I beheaded John,” Herod said, “but who is this I hear such things about?” And he wanted to see him.
Luke 9:7‭-‬9 CSB

So….the ruler in Galilee is intrigued. Puzzled by John the Baptist, and baffled by Jesus. Having refused the truth about his sin, and cut off John’s head after he and his wife were confronted with it, now here is a miracle worker also stirring up the people. He claims to be sent from God as well.

Herod listens to what people around him are saying. Maybe it’s John come back to life…maybe the prophet Elijah has returned.  But Herod himself believed John the Baptist had been raised from the dead.

Are the things they were believing about Jesus any easier to believe than the truth? Is it easier for some people today to believe that Jesus was a good man, a prophet, anything but who He said he was – the Son of God??

If He was not who He said He was, He was not a good man, since He would be a world class liar. Or possibly a straight up lunatic. The only other possibility was that He was telling the truth — 🤔.

Verse 9 says Herod wanted to see Jesus. Which begs the question, “Then why didn’t he?” He was King Herod, and could have given the order to bring Jesus to see him. If he really wanted to know the truth.

Curiosity is not the same thing as really seeking for the truth, is it? It behooves us to seriously check out the claims of Someone who claims to be the Son of God, doesn’t it? Especially when there are so many confirmed reports that He has been seen alive after a very public death…🤔

If you are curious about who Jesus is, I pray you will seriously investigate. As far as we know, Herod never did, and so is in hell today.

The message of the gospel is so simple a child may understand it. In a nutshell, it is this:

“For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him. “There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son.
John 3:16‭-‬18 NLT