Luke 23
Jesus Brought Before Pilate
23:1 Then the whole group of them rose up and brought Jesus before Pilate.
The Sanhedrin could not execute Jesus without the permission of the Roman government.
23:2 They began to accuse him, saying, “We found this man subverting our nation, forbidding us to pay the tribute tax to Caesar and claiming that he himself is Christ, a king.”
In order to get the death penalty, the Sanhedrin had to accuse Jesus of capital crimes against Rome.
23:3 So Pilate asked Jesus, “Are you the king of the Jews?” He replied, “You say so.”
Jesus admitted that He was the King of the Jews, but in a different world.
23:4 Then Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, “I find no basis for an accusation against this man.”
Jesus was declared innocent by Roman Law.
23:5 But they persisted in saying, “He incites the people by teaching throughout all Judea. It started in Galilee and ended up here!”
Jesus taught that He was the Messiah and that the Jewish religious leaders were satanically-inspired hypocrites who were adding human tradition to the Mosaic Law.
Jesus Brought Before Herod
23:6 Now when Pilate heard this, he asked whether the man was a Galilean.
Pilate was looking for a political escape out of this situation.
23:7 When he learned that he was from Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent him over to Herod, who also happened to be in Jerusalem at that time.
Pilate and Herod were bitter enemies. Galilee was part of King Herod’s jurisdiction. The Jewish leaders now had to transport Jesus to the house of King Herod.
23:8 When Herod saw Jesus, he was very glad, for he had long desired to see him, because he had heard about him and was hoping to see him perform some miraculous sign.
King Herod wanted Jesus to perform magic tricks for his court.
23:9 So Herod questioned him at considerable length; Jesus gave him no answer.
Herod was a murderer and an ungodly king. Jesus gave him the silent treatment
23:10 The chief priests and the experts in the law were there, vehemently accusing him.
The Jewish religious leaders were hoping that Herod would cut off the head of Jesus, just as he did to John the Baptist.
23:11 Even Herod with his soldiers treated him with contempt and mocked him. Then, dressing him in elegant clothes, Herod sent him back to Pilate.
Herod and the soldiers mocked Jesus and sent Him back to Pilate. Herod was not going to get himself involved in this political trap.
23:12 That very day Herod and Pilate became friends with each other, for prior to this they had been enemies.
The rejection of Jesus will bring even the most bitter of enemies together.
Jesus Brought Before the Crowd
23:13 Then Pilate called together the chief priests, the rulers, and the people, 23:14 and said to them, “You brought me this man as one who was misleading the people. When I examined him before you, I did not find this man guilty of anything you accused him of doing.
By Roman law, Jesus was declared innocent. He should have been set free.
23:15 Neither did Herod, for he sent him back to us. Look, he has done nothing deserving death.
Two Roman officials declared that Jesus was innocent.
23:16 I will therefore have him flogged and release him.”
Jesus should not have been flogged by Roman law. He should have been released. Pilate was playing political games with the God of the universe.
23:17 Now he was obliged to release to them at the feast one prisoner.
This verse was not found in the Westcott-Hort, but it was found in the Textus Receptus.
23:18 But they all shouted out together, “Take this man away! Release Barabbas for us!”
In Aramaic, Barabbas means “son of the father”. Jesus was the Son of the Heavenly Father.
23:19 (This was a man who had been thrown into prison for an insurrection started in the city, and for murder.)
The Jewish leaders rejected their Messiah and chose a murderer.
23:20 Pilate addressed them once again because he wanted to release Jesus.
Pilate did not want to execute Jesus, because this whole procedure was against Roman Law. This decision would cause him political chaos.
23:21 But they kept on shouting, “Crucify, crucify him!”
The Jewish religious leaders wanted to crucify the One who came to save them from their sins.
23:22 A third time he said to them, “Why? What wrong has he done? I have found him guilty of no crime deserving death. I will therefore flog him and release him.”
Jesus was declared innocent by Roman Law for the third time.
23:23 But they were insistent, demanding with loud shouts that he be crucified. And their shouts prevailed.
Pilate decided that it was better to be an earthly politician in the satanic world system than it was to be a servant of God.
23:24 So Pilate decided that their demand should be granted.
Pilate feared men more than he did God.
23:25 He released the man they asked for, who had been thrown in prison for insurrection and murder. But he handed Jesus over to their will.
Barabbas was released and Jesus was sentenced to death.
The Crucifixion
23:26 As they led him away, they seized Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country. They placed the cross on his back and made him carry it behind Jesus.
Simon apparently became a believer, because his children were mentioned as believers in Paul’s letters.
23:27 A great number of the people followed him, among them women who were mourning and wailing for him.
Notice that mostly women followed Jesus. There was very little male leadership left in Jerusalem.
23:28 But Jesus turned to them and said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children.
Jesus warned the women of the Temple destruction of 70 A.D.
23:29 For this is certain: The days are coming when they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, the wombs that never bore children, and the breasts that never nursed!’
During the siege, women will eat their own children.
23:30 Then they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us!’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us!’ 23:31 For if such things are done when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?”
The Jewish women who reject Jesus will find themselves in a terrible siege where they will suffer and die horrible deaths.
23:32 Two other criminals were also led away to be executed with him.
Isaiah 53 predicted that the Messiah would be numbered with the transgressors.
23:33 So when they came to the place that is called “The Skull,” they crucified him there, along with the criminals, one on his right and one on his left.
The Skull that is toured today in Israel is most likely not the correct location.
23:34 [But Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.”] Then they threw dice to divide his clothes.
Jesus died as a poor man. The only valuable property that he possessed was a purple robe which was given to him in mockery by the Roman soldiers.
23:35 The people also stood there watching, but the rulers ridiculed him, saying, “He saved others. Let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, his chosen one!”
Psalm 22 predicted that the Messiah would be mocked on the cross.
23:36 The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine, 23:37 and saying, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself!”
Psalm 22 also predicted that Gentile dogs would mock the Messiah on the cross. The Hebrew word for “Gentile dogs" is sodomites.
23:38 There was also an inscription over him, “This is the king of the Jews.”
The crime of Jesus was that He was the literal King of the Jews. However, the satanic world system will not allow this type of King to live.
23:39 One of the criminals who was hanging there railed at him, saying, “Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!”
The other gospels recorded that both criminals mocked him.
23:40 But the other rebuked him, saying, “Don’t you fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation?
After insulting Jesus, the other criminal had his eyes opened by the Holy Spirit.
23:41 And we rightly so, for we are getting what we deserve for what we did, but this man has done nothing wrong.”
The criminal saw himself as a sinner. He saw Jesus as the sinless one. He could not see either of these two truths unless he was supernaturally awakened by the Holy Spirit.
23:42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come in your kingdom.”
The criminal desired to be with Jesus in his Millennial Kingdom. He recognized that Jesus could raise them both from the dead.
23:43 And Jesus said to him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.”
Notice that this repentant thief had no time to be baptized, no time to change his life style, no time to do any good works, no time to walk down the aisle and make a public confession, no time to pray a sinner's prayer, no time to repent and change his ways, and no time to even go to church. He could not do anything except BELIEVE! That is all that anyone has to do, "BELIEVE upon the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved." (Acts 16:31)
Some churches falsely teach that one must repent of their sins to be saved. Repent means to change one’s ways. A person is saved by simply "believing upon the Lord Jesus Christ" (Acts 16:31). After a person believes, then he will repent and change his attitude about God. Therefore, repentance is a result of salvation, but it is not a condition of salvation. The only condition of salvation is "to believe".
The thief who disbelieved would wake up in Hades. At the end of the Millennial Kingdom, he will be transferred to the Great White Throne Judgment to be judged as guilty. Then, he will be sentenced to the Lake of Fire for eternity.
The thief who believed will wake up in Paradise. Christ will descend to Paradise with the believing thief. Jesus will teach to the spirits in hell. Then, Jesus will bring the believing thief and all of the other believers in Paradise up to heaven to be with Christ forever. Today, hell is still in the process of being filled by unbelievers, but Paradise has been evacuated. All believers in the church age who die will go immediately to be with the Lord in heaven.
23:44 It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon,
When Jesus drank the cup of wrath, God the Father turned out the lights of the universe. Jesus was separated from the Trinity for the next three hours. God did not allow any man to observe the sins of all mankind being poured out upon Jesus. Jesus had to face this experience alone.
23:45 because the sun’s light failed. The temple curtain was torn in two.
It was impossible for a man to tear the temple curtain from top to bottom. Once the temple curtain was torn, man no longer had access to God through the mercy seat of the Holy of Holies. Christ was now the mercy seat. The Mosaic Law was a killer, but it was now dead.
23:46 Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And after he said this he breathed his last.
Jesus did what no man can do. He voluntarily breathed His last breath.
23:47 Now when the centurion saw what had happened, he praised God and said, “Certainly this man was innocent!”
The Roman centurion had seen many crucifixions. He knew that Jesus was supernatural.
23:48 And all the crowds that had assembled for this spectacle, when they saw what had taken place, returned home beating their breasts.
They were beating their breasts in superstition, warning the dead that Jesus was coming.
23:49 And all those who knew Jesus stood at a distance, and the women who had followed him from Galilee saw these things.
Where is the male leadership?
Jesus’ Burial
23:50 Now there was a man named Joseph who was a member of the council, a good and righteous man. 23:51 (He had not consented to their plan and action.) He was from the Judean town of Arimathea, and was looking forward to the kingdom of God.
Joseph was a Jewish messianic believer who was a member of the Sanhedrin.
23:52 He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.
Crucifixion was usually a three day death process. Jesus died in less than half a day, because He chose the time to breathe out His last breath. The other gospels recorded that Pilate was surprised that Jesus had died so quickly.
23:53 Then he took it down, wrapped it in a linen cloth, and placed it in a tomb cut out of the rock, where no one had yet been buried.
Joseph wrapped the body of Jesus in burial cloth. The tomb was cut out of a rock cave. A 400 pound stone was rolled over the entrance so that no one could enter.
23:54 It was the day of preparation and the Sabbath was beginning.
The Pharisees did not want to execute Jesus on the Sabbath, but it was part of God’s preordained plan.
23:55 The women who had accompanied Jesus from Galilee followed, and they saw the tomb and how his body was laid in it. 23:56 Then they returned and prepared aromatic spices and perfumes. On the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment.
After the Sabbath, the women brought burial spices to anoint the body of Jesus.