Frameworks:
Luke's Gospel, chapter 23
For
preliminaries see chapter 1
v.1-25
Before Pilate & Herod
v.26-43
The Crucifixion of Jesus
v.44-49
The Death of Jesus
v.50-56
The Burial of Jesus
v.1-25
Before Pilate & Herod
v.1
(Jesus is taken to the
governor) Then
the whole assembly rose and led him off to Pilate.
v.2
(they accuse him before
Pilate) And
they began to accuse him, saying, “We have found this man subverting
our nation. He opposes payment of taxes to Caesar and claims to
be Messiah, a king.”
v.3
(Pilate ask him about
being king of the Jews) So
Pilate asked Jesus, “Are you the king of the Jews?” “You have
said so,” Jesus replied.
v.4
(Pilate says there is
no charge) Then
Pilate announced to the chief priests and the crowd, “I find no
basis for a charge against this man.”
v.5
(they persist and mention
Galilee) But
they insisted, “He stirs up the people all over Judea by his teaching.
He started in Galilee and has come all the way here.”
v.6
(Pilate checks this)
On hearing
this, Pilate asked if the man was a Galilean.
v.7
(so he sends him to Herod)
When he learned
that Jesus was under Herod's jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod,
who was also in Jerusalem at that time.
v.8
(Herod has high hopes)
When Herod
saw Jesus, he was greatly pleased, because for a long time he
had been wanting to see him. From what he had heard about him,
he hoped to see him perform a sign of some sort.
v.9
(he fruitlessly questions
Jesus) He
plied him with many questions, but Jesus gave him no answer.
v.10
(meanwhile the authorities
keep accusing him) The
chief priests and the teachers of the law were standing there,
vehemently accusing him.
v.11,12
(Herod sends him back
to Pilate) Then
Herod and his soldiers ridiculed and mocked him. Dressing him
in an elegant robe, they sent him back to Pilate. That day Herod
and Pilate became friends—before this they had been enemies.
v.13,14
(Pilate tells the authorities
there is still no charge) Pilate
called together the chief priests, the rulers and the people,
and said to them, “You brought me this man as one who was inciting
the people to rebellion. I have examined him in your presence
and have found no basis for your charges against him.
v.15
(even Herod couldn't
find a charge) Neither
has Herod, for he sent him back to us; as you can see, he has
done nothing to deserve death.
v.16
(we'll punish him and
then release him) Therefore,
I will punish him and then release him.”
v.18
(relying on custom they
demanded he release Barabbas) But
the whole crowd shouted, “Away with this man! Release Barabbas
to us!”
v.19
(Barabbas was a rebel
and murderer) (Barabbas
had been thrown into prison for an insurrection in the city, and
for murder.)
v.20
(Pilate still wants to
let him go) Wanting
to release Jesus, Pilate appealed to them again.
v.21
(they keep shouting for
him to be crucified) But
they kept shouting, “Crucify him! Crucify him!”
v.22
(a third time he resists)
For the third
time he spoke to them: “Why? What crime has this man committed?
I have found in him no grounds for the death penalty. Therefore
I will have him punished and then release him.”
v.23
(they kept shouting)
But with loud
shouts they insistently demanded that he be crucified, and their
shouts prevailed.
v.24
(so Pilate gave way)
So Pilate decided
to grant their demand.
v.25
(he released Barabbas)
He released
the man who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder,
the one they asked for, and surrendered Jesus to their will.
v.26-43
The Crucifixion of Jesus
v.26
(leading Jesus off to
be crucified the soldier conscript a visitor to carry his cross)
As the soldiers
led him away, they seized Simon from Cyrene, who was on his way
in from the country, and put the cross on him and made him carry
it behind Jesus.
v.27
(a large crowd followed
the procession) A
large number of people followed him, including women who mourned
and wailed for him.
v.28
(Jesus speaks to the
women) Jesus
turned and said to them, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep
for me; weep for yourselves and for your children.
v.29
(a time of judgment will
come) For
the time will come when you will say, ‘Blessed are the childless
women, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!'
v.30
(and they would wish
the mountains fell on them) Then
“‘they will say to the mountains, “Fall on us!” and to
the hills, “Cover us!”' [Hos 10:8]
v.31
(if this happens to a
good person, what will happen to guilty people) For
if people do these things when the tree is green, what will happen
when it is dry?”
v.32
(two criminals were also
being crucified) Two
other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed.
v.33
(and there the three
were executed) When
they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there,
along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left.
v.34
(Jesus prayed) Jesus
said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are
doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.
v.35
(the authorities mocked
him) The
people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They
said, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is God's Messiah,
the Chosen One.”
v.36,37
(the soldiers mocked
him) The
soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar
and said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.”
v.38
(a sign above indicated
he was the king of the Jews) There
was a written notice above him, which read: this is the king of
the Jews .
v.39
(one of the criminals
mocked him) One
of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren't
you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”
v.40,41
(the other one chided
the other) But
the other criminal rebuked him. “Don't you fear God,” he said,
“since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly,
for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done
nothing wrong.”
v.42
(he asks Jesus for clemency
in heaven) Then
he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
v.43
(Jesus confirms the man
will be there today) Jesus
answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in
paradise.”
v.44-49
The Death of Jesus
v.44,45
(from noon until three
darkness falls) It
was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until
three in the afternoon, for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain
of the temple was torn in two.
v.46
(Jesus commits himself
to his Father and died) Jesus
called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit
my spirit.” [Psa 31:5]
When he had said this, he breathed his last.
v.47
(a centurion acknowledges
Jesus) The
centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, “Surely
this was a righteous man.”
v.48
(the crowd turn away
in anguish) When
all the people who had gathered to witness this sight saw what
took place, they beat their breasts and went away.
v.49
(he followers watched
from a distance) But
all those who knew him, including the women who had followed him
from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.
v.50-56
The Burial of Jesus
v.50,51
(Joseph of Arimathea,
a council member, was there) Now
there was a man named Joseph, a member of the Council, a good
and upright man, who had not consented to their decision and action.
He came from the Judean town of Arimathea, and he himself was
waiting for the kingdom of God.
v.52
(he asked for Jesus'
body) Going
to Pilate, he asked for Jesus' body.
v.53
(he took the body and
buried it) Then
he took it down, wrapped it in linen cloth and placed it in a
tomb cut in the rock, one in which no one had yet been laid.
v.54
(it was the day before
the Sabbath) It
was Preparation Day, and the Sabbath was about to begin.
v.55
(the women watched from
a distance) The
women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed Joseph and
saw the tomb and ow his body was laid in it.
v.56
(but they did nothing
because the Sabbath was about to begin) Then
they went home and prepared spices and perfumes. But they rested
on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment. [Note
the Jewish day was measured from 6pm to 6pm]