King Herod has been hearing stories about what Jesus is doing. He is puzzled because he is being told that Jesus is John the Baptist risen from the dead. At the same time others are saying that Elijah, whose expected return would signal the arrival of the Messiah, or some of the former biblical prophets has reappeared. Herod has recently beheaded John the Baptist and the superstitious king is filled with a mixture of fear and curiosity. He "kept trying to see Jesus."

In fact, Luke is preparing the reader for the later meeting of Herod with Jesus (23:8-12). Herod's desire was almost entirely one of curiosity, it was the desire of the hedonist and the seeker of novelty. To see Jesus, in the full Gospel sense, is something totally different. It can only happen to those who have the eyes of faith and who can see in the person of Jesus the presence and power of God. We may recall the request of some "Greeks" who told Philip they wanted to see Jesus and the reply that Jesus gave about the grain of wheat falling into the ground and dying (Jn 12:20-26). We have not seen Jesus if we do not know him in his suffering and dying as the way to new life. Let us ask to see the real Jesus today, a seeing that leads to a total acceptance of His way of life and a following Him all the way, through the cross and beyond to a life of fulfilment that never ends.