If you'd please turn in the Word of God to Luke's Gospel, chapter 23. And there's some verses at the beginning of this chapter that we want to read. We're going to read the first 12 verses of the chapter. Luke's Gospel, chapter 23. And we're going to read the first 12 verses. These chapters and verses have to do with the trial and then the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus. So we're thinking here about his arrest and his trial. And verse 1, Luke 23 verse 1, And the whole multitude of them arose This is the Jewish leaders, the scribes and the Pharisees, the chief priests. So they arose and led him, that's the Lord Jesus, unto Pilate. And they began to accuse him, saying, We found this fellow perverting the nation and forbidding to give tribute to Caesar, saying that he himself is Christ the king. And Pilate asked him, saying, Art thou the king of the Jews? And he answered him and said, Thou sayest it. Then said Pilate to the chief priests and to the people, I find no fault in this man. And they were the more fierce, saying, He stirreth up the people, teaching throughout all Jewry, beginning from Galilee to this place. When Pilate heard of Galilee, he asked whether the man were a Galilean. And as soon as he knew, that he belonged unto Herod's jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod, who himself also was at Jerusalem at that time. And when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceeding glad, and he was desirous to see him of a long season, because he had heard many things of him, and he hoped to have seen some miracle done by him. Then he questioned with him in many words, but he answered him nothing. And the chief priests and scribes stood and vehemently accused him. And Herod with his men of war set him at naught, and mocked him, and arrayed him in a gorgeous robe, and sent him again to Pilate. And the same day Pilate and Herod were made friends together, for before they were at enmity between themselves. Amen. We'll end there at verse 12. We know the Lord will add his blessing to the reading of his word to all of our hearts this evening. I want to take you back to the words of verse 9 and particularly the closing words of verse 9 because in the testimony tonight we have heard how the Lord has spoken to an individual and challenged an individual. But I want us to think about another topic tonight. I want us to think about the man to whom the Lord had nothing to say. The man to whom the Lord had nothing to say. And you'll notice there in verse 9 it says, Then he questioned, that's Herod, with him, with the Lord Jesus, in many words, but he answered him nothing. He answered him nothing. The man to whom the Lord had nothing to say. We're going to bow together in prayer and ask the Lord for His help. Just let's bow briefly and ask the Lord. Our Father, we thank Thee for all that has been said and done tonight. We thank Thee the Christian does have a testimony of their experience with the Lord. And Lord, sometimes it's up and sometimes it's down. And we thank Thee that Thou art always faithful in all circumstances. And Lord, we pray that thou will bless us now as we come to thy word. And as we think about this verse and this statement that is found here in this verse of scripture, we pray, Lord, that thou would impress it upon our hearts and even through it, challenge us all tonight as we think about this subject. Lord, hear us. Give me help, I pray in the preaching. Lord, may we make much of Jesus Christ, for we pray in Jesus' name this evening. Amen. Pilate is looking for a way out. He's in a difficult spot. He's in a time when he knows what he ought to do, but he doesn't have the courage of his convictions to do it. Because the Lord Jesus Christ, as we have read there in the earlier verses, has been brought to him and the Jews have made serious accusations against him because the Lord Jesus was accused of two worst sins that could be. One from each table of the law. He was accused of blasphemy against God and he was accused of sedition against Caesar. against the civil power of the day. The two worst sins that anybody could have been accused of. The Lord Jesus Christ was accused of them by the Jews and Pilate has examined the Lord Jesus and as it tells us there in verse 4, Pilate said to the chief priests and to the people, I find no fault in this man. It didn't take Pilate very long to realise that the charges were just drummed up. That there was no basis to them at all and that it was out of spite against the Lord Jesus that the chief priests and the elders and the people had all joined in unison against the Lord and they were making these charges and allegations against him. It didn't take Pilate very long to work it out. These charges have got no foundation to them at all. And Pilate knew what he ought to do. Pilate knew that Jesus Christ ought to have been released. That he ought not to be put to death. He ought not to be treated as the Jews and the Jewish leaders wanted him treated because they had cried in Pilate's presence, Away with him! Away with him! Crucify him! Crucify him! But Pilate knew there is no merit for crucifixion in this man's conduct at all. And he knew what he ought to do. But Pilate didn't have the courage of his convictions. And as soon as he heard, in the course of this trial, mention made of Galilee, Pilate immediately sees what he thinks is a way out. because there's mention made here of the Saviour teaching in Galilee. You find it there at the end of verse 5. And Pilate latches on to that and he asks the question, is he a Galilean? And Pilate thinks, now I can get rid of this problem. I won't have to make the decision. I won't have to come down and decide which side of this matter I am on. Pilate sends the Lord Jesus off to Herod because Herod ruled over Galilee. Pilate only ruled over Judea. And another man, Herod, ruled over what we know as Galilee. So Pilate thinks, here is the perfect scenario. I can get rid of this problem. I can get rid of having to make a decision. I can hand it over to Herod, and he will have to make the decision. And that's what brings the Lord Jesus to Herod. And as the Lord Jesus is there in Herod's presence, we find these words then that are written with regard to that cross-examination that went on, because that's what it was. You'll see there in verse 9, it says, And he, Herod, questioned with him in many words. Herod cross-examined him. the Lord Jesus never answered a single word. Not a single word did he say to Herod. Now that surely must be surprising and that's why We want to consider these words, and the Lord impressed this portion of Scripture upon my heart today in praying over, well, what should I preach upon in this meeting tonight? This is the portion of Scripture the Lord directed to me, and this thought, a man to whom the Lord had nothing to say, a man to whom the Lord had nothing to say, I want you to consider here, in noticing this statement, I want you to think about the nature of Herod's present circumstances, because there, at that very moment, he had in his presence the Lord Jesus Christ, the greatest preacher, the greatest teacher that has ever walked this scene of time. There has never been an individual like the Lord Jesus who can speak. He had a power in the way that he spoke. It wasn't just that he had the power of oratory. But there was a power in the way that he spoke, so much so that the people noticed it as they were listening to him. For example, after the Sermon on the Mount, when there was a great crowd on the mountain and the Lord Jesus was teaching there in Matthew 5, 6, and 7, it tells us that at the end of that, the people said, he teaches differently to the scribes and the Pharisees. He teaches as one having authority. He's not like these others that we are so used to hearing teach and preach. he's not like them so they were able to detect immediately there's something different about this individual he's not just like the ordinary individuals and the normal individuals who would be teaching us they immediately detected there was something different about the lord jesus and they were right to detect that there was something different about the Lord Jesus, because he was the Son of God. And that's what made him the greatest teacher and preacher that has ever walked the scene of time. And whether it was in the house, or by the seaside, or by the well, or on the slopes of the mountain, the Lord Jesus could teach like none other. He taught all different kinds of people. There were times when he spoke to the scribes and to the Pharisees. There were times when he spoke to the Sadducees. The Sadducees were the liberals. They didn't believe in a resurrection. They didn't believe that you had a soul or a spirit. They didn't believe in angels. So they were the deniers of all of those things. They were what you may call as the liberals. Theological liberals. But the Lord Jesus could speak to them as much as he could speak to the religious Pharisees and to the scribes. Those who claimed that they knew the law and taught the law. He was able to teach the common people. Just the ordinary people, the Lord Jesus could teach them and teach them in a way that they were mightily impressed. with what he had to say and even how he had to say it. He even spoke to Pilate. We've got a little snippet of it there. You'd have to go to some of the other gospel writers to fill out all that was said between Pilate and the Lord Jesus. But it's mentioned there anyway because in verse 3 of the portion that we have read, Pilate asked him, saying, Art thou the king of the Jews? And he answered and said, Thou sayest it. There's only a few words there. Three words, thou say'st it. Maybe even only one word in the original. The Lord Jesus would only have uttered one word. And even from this short cross-examination by Pilate, Pilate is convinced there's no fault in this man. But some of the other Gospels fill in what he had to say to Pilate in greater detail. The Lord Jesus spoke to all of these individuals, preached to all of these individuals, and yet here he is standing before Herod and he doesn't utter a single word. He doesn't say a single word. He has preached to the scribes and to the Pharisees. He has preached to the Sadducees. He has preached to the common people. He has spoken to Pilate. So why does he not speak to Herod? Why is it that when we come to his interview with Herod and the cross-examination that Herod engaged upon, the Lord Jesus does have nothing to say to this man? Surely there is no worse condition for any individual to be in than for the Lord of nothing to say to you, or to me. It's a mercy when the Lord speaks, and we've been hearing that in the testimony tonight. It's a mercy when the Lord speaks. And in whatever way He speaks, sometimes the Lord speaks gently and softly. Sometimes the Lord, at other times, He speaks most harshly, because we haven't been listening when He was speaking softly, and the Lord has to speak in stronger tones and louder tones for us to listen and to heed to what he has to say to us. It's a mercy when the Lord speaks. If we were to live our lives without the Lord speaking to us, there's nothing more pitiful. There's nothing more miserable than that. There's nothing more dangerous for our eternal existence and for the Lord to have nothing to say to us. And yet that's how it is with this man. Herod the Lord has not a thing to say to him, not a word. It emphasizes that. He answered him nothing. He answered him not a word. He didn't even say one word. We have one word that we mentioned further up the page that he said to Pilate. The other Gospels fill in much more of the conversation and give us more details of what it is. But he didn't even say a single word to Herod. Not a single word to this man. And I say there is no more pitiful condition to be in than to be in a position where the Lord doesn't speak. If the Lord speaks to us, we ought to thank the Lord. We ought to thank Him for His mercy. If the Lord speaks to us, speaks to us about our soul, speaks to us about eternal things, speaks to us about heaven and hell, makes us to think about the fact we are not here forever, and we're only passing through, and that we need to think of where we're going, and we need to make preparation for where we're going. If people want to go on holidays, they make preparation. You're not going to go on holidays. You're not going to get to the destination if you don't make preparation. Certainly with Brexit, you'll need to be making preparation. Well, you wouldn't go on holidays without making preparation. There's people who come to retirement. You make preparation for retirement. That's what it's deemed to be wise. Depends on what preparation a person makes, but it's advised and we are directed to make preparation, even make adequate preparation. Well, the same thing applies about our soul. The same thing applies about our eternal destiny. What about after death? What about after death? What preparation have we made for after death? And if the Lord comes and if the Lord speaks to us and challenges us about that and makes us to think, well what about eternity? What about the moment after I die? And we begin to think, well where will I be? How will it be with me? We were thinking about those words this last couple of nights, is it well with our soul? Well what about our soul five minutes after we die? Five seconds after we die? Now if in time the Lord makes us to think about these things and challenges us about these things in whatever way the Lord does, that's a mercy from God. That's one of the greatest mercies that we could ever receive from God, is for the Lord to speak to us about our soul and make us to think about eternal things and the need of being saved. That's a mercy from God. Because here's a man the Lord didn't say anything to. Not a single word. Not a single word. So if the Lord is speaking to us tonight or any other time in our lives, count it as a mercy from God. Count it as something that is the chiefest of mercies that the Lord would speak to us. I want you also here to think about the missed opportunities of Herod's past. You see, this brings us closer to understanding why was it that the Lord had nothing to say to this man? Because the Saviour's reaction to Herod needs to be understood in the light of Herod's past. That's where you'll find the key to understanding why did the Lord say nothing to this man? Why did he speak to all of those other individuals? There's not another individual that I know of in the Scriptures. Maybe I have missed somebody. But I am not aware of another individual that met the Lord Jesus during his earthly life that the Lord said nothing to. The Lord had something to say to every other individual as far as I can understand or think about in the Bible. But there's this one man that the Lord hasn't even got a single word to say to. There has to be some reason and that reason is when you go into Herod's past. And when you start to think a little bit about what the Bible has to tell you about Herod then you can understand why it is that on this occasion the Lord had nothing to say to this man. If you've got your Bible before you turn back to Mark 6. We're going to read a few verses here. Because here's one place where you have a number of verses to deal with the life of Herod. And you find the key here to understanding, why did the Lord Jesus say nothing to this man? Mark chapter 6, beginning there at verse 14. We're not going to read all of these verses. But verse 14 begins there with Herod hearing of the Lord Jesus. It says, his name was spread abroad. The Lord Jesus has started his earthly ministry and crowds are flocking to him. So you can imagine people are talking and the news is going to get about and Herod's going to have those who are feeding him information, what's happening out there among the people that he's governing and overseeing. And they're telling him, oh, there's this man that has started to preach and work miracles and the crowds are flocking to him. And in verse 14 of Mark 5, we read there, Herod says, it's John the Baptist. That's who that man is. It's John the Baptist. And Herod says that because John the Baptist and Herod had a little history. Herod had put John to death. Because of John's faithfulness in speaking to Herod and in warning him, even challenging him about his sins, because Herod had taken his brother's wife to be his wife, and therefore John the Baptist had faithfully warned him and challenged him about the sin that he had engaged in and if you look on down through those verses beginning at Mark chapter 6 verse 14 you'll find that information that I'm giving to you that he's convinced that this is John the Baptist because Herod had put John to death. He had beheaded him or given the command that John should be beheaded. And for example, in verse 17, Herod himself had sent forth and laid hold upon John and bound him in prison for Herodias' sake, his brother Philip's wife, for he had married her. So there's all that information about Herod and John the Baptist and the history that there was between these two individuals. And Herod is convinced that John has risen from the dead. And that this individual that he's hearing about Is not some new individual. No this is this is this is John the Baptist. This is the man I put to death. This is the man that challenged me and spoke to me about my sins and warned me the above of the outcome that was going to be brought about. And Herod is convinced this is John the Baptist. But I want you to go down that chapter a little bit further. Verse 20. And here it says, Mark 6, 20, it says, for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just man and a holy, and observed him. And when he heard him, he did many things and heard him gladly. Herod was impressed by John. Maybe he was the first man in his life that stood up to him and told him how things really were. Oftentimes people in power, those that are around them are just a bunch of lackeys. Just tells them what they want to hear. Well John the Baptist wasn't going to tell Herod what he wanted to hear. John the Baptist told Herod what he needed to hear. And that he was a sinner. And maybe that impressed Herod. Certainly it says there in verse 20, Herod feared John. Maybe he feared his boldness. Here he is, the ruler over that part of the land of Israel, the man who had such power in his hands that he could just, with the wave of his hand, sentence John the Baptist to death. And yet this man faithfully spoke to him, faithfully warned him, faithfully told him. Herod was impressed by John. It says there that he did many things. He observed him. He listened to what he had to say to some degree. It says that he heard him and he did many things and heard him gladly. That's amazing. There was just something about John the Baptist that appealed to Herod. He wanted to hear more of what John the Baptist had to say, even though John was warning him about his lifestyle and his sin and the end of his sin. But the problem was that Herod only went so far. Herod only went so far. Herod wasted the opportunities that God had given him. God had sent a messenger and a man with a message, a man who told him the truth. All of those things are true about John the Baptist with regards to what he had to say to Herod. The Lord sent this man John to speak to Herod and to warn him and Herod listened to him to some degree but only so far, only so far John. I'm not going to fully repent. I'm not going to break off all my sins. I'll listen to you a little bit. I'll maybe change the way I deal with other people. But as for this major sin in my life, this major issue, I'm not going to change. I'm just going to go on the way I am. And Herod, though the Lord had spoken to him, sent him a witness, a man who told him the truth, told him what he needed to hear, Herod didn't listen. In fact, Herod gave command, because if you read on down there, a little bit further, in Mark chapter 6, verse 21, it begins to tell us there about Herod's birthday. And he had made this great supper, and then the daughter of Herodias came in and danced before him, and she so pleased Herod that Herod said to her, Ask of me whatsoever thou wilt, and I will give it to you. And he promised her, verse 23, I'll give it to you even unto the half of my kingdom. What a fool, in his drunken stupor. He promises, I'll give away half my kingdom to you. You just ask for whatever you want. And it tells us that she went and asked her mother, what will I ask? And she says, the head of John the Baptist. We want the preacher silenced. We don't want to hear this message anymore. We don't want to be challenged anymore about our sins and the need to repent of them and the need to have done with them. Get him to slay John the Baptist. And again, Herod, give in. And he did that and it tells you there, verse 26, though he was sorry about it, yet he didn't want to lose face for those that were sitting with him, all his other courtiers and rulers and so on. And it says in verse 26, he wouldn't reject the request and he sent the executioner and he commanded John the Baptist to be beheaded. Does that not explain why when we get to Luke 23 in verse 9 that you read about the Lord Jesus now standing in Herod's presence and he doesn't say a single word to Herod? Herod had his opportunity. Herod had his opportunity. What more could the Lord say to him than John the Baptist said to him? Herod, you need to repent of your sins. John the Baptist told him what he needed to hear. He told him the message. that God would say to him. He told him the message that if the Lord Jesus Christ had been standing there himself, he would have told Herod. The Lord has nothing more now to say to Herod. Herod heard the message, wasted his opportunity, wouldn't repent of his sins. Now the Lord Jesus is standing before him and the Lord hasn't got a single word, not a single word to say to this man. How great a danger it is to waste opportunities. How great a danger, when God is speaking, how great a danger it is to waste an opportunity and not get right with God. The Lord does speak. Sometimes the Lord speaks loudly and clearly, very plainly. We need to take heed. We need to take heed. Because the Lord's voice can stop speaking. My spirit shall not always stray with man. Genesis 6 and 3 verse 3 says. Isaiah 55 and verse 6 says, Seek ye the Lord while he may be found. Call ye upon him while he is near. And the inference is there, there is a time when he will not be found and there is a time when he will not be near. So when he is near and when he can be found, we need a call upon him. Herod missed his opportunity to get saved. That's why the Lord had nothing to say to this man. He had wasted opportunity. And that brings me to the last point very quickly. I want you to think about the gravity of his end. There's no warnings to flee from wrath to come. Herod's eternal destiny is fixed. He might be still alive. He's got physical life. He can give commands. Because you notice, when this happened, When this happened, that the Lord Jesus didn't answer Herod a single word, you can read on the next verses. We did read on there to verse 12, because you see Herod's real heart brought out. It says there in verse 10 that the accusations were made against the Lord Jesus in the presence of Herod as well. But look at verse 11. Herod, with his men of war, set him at naught, and mocked him, and arrayed him in a gorgeous robe. and sent him again to Pilate. That's what Herod really thought of Jesus Christ. He mocked him. Herod's destiny was fixed. It was fixed because of what he did to John the Baptist all those years beforehand. And the Lord has been preaching for a number of years, three years or so. So three years before, at the start of the Saviour's earthly ministry, Herod had put John the Baptist to death. And now for three years, the Lord Jesus has been preaching. And now the Lord is standing there just before Pilate, and he doesn't have a word to say to him. Because three years earlier, Pilate's eternal destiny was fixed. And now he mocks Christ. That's his true heart. He mocks Christ. It says that not only did he mock him, but he set him at naught. He belittled him. He belittled the Son of God. He arrayed him in a gorgeous robe. And that's partly to do with the fact that the Jews had said that he claims to be a king. And the Lord was king. He's king of kings. He's king of nations. Herod was the king of Galilee. Jesus Christ was the king of nations. But they mocked him. And they put on a gorgeous robe because he had made, to them, he had made this claim that he was king. And they think they can have a little joke, they can have a little fun at Christ's expense. How foolish, how foolish. Herod's destiny was fixed because of what he had done with the preaching of the word of God back in the days of John the Baptist. And surely that underscores for us all tonight as we come to a close Just the seriousness of the Lord speaking to us and what we do with that speaking voice. These details are put in the Bible for a reason. That little verse that there is in Luke 23 verse 9, and the phrase that is there, and he answered him nothing, it's put in there for our information that we might stop and glean and think about this. Here's a man the Lord didn't have a single word to say to. And surely that must challenge us tonight. Don't presume that the Lord will speak some other time. If the Lord's speaking tonight to you, tonight's the night to get saved. If the Lord is challenging you tonight about your need of Him as Savior, then don't presume that He'll speak some other night, or challenge you some other night. Today is the day of salvation. The Bible says, behold now is the accepted time, and may you come to Christ. How important that is that we come to Christ, we repent of our sins and we come to know Christ. Let's bow together in prayer. Our father we pray that thou will bless thy word this evening write it upon all of our hearts for we pray in Jesus name amen. Can we sing a verse or two just of number 14 I hear thy welcome voice that calls me Lord