Luke · chapter 23 of 24
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Luke 23 recounts the trial, crucifixion and burial of Jesus. Pilate and Herod find no guilt in him, yet the people demand his death and the release of Barabbas. Jesus is crucified between two criminals and promises paradise to one of them. He dies committing his spirit to the Father and is buried by Joseph of Arimathea.
After the night at Gethsemane and the council, Luke 23 reaches the climax of the story. Luke stresses Jesus' innocence, recognized by Pilate, Herod, a criminal and a centurion, and the compassion with which he responds even on the cross. His death is not a defeat but the way of salvation.
The council brings Jesus before Pilate and accuses him of misleading the nation, forbidding taxes to Caesar and claiming to be a king. Pilate asks whether he is the king of the Jews, and on hearing his answer says he finds no crime in him. Learning that Jesus is a Galilean, he sends him to Herod, who has long wanted to see him. Herod questions him and his soldiers mock him, but Jesus does not answer; they send him back.
Pilate calls together the chief priests and the people and says neither he nor Herod found any guilt in Jesus. He proposes to punish him and release him, but the crowd shouts for Barabbas, imprisoned for insurrection and murder, to be released and for Jesus to be crucified. Pilate yields to their shouting and hands Jesus over. As they lead him away, they seize Simon of Cyrene and make him carry the cross behind Jesus. Women weep for him, and Jesus tells them to weep rather for themselves and their children.
At the place called the Skull they crucify him between two criminals. Jesus prays that the Father forgive those doing it, for they do not know what they are doing, and the soldiers divide his clothes. The rulers, soldiers and one criminal mock him. The other acknowledges his guilt, defends Jesus and asks him to remember him when he comes into his kingdom; Jesus promises that today he will be with him in paradise. From noon there is darkness over the whole land until three, and the temple curtain is torn in two. Jesus cries out that into the Father's hands he commits his spirit and breathes his last. The centurion praises God and says this man was truly righteous; the crowds go home beating their breasts. Joseph of Arimathea, a member of the council, a good and righteous man, asks for the body, wraps it and lays it in a new tomb. The women from Galilee see where it is laid, prepare spices and rest on the Sabbath.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
Jesus prays that the Father forgive those crucifying him, because they do not know what they are doing. Some ancient manuscripts omit this sentence, but it fits Jesus' character: he prays for his enemies to the end.
One of the criminals asks Jesus to remember him in his kingdom, and Jesus promises that today he will be with him in paradise. Salvation is a gift of grace, reaching even at the last moment the one who trusts in him.
Jesus cries out that into the Father's hands he commits his spirit, and breathes his last. He dies with a prayer of trust taken from the Psalms, giving himself willingly to his Father.
The centurion who sees how Jesus died praises God and says he was truly a righteous man. A Roman soldier recognizes the innocence that Israel's leaders denied.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: That he found no guilt in this man. — Luke 23:4
Answer: Because Jesus was from Galilee, and Herod, who ruled that region, was in Jerusalem. — Luke 23:6-7
Answer: Barabbas, imprisoned for insurrection and murder. — Luke 23:18-19
Answer: Simon of Cyrene. — Luke 23:26
Answer: That this very day he would be with him in paradise. — Luke 23:43
Answer: It was torn in two. — Luke 23:45
Luke 23 puts us before the cross and its message of grace. The criminal had no time for good works, but he trusted Jesus, and received a sure promise. In a class you can talk about what it means that salvation depends not on what we do but on whom we cling to.
Jesus' prayer for his executioners challenges us to forgive those who have hurt us. And the trusting surrender of his last breath teaches us to live and die with open hands before God. Ask yourself what you find hard to entrust to his care today.
Luke 23 ends with the women resting on the Sabbath after seeing where the body was laid. In Luke 24 they come to the tomb on the first day of the week and find that Jesus has risen, as he said.
Luke shows Pilate declaring three times that he finds no guilt, yet yielding to the pressure of the crowd and the leaders. It is a warning about how injustice occurs when someone in authority prefers convenience to truth.
The word evokes a garden or place of blessing in God's presence. Jesus promises the criminal that this very day he will be with him. The text gives no further details but assures us that whoever trusts in Christ is with him after death.
The curtain separated the holy of holies from the rest of the temple. Its tearing in two is understood as a sign that, through Jesus' death, access to God is opened. Luke only mentions it, and the letter to the Hebrews develops its meaning.