XI. HOW HEROD HEORD OF JESUS

Matth. 14:1.—“At that time Herod the tetrarch heard of the fame of Jesus, and said unto his servants (toiV paisin autou), This is John the Baptist, who is risen from the dead.”

St. Matthew here declares that Herod delivered his opinion of Christ to his servants. There must have been some particular reason, one would imagine, to induce him to make such a communication to them above all other people. What could it have been? St. Mark does not help us to solve the question, for he contents himself with recording what Herod said. Neither does St. Luke in the parallel passage, tell us to whom he addressed himself—“he was desirous of seeing him, because he had heard many things of him.” By referring ferring, however, to the eighth chapter of this last Evangelist, the cause why Herod had heard so much about Christ, and why he talked to his servants about Him, is sufficiently explained, but it is most incidentally. We are there informed, “that Jesus went throughout every city and village, preaching and shewing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God; and the twelve were with him, and certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, out of whom went seven devils, and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward, and Susanna, and many others, which ministered unto him of their substance.”

And again, in chap. 13. ver. 1, of the Acts of the Apostles, we read, amongst other distinguished converts, of “Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, ” or, in other words, who was his foster-brother. We see, therefore, that Christ had followers from amongst the household of this very prince, and, accordingly, that Herod was very likely to discourse with his servants on a subject in which they were better informed than himself.