Herod and Pilate: An Unholy Friendship Against King Jesus

That day, two men who despised each other became friends. Their names were Herod and Pontius Pilate. They were rivals, wary of one another, likely competing for power in the same region. And yet, around the trial of Jesus, they smile at each other, exchange courtesies, shake hands. Luke 23:12 puts it with striking sobriety: "That very day, Herod and Pilate became friends with each other, for before that they were enemies with each other."

This meditation continues a sermon on Luke 23:1-12. It was recorded in March 2020, in the middle of lockdown, as a short second reflection addressed to the church and to caregivers. It invites you to look at this scene in the light of Psalm 2, and to discover that behind an unholy friendship against the King chosen by God, there is another friendship offered to you: the friendship of Christ for rebellious people.

Message Outline

1. The powerful of this world decide Jesus's fate

At this point in the Gospel, Luke does not report on the crowds: he reports on the powerful. It is the leading figures of the scene who decide the fate of Jesus.

First there is the great council of Israel, the Sanhedrin. Then there is the Roman governor of Judea, Pontius Pilate. And there is Herod, the king of Galilee, as Luke calls him in his account. None of these men has any valid reason to accuse Jesus, nor to have him condemned. None of them finds in him grounds for a sentence. And yet they end up agreeing on his fate. He will be crucified that very day, like a criminal.

In the middle of all these events, something surprising takes shape. Luke points it out insistently in verse 12: Herod and Pilate, who up to that point had been enemies, become friends that very day. Two unlikely friends. It brings to mind Stalin and Roosevelt at Yalta: smiles, a handshake, satisfaction on display. Each one thinks he made a good deal. The world seems a little safer. Everyone is pleased.

How should you understand this sudden friendship? To grasp what is really happening, you need to keep Psalm 2 in mind. Without that light, appearances will deceive you.

2. Psalm 2: the nations rage, and God laughs

Psalm 2 opens with a direct question: "Why do the nations rage, and the peoples plot a vain thing? The kings of the earth take a stand, and the rulers take counsel together, against Yahweh, and against his Anointed." They want to break their bonds apart and cast their cords away from them. They want to reign without the Son.

And the psalm continues: "He who sits in the heavens will laugh. The Lord will have them in derision. Then he will speak to them in his anger, and terrify them in his wrath: 'Yet I have set my King on my holy hill of Zion.'"

This is the light that the scene in Luke 23 is missing. While Pilate, Herod, and the Sanhedrin seem to triumph, reality is quite different. God has chosen his King. And everything that happens, right up to this unjust trial, the crucifixion, the death of Christ, is precisely the fulfillment of God's will, down to the last detail, down to every dotted i. The rebellion of the powerful shows the strength of their revolt against divine authority. But it does not overturn God's decisions. On the contrary, it serves them.

3. The chosen King speaks

Starting at verse 7, it is the Messiah himself who speaks in Psalm 2: "I will tell of the decree. Yahweh said to me, 'You are my son. Today I have become your father. Ask of me, and I will give the nations for your inheritance, the uttermost parts of the earth for your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron. You shall dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.'"

This promise may seem far away if you look only at Jesus in chains, humiliated, beaten, passed back and forth between the Sanhedrin, Pilate, and Herod. But with the light of Psalm 2, and with the light of the resurrection three days later, you understand what is happening at the cross differently. The condemned King is the crowned King. The trial before the powerful serves the enthronement of the Son.

4. Two opposite friendships: unholy, or with the Son

The end of Psalm 2 issues a call to the powerful: "Now therefore be wise, you kings. Be instructed, you judges of the earth. Serve Yahweh with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Give sincere homage to the son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath will soon be kindled. Blessed are all those who take refuge in him."

The beginning of Psalm 2 explains to you the reasons for the unholy friendship between Herod and Pilate. It is the alliance of the powerful against the King chosen by God. It is the league of the mighty rejecting the Anointed of the Lord. That friendship is false. It is short-lived. It will vanish in the wrath of God.

But the end of the psalm speaks of another friendship, even more unlikely on the surface, and yet genuinely possible now. A friendship between Christ, the King chosen by God, and rebellious people, and you are one of them. Your injustice was bound to meet the just wrath of God. Your rebellion deserved the just condemnation of the sovereign King of the universe. That meant death.

But if Christ came to carry out God's judgment on the earth, he also offers hope to all who draw near to him in faith. At the cross, in fact, Jesus bore the punishment that should have fallen on you. And he gives you his perfect righteousness in exchange. In this way God's justice is satisfied, and his goodness is fully revealed. Through Jesus, it is possible to be reconciled with God.

5. The invitation: give homage to the Son, become his friend

Do you hear this call from Psalm 2? Give sincere homage to the Son. Draw near to him. Become his friend. This friendship with Jesus is the guarantee of eternal security. It is worth far more than the convenient alliances of the powerful of this world. It carries you through trials, crises, and lockdowns alike.

And as for you, dear brother, dear sister in the faith, rejoice and remain at peace. Be assured: Jesus has received all authority, in heaven and on earth. Despite that position of great honor, he came to the rescue of us, poor sinners, so that we could be his friends, reconciled with God, seated at his table for eternity.

Key Takeaways

• An unholy friendship forms around the trial of Jesus. Herod and Pilate, enemies until then, become friends the day they condemn the King chosen by God. It is the alliance of the powerful against the Anointed of the Lord.
• Psalm 2 is the key to reading Luke 23. Without it, you see only powerful men who seem to triumph. With it, you see God, who has set his King on Zion and laughs at their raging.
• The rebellion of men does not cancel God's will. It fulfills it. The unjust trial, the crucifixion, and the death of Christ are precisely God's plan, down to the last detail.
• Two friendships are possible. The unholy friendship against the Son, which will collapse under God's wrath. Or friendship with the Son, the guarantee of eternal security.
• The cross makes this friendship possible. Jesus bore the punishment that should have fallen on you and gives you his perfect righteousness. God's justice is satisfied, his goodness is revealed: you can be reconciled.

Personal Application

1. Faced with the turmoil of the world, what convenient alliances am I tempted to make to protect myself, even if it means pushing Jesus aside?
2. Do I read the events of my time only through appearances, or do I read them again through Scripture, the way Jesus reads his own Passion through Psalm 2?
3. In what area of my life am I still living like one of the "powerful" of this world, trying to break the bonds that tie me to the Son?
4. Have I personally taken seriously the call of Psalm 2: "Give homage to the Son"? Or do I keep putting it off?
5. In the difficult circumstances I am facing this week, how can I rejoice and remain at peace, remembering that Jesus has received all authority?

Verses Cited

• Luke 23:1-12 · main text: the trial and the friendship between Herod and Pilate
• Luke 23:12 · "That very day, Herod and Pilate became friends with each other"
• Psalm 2 · the nations rage, but God has set his King in place
• Psalm 2:7 · "You are my son. Today I have become your father."
• Psalm 2:10-12 · "Give sincere homage to the son"

FAQ

Why do Herod and Pilate become friends around Jesus?

Luke does not give the exact political motives, but the biblical light is clear: Psalm 2 describes a league of kings and rulers against the Lord and his Anointed. The sudden friendship of Herod and Pilate is the historical face of that rebellion. They come together against the King chosen by God, and this convergence of the powerful, paradoxically, serves the fulfillment of God's plan.

Does this unholy friendship stand in the way of God's plan?

No. It is actually the fulfillment of it. Psalm 2 shows that God laughs at the plots of the powerful because he has already set his King on Zion. The rebellion of men shows their revolt, but it does not overturn God's decisions. Jesus goes to trial, to the cross, and to the tomb because that is where he truly becomes the reigning King, as the resurrection confirms three days later.

How can I become a "friend" of Jesus in practical terms?

By answering the call of Psalm 2: "Give homage to the Son." That means recognizing your rebellion against God, believing that Jesus bore in your place the just wrath of God, receiving the perfect righteousness he offers you, and placing your life under his authority. This is not a convenient friendship like the one between Herod and Pilate: it is a lasting reconciliation, offered by grace, guaranteed by the resurrection, and sealed for eternity.