Luke 9
7 Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was done by him: and he was
perplexed, because that it was said of some, that John was risen from the
dead; 8 And of some, that Elias had appeared; and of others, that one of the old
prophets was risen again. 9 And Herod said, John have I beheaded: but who is
this, of whom I hear such things? And he desired to see him.

* * *

Judea in the time of Jesus Christ had an autonomous ruler - because
it made Roman occupation seem acceptable to the Jews, for it they
were directly subjected to the emperor by the divine right of Jupiter,
that would challenge their faith in One God and there would be a revolt
(which later indeed happened, culminating with the destruction of
Jerusalem and Temple around 70 AD).

But Herod had no real power, as to choose allied countries or make
an independent political decision, rather to eat, drink and merry, and
have whatever woman he wanted, even if it is his brother's wife:
it was irrelevant to Rome. He was free to deal with his internal enemies
any way he wanted as long as he guaranteed unconditional obedience and
material gain through taxes to then world order - Rome.

Likewise he beheaded John the Baptist, because John realised that
having a political leader openly transgress the Law will be a bad
example and influence, corrupting the majority.

It is then interesting to see what comes next.

Why the scribes and the Pharisees, who only had the access to the
Law of Moses and the Prophets, were the least to accept salvation
in Christ?

First, it would cost them their position: their position is no longer
guaranteed if a leper, blind man or a prostitute could replace them,
and everybody would know the holy Scriptures by heart.

Already hated and despised, tax collectors and prostitutes had nothing
to lose, so they went to John and were baptised, confessing their sins
(Mark 1:5).

Second, it would move them out of their zone of comfort - confessing
their sins in public and being baptised by John who simply came out of
nowhere and never went to a Pharisee or scribe school ... "No, we don't
think so ... we will rather that people think we are holy, saintly and
never committed sin, so we have the divine right to teach the nation
as the disciples of Moses" (John 9:28).

Third, they envied Jesus. Pontius Pilate was a Roman politician,
so he knew all about schemes, plots, assassinations and envy.
He realised that the Pharisees envied Jesus and wanted him
to be crucified because of that only reason, so he tried to release him
(Mark 15:10).

He realised that he is dealing with an innocent man, and wanted not
to have anything to do with his crucifixion, also being warned by his
wife's dream (Matthew 27:19). He tried to release him again and again,
but Jews used blackmailing, accusing him that he was not the friend
of the Emperor (John 19:12). Now, this was a serious charge that could
endanger the pontifex himself: in Rome, such a slander could have had
serious consequences or cause a political murder or assassination,
for even the emperors of Rome were assassinated like Julius Cezar himself.
Nobody's head was secure and no protection was rock solid for Pilate.

He sent him to Herod, but Herod did not want to do anything with his
death either. Notice that Herod admitted beheading John and sort of
took responsibility rather than seeking excuses or blaming others.
Though he actually used the butchers as a proxy in the murder,
he admitted as committing this murder of John himself. This might
mean that his conscience was troubling him, or even a sing of repentance.

As his last bet, Pilates offered the crowds who were restored from
blindness, paralysis and leprosy or raised from death to choose
to release Jesus of Nazareth, and who praised the new Messiah just
a week ago ... but the Jews kept shouting louder and louder: "Crucify!"
(Mark 15:14).
Fourth, status quo. The Pharisees wanted to maintain a status quo,
even if it meant Roman occupation and no freedom, any Roman soldier
being allowed to order any Jew to carry his military gears for one mile.
But they wanted their position that guaranteed them their financial stability,
rather than the spiritual examination of all teachings of Moses and the
Prophets.

If the new teaching prevailed, Romans would come and take the
Temple and the nation from them (John 11:48).

Fifth, the exclusivity complex: the Pharisees believed that they are
the only valid representatives of God, in a God-chosen nation,
even if someone came and raised the dead, making an obvious sign
(Acts 4:16). The fact that Jesus made more convincing miracles
did not make them suspect that he is really coming from God, but
that he was a greater danger to their status.

The Pharisees diluted the wine with water, and made it like water,
because having most of the people obedient and manageable
was preferred by them to a radical change, where nobody's position
would be safe.

The fact that unlearned carpenter could come and take their position,
which came from schooling, generational heritage and political protection
meant that anybody could. The greater loss would be the financial gain
they had and their status.

On the other hand, they thought that they could kill a man for the greater
good and celebrate Passover undefiled, while merely entering the room to
speak with Pontius Pilate would defile them (John 18:28).
They did not think that a mounted trial, false accusations, slander and envy
would defile them.

As a conclusion, what could be concluded about Herod the Tetrarch
and the Pharisees?

Though Tetrarch meant "quadruple reign of power", Herod was a
mock-puppet of then World Order, the Emperor of Rome.
But he was free to remove any internal threat to his authority as long as
he guaranteed unconditional obedience to Rome and paying taxes.
(Today it would be payment of external debt.)
The Pharisees, on the other hand, had autonomy in religious teaching,
to the point where Romans realised that they can make Jews pay
taxes, but they will have to deal with revolts if they try to change their
religion and their tradition.

But over time, unlike the generation that marveled at the wise answers
of child Jesus, they stopped spiritual search and examination of faith,
so the new movement got them unprepared and they perceived it
as a threat, rather than a path to salvation from their slavery to their hidden
sins.

Hiding sins instead of confessing them with John the Baptist was
more comfortable than humbling themselves before the entire
assembly, but it made them "white painted graves, full of bones and skulls"
(Luke 11:44).

Which means, they appeared righteous and noble before the people,
but their hidden, unconfessed sins still triggered their behaviour.
While they wore masks rather than changing their inner core, they
were ready to outlaw or kill anyone who was a perceived threat to their
status, including the man blind from birth who received sight from
Jesus (John 9:34) and Lazarus who was just resurrected from the dead
(John 12:10-11).

in the LORD God Merciful, Longsuffering
Amen