and if the massacre of the Innocents had been true, the presence of a royal or prophetic figure would have struck fear in his heart if his father, Herod the Great, had spoken to him about the event during his childhood. It is now well known that Jesus was not born on so called zero date, but at least four of five years earlier for him to have been the object of Herod´s wrath. Instead, however, we have joy – a great desire to meet him on the part of Herod Junior. It may well be that this may have been refused in the past, by Jesus for his part in the dath of his cousin John. It may also show what is suspected, that Jesus´s ancestors were known to him and deserved his respect. There are factors that appear to show that this might have been the case. The other curious incidental aspect is that the situation betrays friction between Herod – and the Roman colonial authorities. If he was not Pilate´s friend then there was something wrong, for they both governed the same territory ! If the incident cemented the relationship between them, then there is something in the story that needs to be looked at carefully. I suspect that Jesus was well known to the family and respected precisely because of his strong public condemnation of the priests whom Herod also disliked. Pilate stood uneasily in the shadow of the giant Herod who was a Roman Emperor´s man and therefore a potential threat to his own position. One mistake – one sign of disrespect and the Roman Emperor could have had him thrown into the dungeons without mercy. Taking Jesus to Herod was one way out of the conundrum but he feared for Jesus´s life and his prayers were answered when it proved to be the correct thing to do. In doing so, probably unwittingly, he managed to close ranks with
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