Luke23

Jesus is brought before Pilate, who finds no fault in him and sends him to Herod, who also finds no cause for death. Despite Pilate's attempts to release him, the multitude demands Barabbas and insists on Jesus' crucifixion. Jesus is crucified at Calvary, where he forgives his persecutors and promises paradise to a repentant malefactor. He dies after a period of darkness, and his body is laid in a new tomb by Joseph of Arimathaea.

Jesus Before Pilate

The whole company of them rose up and brought him before Pilate.

They began to accuse him, saying, “We found this man perverting the nation, forbidding paying taxes to Caesar, and saying that he himself is Messiah, a king.”

Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” He answered him, “So you say.”

Pilate said to the chief priests and the multitudes, “I find no basis for a charge against this man.”

But they insisted, saying, “He stirs up the people, teaching throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee even to this place.”

Jesus Interrogated by Herod

But when Pilate heard Galilee mentioned, he asked if the man was a Galilean.

When he found out that he was in Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem during those days.

Now when Herod saw Yeshua, he was exceedingly glad, for he had wanted to see him for a long time, because he had heard many things about him. He hoped to see some miracle done by him.

He questioned him with many words, but he gave no answers.

The chief priests and the scribes stood, vehemently accusing him.

Herod with his soldiers humiliated him and mocked him. Dressing him in luxurious clothing, they sent him back to Pilate.

Herod and Pilate became friends with each other that very day, for before that they were enemies with each other.

Pilate Condemns Jesus

Pilate called together the chief priests and the rulers and the people,

and said to them, “You brought this man to me as one that perverts the people, and see, I have examined him before you, and found no basis for a charge against this man concerning those things of which you accuse him.

Neither has Herod, for I sent you to him, and see, nothing worthy of death has been done by him.

I will therefore chastise him and release him.”

Now he had to release one prisoner to them at the feast.

But they all cried out together, saying, “Away with this man! Release to us Barabbas!”—

one who was thrown into prison for a certain revolt in the city, and for murder.

Then Pilate spoke to them again, wanting to release Yeshua,

but they shouted, saying, “Crucify! Crucify him!”

He said to them the third time, “Why? What evil has this man done? I have found no capital crime in him. I will therefore chastise him and release him.”

But they were urgent with loud voices, asking that he might be crucified. Their voices and the voices of the chief priests prevailed.

Pilate decreed that what they asked for should be done.

He released him who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, for whom they asked, but he delivered Yeshua up to their will.

The Road to the Cross

When they led him away, they grabbed one Simon of Cyrene, coming from the country, and laid on him the cross, to carry it after Yeshua.

A great multitude of the people followed him, including women who also mourned and lamented him.

But Yeshua, turning to them, said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, don’t weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children.

For behold, the days are coming in which they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, the wombs that never bore, and the breasts that never nursed.’

Then they will begin to tell the mountains, ‘Fall on us!’ and tell the hills, ‘Cover us.’

For if they do these things in the green tree, what will be done in the dry?”

There were also others, two criminals, led with him to be put to death.

The Crucifixion

When they came to the place that is called The Skull, they crucified him there with the criminals, one on the right and the other on the left.

Yeshua said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.” Dividing his garments among them, they cast lots.

The people stood watching. The rulers with them also scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others. Let him save himself, if this is the Messiah of God, his chosen one!”

The soldiers also mocked him, coming to him and offering him vinegar,

and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!”

An inscription was also written over him in letters of Greek, Latin, and Hebrew: “THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.”

One of the criminals who was hanged insulted him, saying, “If you are the Messiah, save yourself and us!”

But the other answered, and rebuking him said, “Don’t you even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation?

And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong.”

He said to Yeshua, “Lord, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.”

Yeshua said to him, “Assuredly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”

Death of Jesus

It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour.

The sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was torn in two.

Yeshua, crying with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” Having said this, he breathed his last.

When the centurion saw what was done, he glorified God, saying, “Certainly this was a righteous man.”

All the multitudes that came together to see this, when they saw the things that were done, returned home beating their breasts.

All his acquaintances, and the women who followed with him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.

The Burial

Behold, a man named Joseph, who was a member of the council, a good and righteous man

(he had not consented to their counsel and deed), from Arimathaea, a city of the Judeans, who was also waiting for the Kingdom of God:

this man went to Pilate, and asked for Yeshua’s body.

He took it down, and wrapped it in a linen cloth, and laid him in a tomb that was cut in stone, where no one had ever been laid.

It was the day of the Preparation, and the Sabbath was drawing near.

The women, who had come with him out of Galilee, followed after, and saw the tomb, and how his body was laid.

They returned, and prepared spices and ointments. On the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment.

Study Notes for Luke 23

Verse 1

After the religious trial by the Sanhedrin (Luke 22:66-71), the Jewish leaders bring Jesus to Pilate, the Roman governor, as only the Roman authorities could execute a death sentence.

Verse 2

The charges presented are political (sedition, forbidding taxes) rather than religious, forcing Pilate to treat Jesus as a threat to Roman order.

Verse 3

Jesus’ ambiguous reply, 'Thou sayest it,' affirms his kingship while implicitly reframing it as non-political, thereby neutralizing the charge of sedition.

Verse 4

Luke repeatedly emphasizes Pilate’s conclusion of Jesus’ innocence (v. 4, 14, 22), highlighting that Jesus was condemned not by Roman law but by the pressure of the Jewish leadership and populace.

Verse 7

Herod Antipas was the tetrarch of Galilee. Pilate sends Jesus to him to avoid responsibility and because Herod had jurisdiction over Galileans.

Verse 8

Herod's interest was purely curiosity and a desire for entertainment, illustrating his lack of commitment to justice or truth.

Verse 9

Jesus’ silence before Herod contrasts with his earlier answers to the high priest and Pilate, perhaps fulfilling the suffering servant prophecy (Isa. 53:7).

Verse 12

This political maneuver resulted in reconciliation between Pilate and Herod, showing how dealing with Jesus brought temporary unity among those in power.

Verse 15

Pilate uses Herod’s non-condemnation as further evidence of Jesus’ innocence, establishing a dual Roman acquittal.

Verse 16

Pilate attempts a compromise—scourging (chastisement) followed by release—hoping to satisfy the crowd’s demand for punishment without executing an innocent man.

Verse 17

This parenthetical note explains the custom of releasing a prisoner during Passover, which the crowd exploits to demand Barabbas instead of Jesus.

Verse 19

Barabbas is explicitly identified as a revolutionary (sedition) and murderer, creating a stark contrast: the people choose a political criminal over the innocent Christ.

Verse 25

Pilate officially yields to the popular will, delivering Jesus to be crucified despite declaring him innocent three times (v. 4, 14, 22).

Verse 26

Simon of Cyrene, a man likely traveling to Jerusalem for the Passover, is compelled by the soldiers to carry Jesus’ cross, emphasizing Jesus’ extreme physical exhaustion.

Verse 28

Jesus shifts the focus from his own suffering to the impending judgment and destruction awaiting Jerusalem (fulfilled in 70 AD) due to their rejection of him.

Verse 29

This hyperbolic statement reflects the extremity of the coming suffering, making barrenness a blessing because childless mothers would not witness their children’s destruction.

Verse 31

A proverbial saying: if the innocent (the green tree) suffers such a fate, how much worse will the judgment be for the guilty (the dry tree, representing unrepentant Israel)?

Verse 33

Calvary is the Latin equivalent of the Aramaic 'Golgotha' (Place of the Skull). Jesus is crucified alongside two criminals, fulfilling the prophecy that he would be numbered with the transgressors (Isa. 53:12).

Verse 34

This is the first of Jesus’ seven sayings from the cross, demonstrating radical forgiveness toward his executioners. The plea 'they know not what they do' suggests a degree of culpable ignorance.

Verse 38

The inscription was written in Greek, Latin, and Hebrew so that all passersby could understand the official charge, ironically declaring the truth of Jesus' identity.

Verse 40

The interaction between the two malefactors is unique to Luke, serving as a powerful demonstration of repentance and faith in Jesus’ kingship even in his humiliation.

Verse 43

The second saying from the cross. 'Paradise' (a term for the Garden of Eden or the abode of the righteous dead) promises the repentant thief immediate entry into blessedness with Christ.

Verse 44

The 'sixth hour' (noon) to the 'ninth hour' (3 PM) was marked by supernatural darkness, signifying cosmic judgment and the gravity of the event.

Verse 45

The rending of the temple veil, which separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies, symbolizes that access to God is now opened to all through Christ’s sacrifice.

Verse 46

Jesus’ final words in Luke, quoting Psalm 31:5, show his death as a deliberate act of trust and completion, not a defeat.

Verse 47

The centurion’s confession, 'Certainly this was a righteous man,' provides the final Roman testimony to Jesus’ innocence, concluding Luke’s repeated emphasis on his lack of guilt.

Verse 48

The crowd’s reaction (beating their breasts) signals immediate remorse or recognition of the tragic injustice they had demanded.

Verse 50

Joseph of Arimathea is identified as a member of the Sanhedrin ('counsellor') who dissented from the council’s decision, demonstrating that not all Jewish leaders rejected Jesus.

Verse 54

The burial had to be completed quickly because the 'preparation' day was ending, and the Sabbath (beginning at sunset) prohibited manual labor.

Verse 56

The women’s obedience to the Sabbath commandment, despite their grief, sets the stage for their visit to the tomb on the first day of the week (24:1).

Use ← → arrow keys to navigate

Luke23

Jesus Before Pilate

Jesus Interrogated by Herod

Pilate Condemns Jesus

The Road to the Cross

The Crucifixion

Death of Jesus

The Burial

Reading Style

Typeface

Font Size 19px

Options