Luke 23
23
Jesus Before Pilate
1 #
Matt. 27:2; Mark 15:1; John 18:28 Then the whole company of them arose and brought him before Pilate. 2And they began to accuse him, saying, “We found this man #ver. 14; [Acts 17:6, 7; 24:5] misleading our nation and #[ch. 20:25] forbidding us to give tribute to #ch. 2:1; 3:1 Caesar, and saying that he himself is Christ, #John 18:33, 36, 37; 19:12; [Acts 17:7]a king.” 3#Matt. 27:11; Mark 15:2 And Pilate asked him, #ver. 37, 38; Matt. 2:2; John 18:39; 19:3 “Are you the King of the Jews?” And he answered him, #See ch. 22:70“You have said so.” 4Then Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, #ver. 14, 22; John 18:38; 19:4, 6; [Matt. 27:24; 1 Pet. 2:22]“I find no guilt in this man.” 5But they were urgent, saying, “He stirs up the people, teaching throughout all Judea, #ch. 4:14; Matt. 4:12, 23; Mark 1:14; John 1:43; 2:11from Galilee even to this place.”
Jesus Before Herod
6When Pilate heard this, he asked whether the man was a Galilean. 7And when he learned that he belonged to #See ch. 3:1Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent him over to Herod, who was himself in Jerusalem at that time. 8When Herod saw Jesus, he was very glad, #ch. 9:9 for he had long desired to see him, #Matt. 14:1; Mark 6:14 because he had heard about him, and he was hoping #See Matt. 12:38to see some sign done by him. 9So he questioned him at some length, but he made no answer. 10The chief priests and the scribes stood by, vehemently accusing him. 11And Herod with his soldiers #Mark 9:12; Acts 4:11 treated him with contempt and #ch. 18:32 mocked him. Then, #[Matt. 27:28; Mark 15:17]arraying him in splendid clothing, he sent him back to Pilate. 12And #Acts 4:27; [Ps. 2:2]Herod and Pilate became friends with each other that very day, for before this they had been at enmity with each other.
13Pilate then called together the chief priests and #See ch. 24:20the rulers and the people, 14and said to them, “You brought me this man #ver. 2 as one who was misleading the people. And #Acts 3:13 after examining him before you, behold, I #ver. 4did not find this man guilty of any of your charges against him. 15Neither did Herod, for #ver. 11he sent him back to us. Look, nothing deserving death has been done by him. 16#ver. 22; John 19:1; [Acts 5:40]I will therefore punish and release him.”#23:16 Here, or after verse 19, some manuscripts add verse 17: Now he was obliged to release one man to them at the festival
Pilate Delivers Jesus to Be Crucified
18 # For ver. 18-25, see Matt. 27:15-26; Mark 15:6-15; John 18:39, 40; 19:16 But they all cried out together, #[Acts 21:36; 22:22]“Away with this man, and release to us Barabbas”— 19a man who had been thrown into prison for an insurrection started in the city and #Acts 3:14for murder. 20Pilate addressed them once more, desiring to release Jesus, 21but they kept shouting, “Crucify, crucify him!” 22A third time he said to them, “Why? #[ver. 41; John 8:46] What evil has he done? #ver. 14, 15 I have found in him no guilt deserving death. #ver. 16I will therefore punish and release him.” 23But they were urgent, demanding with loud cries that he should be crucified. And their voices prevailed. 24So Pilate decided that their demand should be granted. 25He released the man who had been thrown into prison #ver. 19 for insurrection and murder, for whom they asked, #John 19:16but he delivered Jesus over to their will.
The Crucifixion
26 #
Matt. 27:32; Mark 15:21; [John 19:17] And as they led him away, they seized one Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, and laid on him the cross, to carry it behind Jesus. 27And there followed him a great multitude of the people and of women who were #ch. 8:52; Matt. 11:17mourning and lamenting for him. 28But turning to them Jesus said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. 29For behold, #See ch. 17:22 the days are coming when they will say, #ch. 21:23; Matt. 24:19; Mark 13:17‘Blessed are the barren and the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!’ 30#Hos. 10:8; Rev. 6:16; [Isa. 2:19]Then they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us,’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us.’ 31For #[Prov. 11:31; 1 Pet. 4:17] if they do these things when #Ezek. 20:47the wood is green, what will happen #Ezek. 20:47when it is dry?”
32 #
Matt. 27:38; Mark 15:27; John 19:18; [Matt. 20:21] Two others, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him. 33#Matt. 27:33; Mark 15:22; John 19:17 And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, #[See ver. 32 above]one on his right and one on his left. 34And Jesus said, “Father, #Isa. 53:12; See Matt. 5:44 forgive them, #[Mark 10:38]; See Acts 3:17 for they know not what they do.”#23:34 Some manuscripts omit the sentence And Jesus . . . what they do And they cast lots #Ps. 22:18; Matt. 27:35; Mark 15:24; John 19:23to divide his garments. 35And #Ps. 22:7, 17 the people stood by, watching, #Matt. 27:41, 42; Mark 15:31, 32 but #See ch. 24:20 the rulers #ch. 16:14 scoffed at him, saying, #[ch. 4:23] “He saved others; #[Matt. 26:53, 54; John 10:18] let him save himself, #[ch. 4:3, 9] if he is #See ch. 9:20; Matt. 1:17 the Christ of God, #ch. 9:35; Isa. 42:1; [Matt. 12:18; 1 Pet. 2:4]his Chosen One!” 36The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and #[Ps. 69:21; Matt. 27:48; Mark 15:36; John 19:29]offering him sour wine 37and saying, #ver. 35 “If you are #See ver. 3the King of the Jews, save yourself!” 38#Matt. 27:37; Mark 15:26; John 19:19; [John 19:21, 22] There was also an inscription over him,#23:38 Some manuscripts add in letters of Greek and Latin and Hebrew “This is #[See ver. 37 above]the King of the Jews.”
39 # [Matt. 27:44; Mark 15:32] One of the criminals who were hanged #See Matt. 27:39 railed at him,#23:39 Or blasphemed him saying, “Are you not #ver. 35, 37the Christ? Save yourself and us!” 40But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? 41And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” 42And he said, “Jesus, remember me #[Matt. 16:28]when you come into your kingdom.” 43And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in #2 Cor. 12:3; Rev. 2:7paradise.”
The Death of Jesus
44 #
Matt. 27:45; Mark 15:33; [John 19:14] It was now about the sixth hour,#23:44 That is, noon and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour,#23:44 That is, 3 p.m. 45while the sun’s light failed. And #Ex. 26:31-33; 2 Chr. 3:14the curtain of the temple was torn in two. 46Then Jesus, #[Matt. 27:50; Mark 15:37; John 19:30] calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, #Cited from Ps. 31:5; [Acts 7:59] into your hands I #1 Pet. 4:19 commit my spirit!” And having said this #[John 10:18]he breathed his last. 47Now #Matt. 27:54; Mark 15:39 when the centurion saw what had taken place, #See ch. 7:16he praised God, saying, “Certainly this man was innocent!” 48And all the crowds that had assembled for this spectacle, when they saw what had taken place, returned home #ch. 18:13beating their breasts. 49And all #Ps. 88:8 his acquaintances and #ver. 55; John 19:25; See ch. 8:2 the women who had followed him from Galilee #Ps. 38:11stood at a distance watching these things.
Jesus Is Buried
50 # For ver. 50-56, see Matt. 27:57-61; Mark 15:42-47; John 19:38-42 Now there was a man named Joseph, from the Jewish town of Arimathea. He was a member of the council, a good and righteous man, 51who had not consented to their decision and action; and he #ch. 2:25, 38was looking for the kingdom of God. 52This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. 53Then he took it down and wrapped it in a linen shroud and #[Isa. 53:9] laid him in a tomb cut in stone, #[Mark 11:2]where no one had ever yet been laid. 54It was the day of #See Matt. 27:62Preparation, and the Sabbath was beginning.#23:54 Greek was dawning 55#Matt. 28:1 The women #ver. 49who had come with him from Galilee followed and saw the tomb and how his body was laid. 56Then they returned and #ch. 24:1; Mark 16:1; [John 19:39] prepared spices and ointments.
On the Sabbath they rested #Ex. 20:10; Deut. 5:14according to the commandment.
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Luke 23
23
Pilate questions Jesus
(Matthew 27.1,2,11-14; Mark 15.1-5; John 18.28-38)
1Everyone in the council got up and led Jesus off to Pilate. 2They started accusing him and said, “We caught this man trying to get our people to riot and to stop paying taxes to the Emperor. He also claims that he is the Messiah, our king.”
3Pilate asked Jesus, “Are you the king of the Jews?”
“Those are your words,” Jesus answered.
4Pilate told the chief priests and the crowd, “I don't find him guilty of anything.”
5But they all kept on saying, “He has been teaching and causing trouble all over Judea. He started in Galilee and has now come all the way here.”
Jesus is brought before Herod
6When Pilate heard this, he asked, “Is this man from Galilee?” 7After Pilate learnt that Jesus came from the region ruled by Herod,#23.7 Herod: Herod Antipas, the son of Herod the Great. he sent him to Herod, who was in Jerusalem at that time.
8For a long time Herod had wanted to see Jesus and was very happy because he finally had this chance. He had heard many things about Jesus and hoped to see him perform a miracle.
9Herod asked him a lot of questions, but Jesus did not answer. 10Then the chief priests and the teachers of the Law of Moses stood up and accused him of all kinds of bad things.
11Herod and his soldiers made fun of Jesus and insulted him. They put a fine robe on him and sent him back to Pilate. 12That same day Herod and Pilate became friends, even though they had been enemies before this.
The death sentence
(Matthew 27.15-26; Mark 15.6-15; John 18.39—19.16)
13Pilate called together the chief priests, the leaders, and the people. 14He told them, “You brought Jesus to me and said he was a troublemaker. But I have questioned him here in front of you, and I have not found him guilty of anything that you say he has done. 15Herod didn't find him guilty either and sent him back. This man doesn't deserve to be put to death! 16-17I will just have him beaten with a whip and set free.”#23.16,17 set free: Some manuscripts add, “Pilate said this, because at every Passover he was supposed to set one prisoner free for the Jewish people.”
18But the whole crowd shouted, “Kill Jesus! Give us Barabbas!” 19Now Barabbas was in jail because he had started a riot in the city and had murdered someone.
20Pilate wanted to set Jesus free, so he spoke again to the crowds. 21But they kept shouting, “Nail him to a cross! Nail him to a cross!”
22Pilate spoke to them a third time, “But what crime has he done? I have not found him guilty of anything for which he should be put to death. I will have him beaten with a whip and set free.”
23The people kept on shouting as loud as they could for Jesus to be put to death. 24Finally, Pilate gave in. 25He freed the man who was in jail for rioting and murder, because he was the one the crowd wanted to be set free. Then Pilate handed Jesus over for them to do what they wanted with him.
Jesus is nailed to a cross
(Matthew 27.31-44; Mark 15.21-32; John 19.17-27)
26As Jesus was being led away, some soldiers grabbed hold of a man from Cyrene named Simon. He was coming in from the fields, but they put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus.
27A large crowd was following Jesus, and in the crowd a lot of women were crying and weeping for him. 28Jesus turned to the women and said:
Women of Jerusalem, don't cry for me! Cry for yourselves and for your children. 29Some day people will say, “Women who never had children are really fortunate!” 30At that time everyone will say to the mountains, “Fall on us!” They will say to the hills, “Hide us!”#Ho 10.8; Rev 6.16. 31If this can happen when the wood is green, what do you think will happen when it is dry?#23.31 If this can happen when the wood is green, what do you think will happen when it is dry?: This saying probably means, “If this can happen to an innocent person, what do you think will happen to one who is guilty?”
32Two criminals were led out to be put to death with Jesus. 33When the soldiers came to the place called “The Skull”,#23.33 “The Skull”: The place was probably given this name because it was near a large rock in the shape of a human skull. they nailed Jesus to a cross. They also nailed the two criminals to crosses, one on each side of Jesus.
34-35Jesus said, “Father, forgive these people! They don't know what they're doing.”#23.34,35 Jesus said, “Father, forgive these people! They don't know what they're doing.”: These words are not in some manuscripts.#Ps 22.18.#Ps 22.7.
While the crowd stood there watching Jesus, the soldiers gambled for his clothes. The leaders insulted him by saying, “He saved others. Now he should save himself, if he really is God's chosen Messiah!”
36The soldiers made fun of Jesus and brought him some wine.#Ps 69.21. 37They said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself!”
38Above him was a sign that said, “This is the King of the Jews.”
39One of the criminals hanging there also insulted Jesus by saying, “Aren't you the Messiah? Save yourself and save us!”
40But the other criminal told the first one off, “Don't you fear God? Aren't you getting the same punishment as this man? 41We got what was coming to us, but he didn't do anything wrong.” 42Then he said to Jesus, “Remember me when you come into power!”
43Jesus replied, “I promise that today you will be with me in paradise.”#23.43 paradise: In the Greek translation of the Old Testament, this word is used for the Garden of Eden. In New Testament times it was sometimes used for the place where God's people are happy and at rest, as they wait for the final judgment.
The death of Jesus
(Matthew 27.45-56; Mark 15.33-41; John 19.28-30)
44Around midday the sky turned dark and stayed that way until the middle of the afternoon. 45The sun stopped shining, and the curtain in the temple#23.45 curtain in the temple: There were two curtains in the temple. One was at the entrance, and the other separated the holy place from the most holy place that the Jewish people thought of as God's home on earth. The second curtain is probably the one which is meant. split down the middle.#Ex 26.31-33. 46Jesus shouted, “Father, I put myself in your hands!” Then he died.#Ps 31.5.
47When the Roman officer saw what had happened, he praised God and said, “Jesus must really have been a good man!”
48A crowd had gathered to see the terrible sight. Then after they had seen it, they felt brokenhearted and went home. 49All Jesus' close friends and the women who had come with him from Galilee stood at a distance and watched.#Lk 8.2,3.
Jesus is buried
(Matthew 27.57-61; Mark 15.42-47; John 19.38-42)
50-51There was a man named Joseph, who was from Arimathea in Judea. Joseph was a good and honest man, and he was eager for God's kingdom to come. He was also a member of the Jewish council, but he did not agree with what they had decided.
52Joseph went to Pilate and asked for Jesus' body. 53He took the body down from the cross and wrapped it in fine cloth. Then he put it in a tomb that had been cut out of solid rock and had never been used. 54It was Friday, and the Sabbath was about to begin.#23.54 the Sabbath was about to begin: The Sabbath begins at sunset on Friday.
55The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed Joseph and watched how Jesus' body was placed in the tomb. 56Then they went to prepare some sweet-smelling spices for his burial. But on the Sabbath they rested, as the Law of Moses commands.#Ex 20.10; Dt 5.14.
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