When Pilate learns that Jesus is a Galilean, Luke says he sends him to Herod Antipas, who is also in Jerusalem. This episode appears only in Luke and connects Jesus' trial with the ruler who earlier executed John the Baptist.
Herod hopes to see a sign, while Jesus gives him no answer.
Herod Antipas ruled Galilee and Perea as tetrarch under Roman supremacy. Pilate governed Judea. Luke presents Jesus' Galilean connection as the reason Pilate sends him to Herod, illustrating the overlapping political geography of the region.
Herod and his soldiers mock Jesus and dress him in splendid clothing before returning him to Pilate. Luke then remarks that Pilate and Herod became friends that day, suggesting that the handling of the case altered a previously strained relationship.
The episode reminds readers that Jesus' final hours unfold among real political authorities with distinct territories and interests. He is passed between rulers while neither scene presents him leading the kind of armed revolt Rome normally punished.
The mock robe also turns the accusation of kingship into public ridicule before Jesus is returned to the official who can authorize Roman execution.