Missed Opportunity

The moment had finally come. Herod was about to meet the famous Jesus. And the Bible says that he was “delighted at the opportunity” (Luke 23:8 NLT). Herod wanted to be dazzled. He wanted to see a miracle.

But it’s doubtful that it was because Herod wanted to know God. What he essentially wanted was a magic trick. And not only did Jesus refuse to perform a miracle for Herod, but He also refused to speak a single word.

When we read the Gospels, we discover that Jesus had a lot to say to a lot of people. We see in John 3 that he had an extensive conversation with Nicodemus. And in John 4, we find another conversation that He had with a woman at Jacob’s well in Samaria.

The Lord jousted verbally with the scribes and Pharisees. He even exchanged words with Pontius Pilate. But He wouldn’t speak a single word to Herod.

Why?

Jesus, being God, could see Herod’s heart. And He knew that Herod had gone beyond the point of no return. Therefore, Jesus could see that it was futile to talk to Herod. There really was no reason to do so.

Matthew 7:6 tells us, “Don’t waste what is holy on people who are unholy. Don’t throw your pearls to pigs! They will trample the pearls, then turn and attack you” (NLT).

Some people love to argue. Sometimes, people walk up to me and say, “Greg, I want to talk with you.” Often, it’s because they want to argue with me. It becomes apparent they have a list of talking points or a hypothetical situation they want to present.

So, I simply say, “Well, you go ahead and believe that if you want to. I’m not going to try to talk you out of it. I don’t want to stand here and argue with you.”

Now, if someone asks a legitimate question and is willing to listen to my answer, then I’m happy to talk. But if it’s just going to be an argument, then I have other things to do. That’s because someone else with a genuine spiritual need might be waiting to speak with me. And they might be overlooked because someone simply wants to argue.

That is basically what Jesus was doing with Herod. He was saying, “There is no point.” And effectively, the party was over for King Herod.

Talk about opportunity. First, he had access to the greatest New Testament prophet ever, John the Baptist. But he had him beheaded. And then God Incarnate stood before him. But Herod only wanted to see Him do a trick.

He could have poured out his heart to Jesus, confessed his sins, found forgiveness, and resensitized his seared conscience. But he did not. Instead, Herod rejected Christ, and Christ rejected Herod.

Don’t mess with your conscience, lest you end up like Herod and come to a point where Jesus says, “The conversation is over. I’ve said everything there is to say.” Don’t let that happen to you.

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