(And a sword will go through your heart;) so that the secret thoughts of men may come to light.

But Prince Herod, being rebuked by John respecting Herodias, the wife of Herod's brother, and for all the evil things that he had done,

And Joanna the wife of Chuza Herod's steward, and Susanna, and many others, which ministered unto him of their substance.

and those beside the path are the ones who have heard. Then the devil comes and takes away the word from their heart, so that they may not believe [and] be saved.

At that time, certain Pharisees came to him and said, Go away from this place, because Herod's purpose is to put you to death.

So, He said, "A certain distinguished gentleman went to a distant country to receive a royal appointment [i.e., as king over a territory] and then return. [Note: This is the only parable of Jesus' that correlates with a known incident; that of Herod's son Archelaus going to Rome to receive from Caesar Augustus an appointment to rule over Judea, Samaria and Idumaea in

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.

To Herod the sight of Jesus was a great gratification, for, for a long time, he had been wanting to see Him, because he had heard so much about Him. He hoped also to see some miracle performed by Him.

Now the women who told these things to the apostles were Mary from Magdala; Joanna [Note: This was the wife of Chuzas, Herod's property manager. See Luke 8:3], and other women who were with them.