‘Who is this man I hear these things about?’ ( Luke 9:9 )

Herod, the ruler of Galilee, killed John the Baptist because John accused Herod of committing an incestuous sin.  (Herodias was the granddaughter of King Herod the senior; while Herod, the ruler of Galilee, was the son of King Herod the senior.)

People thought that Jesus’ ability came from John who was raised from the dead.  Herod said positively, ‘He is John the Baptist!  I had his head cut off, but he has come back to life!’( Mark 6:16 )  His conscience was haunted by the remembrance of John.

Perhaps out of repentance, curiosity, or other reasons, he hoped to see Jesus.

Finally, he was fortunate enough to see Jesus.  Unfortunately, he did not have a tiny bit of repentance.  He only wanted to satisfy his own curiosity.  Take a look at what the Gospel of Luke tells us:

‘When Pilate heard this, he asked, “Is this man a Galilean?” When he learnt that Jesus was from the region ruled by Herod, he sent him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem at that time.  Herod was very pleased when he saw Jesus, because he had heard about him and had been wanting to see him for a long time.  He was hoping to see Jesus perform some miracle.  So Herod asked Jesus many questions, but Jesus made no answer.’( Luke 23:6-9 )
No matter how grave our sin is, as long as there is a tiny bit of repentance, Jesus will never abandon anyone.

Please meditate on the following touching scene found in the Gospel of Luke:
‘One of the criminals hanging there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”

The other one, however, rebuked him, saying “Don’t you fear God?  You received the same sentence he did.  Ours, however, is only right, because we are getting what we deserve for what we did; but he has done no wrong.” And he said to Jesus, “Remember me, Jesus, when you come as King!”

Jesus said to him, “I promise you that today you will be in Paradise with me.”( Luke 23:39 -43 ) Jesus is always generous to those who are generous.