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.
11. And Herod despised him. It was impossible but that a haughty man, who valued himself on his luxuries and royal dignity and wealth, should despise Christ, who had at that time nothing but what was contemptible in his appearance. And yet the pride of Herod, which shut the door on the grace of God, admits of no excuse.
They condemned Him in their own court for blasphemy, but knowing they lacked power to execute, they shifted their malice to Pilate's forum and dressed it in the language of sedition. Here is their cunning: the charge they dared not bring before Caesar was the only one they actually feared, yet the crime they invented against Him was the very one that would, within years, destroy themselves.
AI summary
Commenting on Luke 23:1-12
And Herod, with his men of war,.... Or his soldiers, his bodyguards that attended his person, who came with him from Galilee, and were both for his security and service, and for his pomp and magnificence: set him at nought; made nothing of him; had him in no account; treated him as a silly, and contemptible creature, that could not do any thing that was...