Luke 23


Luke 23 is the twenty-third chapter of the Gospel of Luke in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The book containing this chapter is anonymous, but early Christian tradition uniformly affirmed that Luke the Evangelist composed this Gospel as well as the Acts of the Apostles. This chapter records the trial of Jesus Christ before Pontius Pilate, Jesus' meeting with Herod Antipas, and his crucifixion, death and burial.

Text

The original text was written in Koine Greek. Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter are:
  • Papyrus 75
  • Codex Vaticanus
  • Codex Sinaiticus
  • Codex Bezae
  • Codex Washingtonianus
  • Codex Alexandrinus
  • Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus.
This chapter is divided into 56 verses.

Old Testament references

Verse 1

"The whole multitude of them" may also be translated as "the whole assembly", or "the whole Council". Luke uses τὸ πλῆθος to signify a multitude in number. They led Jesus to Pontius Pilate, the provincial governor of Judaea.

Verse 2: the charges against Jesus

Irish archbishop John McEvilly notes that Luke provides more specific details of the charges against Jesus than either Matthew or Mark, who refer to "many charges" brought against him. There are three specific charges:
McEvilly refers to a fourth charge mentioned in Pilate's letter to Tiberius, "that He practised magic, in virtue of which, He performed some miraculous wonders". For F. W. Farrar, the first charge, translated in the King James Version as perverting the nation, "had the advantage of being perfectly vague".

Verse 3

Cross reference: Matthew 27:11; Mark 15:2; John 18:37

Verse 3 in Greek

/Majority Text:
Transliteration:

Verse 3 in Latin

The style of response is the same as in Luke 22:70, where Jesus answers the Sanhedrin's question, "Are you the Son of God?"

Verse 5

Traditionally, "throughout all Judea" has been rendered as "throughout all Jewry". Farrar suggests that these words imply a "Judean ministry" which the synoptic gospels do not narrate, as the only journey of Jesus in Judea which is recorded is that from Jericho to Jerusalem, and William Robertson Nicoll also suggests that there might have been "more work done by Jesus in the south than is recorded in the Synoptists", although he counsels against basing any picture of Jesus' ministry on the inadequate testimony of his accusers. On the other hand, Judea has "sometimes been the name of the whole land, including apparently parts beyond the Jordan", see Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, XII, 4.11, which term would therefore include the area of Perea east of the Jordan River. Matthew, Mark and John all refer to Jesus' stay in Perea, and Lucan scholars generally assume that the route Jesus followed from Galilee to Jerusalem passed through this region. The reference to Jesus' ministry "beginning from Galilee" relates back to Luke 4:14, where Jesus begins to teach in the synagogues there.

Jesus meets with Herod (verses 6-12)

According to a passage which is unique to Luke's Gospel, responsibility for the interrogation of Jesus is transferred from Pilate to Herod Antipas. The editors of the Jerusalem Bible suggest that Luke may have obtained this information from Manaen, who according to Acts 13:1, "had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch".

Jesus returns to Pilate (verses 13-25)

Herod finds no fault with Jesus and returns him to Pilate's jurisdiction.

Verse 14

Luke's version of the trial scene "emphasizes Pilate's reluctance to act against Jesus".

Verse 22

This "third time" of declaring Jesus' innocence follows the previous declarations in verses 4 and 14–15.

Verse 24

This verse reads ο δε πιλατος επεκρινεν γενεσθαι το αιτημα αυτων in the Textus Receptus, matching the opening words of, ο δε πιλατος, but the sentence begins καὶ Πιλᾶτος... in critical texts such as Westcott-Hort. Pilate's "official decision" was to comply with the request of the crowd. The word ἐπέκρινεν is specific to Luke, although it also appears in the apocryphal, where innocent men are condemned to death.

The way to Calvary (verses 26-32)

Verse 27

Matthew's parallel passage, Matthew 27:34, notes that on his arrival at the place of his crucifixion, Jesus was offered wine mixed with gall to drink. Luke does not include this, a reference to Proverbs 31:6–7, Give strong drink to him that is perishing..., but his reference to women in attendance en route may include their role in fulfilling this observance. Lutheran writer Johann Bengel suggests that the "bewailing" denotes their gestures and the "lamenting" reflects their vocal tones.

Verse 29

The prophet Hosea spoke in similar language, when recognising that the disobedience of the Israelites required God's punishment, but calling for some mitigation:

Verse 31

The green wood represents those who are innocent, while the dry wood represents "the truly guilty".

Verses 39–43

One of the two thieves who die with Jesus reviles him, the other contemplates the justice of his own death sentence and appeals to Jesus to be "remembered" in the kingdom. The authors of the Geneva Bible note that the latter is "saved by faith".

Verse 44

Like, Luke records three hours of darkness, which signify "the awesomeness of what is taking place".

Verse 46

Jesus' crying "with a loud voice" is not, as in, one of desolation, but of "secure confidence". Jesus quotes, rather than which appears in Mark's gospel.

Verse 48

Nicoll understands the phrase "the things that had happened" "comprehensively, including the crucifixion and all its accompaniments". Albert Barnes refers to "the earthquake, the darkness, and the sufferings of Jesus" as the "things which were done". The earthquake is only recorded in Matthew's Gospel, but the third century historian Sextus Julius Africanus also refers to an earthquake on or around the day of the crucifixion.

Verse 49

"The women" that followed Jesus from Galilee were "Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them" according to Luke 24:10. Matthew 27:55 lists "Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee", whereas Mark 15:40 names "Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the little and Joses, and Salome".

Verse 55

According to Luke 24:10, "the women" were "Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them". Matthew 27:61 lists "Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary", whereas Mark 15:47 names "Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of Joses".