John the Baptist Prepares the Way

3 It was now the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius, the Roman emperor. Pontius Pilate was governor over Judea; Herod Antipas was ruler^[a] over Galilee; his brother Philip was ruler^[b] over Iturea and Traconitis; Lysanias was ruler over Abilene.

The Birth of Jesus

2 At that time the Roman emperor, Augustus, decreed that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire.

² Then they bound him, led him away, and took him to Pilate, the Roman governor.

³⁰ Then the king, the governor, Bernice, and all the others stood and left.

²⁷ After two years went by in this way, Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus. And because Felix wanted to gain favor with the Jewish people, he left Paul in prison.

²⁷ “In fact, this has happened here in this very city! For Herod Antipas, Pontius Pilate the governor, the Gentiles, and the people of Israel were all united against Jesus, your holy servant, whom you anointed.

²⁴ So Pilate sentenced Jesus to die as they demanded.

⁶ “Oh, is he a Galilean?” Pilate asked. ⁷ When they said that he was, Pilate sent him to Herod Antipas, because Galilee was under Herod’s jurisdiction, and Herod happened to be in Jerusalem at the time.

⁸ Herod was delighted at the opportunity to see Jesus, because he had heard about him and had been hoping for a long time to see him perform a miracle. ⁹ He asked Jesus question after question, but Jesus refused to answer. ¹⁰ Meanwhile, the leading priests and the teachers of religious law stood there shouting their accusations. ¹¹ Then Herod and his soldiers began mocking and ridiculing Jesus. Finally, they put a royal robe on him and sent him back to Pilate.

Herod’s Confusion

⁷ When Herod Antipas, the ruler of Galilee,^[a] heard about everything Jesus was doing, he was puzzled. Some were saying that John the Baptist had been raised from the dead.