Luke 9:7-9 7Now Herod the Tetrarch heard about all the things happening, and he was greatly perplexed because it was said by some that John had been raised from the dead, 8by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the prophets of old had risen. 9But Herod said, “John I beheaded, but who is this about whom I hear such things?” And he sought to see him.
From a literary perspective, the placement of this story here in chapter 9 seeds odd and breaks the flow of the narrative. John the Baptist had already been beheaded by Herod, but he was not forgotten by Herod of others. Disciples of John spread out in many directions, even reaching as far as Ephesus (Acts 19). Luke does not give details about John’s imprisonment and death like what is found in Mark 6:17-29. The purpose of this passage appears to be to answer the question posed in 8:25: “Who then is this?” The story shows that word about Jesus had reached the highest and most powerful people in the land. Herod was mentioned back in 3:1, 19.
How did Herod come to hear about Jesus? The answer is not clearly stated, but it could have been the result of the preaching of the apostles whom Jesus sent out in the previous passage. The preaching and healing ministry of Jesus had reached Herod, and Herod was greatly perplexed about the situation. Herod must have had some religious sense and was not completely secular or humanistic. His conscious may also have been bothering him about murdering one of the greatest prophets of Israel’s history.
A rumor had been circulating that John had risen from the dead. This rumor is curious because when Jesus really did rise from the dead, many people did not believe it, yet some people would believe in John’s resurrection. Another misguided rumor that was circulating was Elijah had appeared in fulfillment of Malachi 4:5. This rumor was also based on a wrong interpretation of John’s ministry in relationship to the Messiah. Likewise, those who believed this rumor did not understand Jesus’s identity. A third rumor some people were believing was the one of the prophets from Israel’s history had appeared. These ideas all had some superstition to them and did not understand how God operates in real history. Death is final, and dead people do not reappear hundreds or thousands of years later and walk around doing miracles. It seems that was a period of great confusion about prophets, ministry, and God’s will.
Herod repeats the key question of Luke’s Gospel (5:21; 7:20, 49; 9:18–20; 20:2; 22:67–71; 23:3, 9 and of all Scripture: Who is this? Herod knew this new prophet could not be John but he had beheaded John. But Herod did not know who this might be. Herod’s motive for wanting to see Jesus is not stated here, but in 13:31, he wanted to kill Jesus, so it is highly unlikely that he wanted a nice visit with Jesus since he was not a nice guy to God’s prophets. He comes across as someone who wanted to be in full control, even more control than the Almighty God. Like his father, Herod the Great, Herod the Tetrarch wanted to get rid of any competitors for power and attention. Luke wants his readers to know and accept the true identity of Jesus as the Messiah and Son of God.
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