And Herod with his men of war set Him at nought, and mocked Him, and arrayed Him in a gorgeous robe, and sent Him again to Pilate. Luke 23:11
The phrase ‘set at nought’ is developed from the Greek word ‘exoutheneo’, a compound of the words ek and outhen. The word ek means out, and the word outhen is a later form of the word ouden, which means nothing. Taken together, it means to make one out to be nothing. It can be translated to make light of, to belittle, to disdain, to disregard, to despise, or to treat with maliciousness and contempt. That is what is happening in our text. Jesus had already endured the rabid yelling and screaming that the chief priests and elders unleashed on Him. But now Herod and his bodyguards entered centre stage to start their own brand of humiliating Jesus. Luke uses the word ‘exoutheneo’ to let us know that they were malicious and vindictive and that their behaviour was nasty and ugly. What a disgrace, to see Herod Antipas, a Roman governor who was supposedly an educated, cultured, and refined man, along with his finely trained Roman soldiers who were supposed to be professional in their conduct and appearance, descending deep into depravity to impersonate Jesus and the people He ministered to! Little has changed today.
Millions flocked to see and hear the pope on his public visit to Cuba and the United States a few years ago. They lavished Rome’s big cheese with plenty of praise and adoration, but it was all for religion and none of it for Jesus Christ. That’s religion, pure and simple, the exaltation of man and the neglect of God. The so-called intellectual world drips with mockery of all things pertaining to Jesus Christ. Not only do they doubt His existence, deride His ministry, and dismiss His claims, but they attack all those who would faithfully follow Him. True Christians (not the hypocrites who try to ride on the Christians’ coattails) used to be respected and honoured for their kindness, honesty, and decent living. No more! Today, Christians are branded as troublemakers for rejecting the campaign to ‘normalize’ the abomination of homosexuality. In just this one cause, Christians are being censured, jailed, fined heavily, and publicly disgraced for standing firm on what the Word of God teaches. As Creationists, we are mocked and scorned unmercifully. The Bible is under heavy attacks that are growing and becoming much more fierce. We are living in a day when Herod and his men at war would fit right in.
There came a point at which Herod and his lads tired of their little game, and sent Jesus back to Pilate. So we should take courage today, that the enemies of our Lord will eventually come to an end of their setting at nought, of their mockery, and opposition. The purposes of God will not be altered. The Herods of this world will be eaten of worms (Acts 12:20-23). – Jim MacIntosh