Verse 31
This incident followed the former one chronologically. Therefore it is probable that Jesus’ words about Jews not entering the kingdom and Gentiles entering it had caused the Pharisees to gnash their teeth in anger against Him. Luke’s presentation of the Pharisees has been consistently antagonistic, so it is reasonable to assume that their suggestion had a hidden motive. They may have wanted to scare Jesus into retreating rather than continuing on toward Jerusalem where Herod awaited Him. Or perhaps Herod was using the Pharisees to pass on a death threat to Jesus.
Did Herod Antipas really want to kill Jesus? He kept trying to see Jesus (Luke 9:9), and when he finally did he was very glad for the opportunity hoping that Jesus would perform a miracle (Luke 23:8). However he proceeded to mock Jesus and to treat Him with contempt (Luke 23:11). It appears that the Pharisees were overstating Herod’s hostility at this time. Their warning posed a temptation for Jesus to depart from His Father’s will for Him, but He did not yield to it.
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