Luke 9:7-9

4 th. Luke 9:7-9. The Fears of Herod.

This passage in Matthew (ch. 14) is separated by several Chapter s from the preceding narrative; but it is connected with it both chronologically and morally by Luke and Mark (Mark 6:14 et seq.). It was, in fact, the stir created by this mission of the Twelve which brought the fame of Jesus to Herod's ears (“ for His name was spread abroad,” Mark 6:14).

The idea of this prince, which Luke mentions, that Jesus might be John risen from the dead, is the only indication which is to be found in this evangelist of the murder of the forerunner. But for the existence of this short passage in Luke, it would have been laid down as a critical axiom, that Luke was ignorant of the murder of John the Baptist! The saying, Elias or one of the old prophets, meant a great deal nothing less, in the language of that time, than the Messiah is at hand (Matthew 16:14; John 1:21 et seq.).

In Matthew and Mark, the supposition that Jesus is none other than the forerunner risen from the dead proceeds from Herod himself. In Luke this apprehension is suggested to him by popular rumour, which is certainly more natural. The repetition of ἐγώ, I, is, as Meyer says, the echo of an alarmed conscience.

The remarkable detail, which Luke alone has preserved, that Herod sought to have a private interview with Jesus, indicates an original source of information closely connected with this king. Perhaps it reached Luke, or the author of the document of which he availed himself, by means of some one of those persons whom Luke describes so exactly, vi Luke 2:3 and Acts 13:1, and who belonged to Herod's household.