Who Does The World Say Jesus Is
- Deacon Dan DeLuca
- Sep 22, 2022
- 4 min read
There is perhaps no more important question that we can ask than who is Jesus. The answer to this question can give life, as Pope Benedict says, “A new horizon and a decisive direction.” (Deus Caritas Est 2) When we ask that question, who and what forms our answer? Do we listen to the modern world where Jesus is often reduced to a nice guy who had some good things to say about loving everybody? Or rather, do we look at the scriptures to understand who Jesus said he was and revealed himself to be? Those are questions to sit with as we consider that same question through the eyes of Herod.
Herod’s Perplexity – Luke 9 : 7-9
Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was done, and he was perplexed, because it was said by some that John had been raised from the dead, by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the old prophets had risen. Herod said, “John I beheaded; but who is this about whom I hear such things?” And he sought to see him.
Scriptural Analysis
Herod takes up the question of Jesus’s identity: a question already taken up several times during Jesus’s Galilean ministry (Luke 5:21, 7:19-20, 8:25). The usual list of identities is offered: John the Baptist, Elijah, or Moses. We don’t know why Herod desired to take up this question or why he sought to see Jesus. It could have been idle curiosity or as the fame of Jesus and the disciples grew, Herod could have a genuine interest in figuring out who this man was. Of course, given Herod’s political ambitions, nefarious intentions can not be ruled out. Regardless of Herod’s motives, there is no mention of Jesus meeting with Herod at this point in his ministry. In fact, we do not have record of Jesus ministering in Herod’s capital cities of Sepphoris and Tiberias. Jesus knew what Herod did to John so in all likelihood, Jesus was avoiding him.
It is curious why Luke chose to place this particular scene with Herod, at this location in his Gospel. Chapter nine of Luke’s Gospel opens with the disciples being sent out by Jesus to heal and to preach. We then have today’s passage concerning Herod’s inquiry. Immediately after that Jesus feed the 5000, Peter gives his profession of Faith, and Jesus is Transfigured with Peter, John, and James there to witness it. Luke is likely trying to accomplish two objectives.
First, Luke is using Herod’s authority to illustrate how Jesus’s authority exceeds that of any worldly leader. Herod would not inquire about someone who is less than himself in the way that Luke has portrayed him. Secondarily, Luke his using Herod in this instance as a bit of foreshadowing. Preparing us for the political position that Jesus will face later in his Gospel (when Herod will actually meet Jesus) as well as the opposition the Apostles will face from Herod’s successor.
Practical Application
We can’t know with any degree of certainty what Herod’s motive was for inquiring about Jesus. However, what we can know for certain is that even Herod, a man flush with wealth and worldly power, had to wrestle with Jesus’s identity at some level. Once he had heard about him, he could not simply ignore him. This is the fundamental reality of an encounter with Christ. You have to answer the question of who he is. You can’t ignore it precisely because Christ places demands on our lives. These demands can be hard, “If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” (Luke 9:23) You aren’t going to do that if you don’t know who Christ is. Likewise, you aren’t going to refuse to do it if you come to the conclusion that Christ is who he says he is. Who Christ is, is a question we must all answer.
We also need to consider what sources inform our understanding of who Jesus is. We see even in his own time, people were uncertain of Jesus’s true identity. In this passage alone three different identities were ascribed to him. The same phenomenon exists today. There are people who have reduced Jesus to a great moral teacher while others deny his humanity all together, and focus exclusively on his divinity. It is easy to get led astray: to come to the wrong conclusion with regards to Jesus’s identity.
It is important that we discern carefully those sources that inform our understanding. To simplify things, stick to the basics. Read the Bible and then read what the early Christian said about who Jesus was. They won’t lead you astray. However, Jesus is not a historical figure that we discover only in the pages of books. Rather, he is the living God therefore we ultimately discover his true identify in prayer. Pope Benedict tells us that our decision to follow Christ, “is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person.” (Deus Caritas Est 2)
Who is Christ? That is the most important question we will ever wrestle with. It is a question that we must answer daily as we are called to take up our cross daily and follow him. To know for sure, we must encounter him. Encounter the Risen Christ in prayer where he will show us who he is.
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