Luke 23:1-5
Luke 23:1-5. THE ACCUSATION BEFORE PILATE. See on Matthew 27:2; Matthew 27:11-14; Mark 15:1-5; John 18:28-38.... [ Continue Reading ]
Luke 23:1-5. THE ACCUSATION BEFORE PILATE. See on Matthew 27:2; Matthew 27:11-14; Mark 15:1-5; John 18:28-38.... [ Continue Reading ]
Luke 23:1. LED HIM, probably in formal procession. UNTO PILATE. It is a question whether Pilate resided in a palace formerly belonging to Herod, or in the Castle Antonia (see on Matthew 27:27).... [ Continue Reading ]
‘Here we have the description, on the one hand of the series of maneuvers used by the Jews to obtain from Pilate the execution of the sentence, and on the other, of the series of Pilate's expedients or counter-maneuvers, to get rid of the case which was forced on him.' Godet. The account is condense... [ Continue Reading ]
Luke 23:2. BEGAN TO ACCUSE HIM. The first approach to Pilate is narrated by John only, but Luke gives this charge with most precision. WE FOUND. This implies investigation they had never made. PERVERTING, giving a false direction to, OUR NATION. They thus represent themselves as genuine friends... [ Continue Reading ]
Luke 23:3. AND PILATE ASKED HIM. This took place within the praetorium (John 18:33). ART THOU THE KING OF THE JEWS? Pilate's question implies some knowledge of the Messianic expectations of the Jews. THOU SAYEST IT = Yes. So Matthew and Mark. But fuller details of the interview are given by John... [ Continue Reading ]
Luke 23:4. I FIND NO FAULT IN THIS MAN. Pilate speaks as a judge. Knowing that the Sanhedrin would have no desire to put to death any one for the political crime alleged, he examines our Lord and satisfies himself that no such political crime was involved in His claim to be King of the Jews.... [ Continue Reading ]
Luke 23:5. AND THEY WERE THE MORE ARGENT. They strengthened their charge, urging anew the charge of perverting the people: HE STIRRETH UP THE PEOPLE, ETC. From Galilee. This was probably designed to arouse Pilate's resentment against Him as a Galilean, since the governor hated the Galileans (comp.... [ Continue Reading ]
Luke 23:6. HEARD IT; probably the name Galilee.... [ Continue Reading ]
Luke 23:6-12. OUR LORD BEFORE HEROD.... [ Continue Reading ]
Luke 23:7. HEROD'S JURISDICTION. As an inhabitant of Galilee, Jesus was under the authority of Herod Antipas, who was Tetrarch of Galilee and Perea. HE SENT HIM. The word used is a legal term generally applied to the transfer of a cause from a lower to a higher tribunal. Hence it was not to get He... [ Continue Reading ]
Luke 23:8. WAS EXCEEDING GLAD. This joy of Herod seems all the more frivolous and unkingly, if we suppose that the case of Jesus was actually offered to his jurisdiction. HAD HEARD. This was the reason of his desire. AND HE HOPED. The original indicates that this hope was contemporaneous with th... [ Continue Reading ]
Luke 23:9. AND HE QUESTIONED. The character of the questions may be inferred from Herod's reception of Jesus, as well as from the next clause: BUT HE ANSWERED HIM NOTHING. For such a judge, the incestuous adulterer, the murderer of the Baptist, He had neither miracles nor words.... [ Continue Reading ]
Luke 23:10. AND THE CHIEF PRIESTS, etc. Pilate had sent them there. There is no hint that Herod took any steps toward real investigation. Finding his curiosity was not to be gratified, he treats the case with contempt.... [ Continue Reading ]
Luke 23:11. AND HEROD. Failing of his expected entertainment, the monarch seeks amusement in the way here narrated. The motive was resentment at the silence of Jesus, though actual contempt was doubtless felt. WITH HIS SOLDIERY (a peculiar word), _i.e.,_ his attending body guard. SET HIM AT NOUG... [ Continue Reading ]
Luke 23:12. BECAME FRIENDS WITH EACH OTHER, ETC. If the cause of the quarrel was some question of jurisdiction connected possibly with the occurrence mentioned in chap. Luke 13:1, we see a reason why a reconciliation now took place. As early as Acts 4:27, we find believers alluding in their prayers... [ Continue Reading ]
Luke 23:13. WHEN HE HAD CALLED TOGETHER, etc. After the return from Herod. Matthew (Matthew 27:17) alludes to this. AND THE PEOPLE. The multitude, doubtless now more numerous, was called to hear a proposal in which their wish was concerned. Luke 23:14. SAID UNTO THEM. Luke, who gives the charge m... [ Continue Reading ]
Luke 23:13-25. FURTHER EXAMINATION BEFORE PILATE. See on Matthew 27:15-26; comp. Mark 15:6-15; John 18:39-40. Luke gives, in this paragraph, few new details, although the form of his narrative is peculiar to himself.... [ Continue Reading ]
Luke 23:15. NOR YET HEROD, who knew Jewish affairs so well. FOR HE SENT HIM BACK TO US. The correct reading more fully proves Pilate's assertion. HATH BEEN DONE BY HIM, _i.e.,_ Herod's examination failed to elicit any proof that He had committed a crime.... [ Continue Reading ]
Luke 23:16. I WILL THEREFORE CHASTISE HIM. Pilate ought to have said: I will release without any punishment. His want of moral earnestness now appears. This was a concession, and an illegal one, since he declares Jesus to be innocent. This first wrong step was the decisive one, since the Jews unders... [ Continue Reading ]
Luke 23:17-25. The account before us is brief, introducing scarcely any new features. Luke 23:17, while supported by some authorities, is to be omitted. AWAY WITH THIS MAN is virtually a demand for execution. PREVAILED (Luke 23:23), gained the mastery, _i.e.,_ over Pilate. GAVE SENTENCE. Final... [ Continue Reading ]
Luke 23:26. WHEN THEY LED HIM AWAY. See on Matthew 27:32; Mark 15:21. (John omits this incident.) TO BEAR IT AFTER JESUS. The hinder PART alone was laid upon Simon. The relief was comparatively slight; there is no proof that our Lord was sinking under the load. He who bears the cross _after_ Jesus... [ Continue Reading ]
Luke 23:26-32. THE WAY TO THE CRUCIFIXION. Here Luke is most full, but gives no support to the various legends of the _Via Dolorosa._... [ Continue Reading ]
Among the peculiarities of Luke's description we notice particularly the scene on the way to Calvary (Luke 23:27-32), and the story of the penitent robber (Luke 23:39-43). Both of these accord with the general spirit of the whole Gospel, as do the _three words_ from the cross (Luke 23:34; Luke 23:43... [ Continue Reading ]
Luke 23:27. A GREAT NUMBER OF THE PEOPLE. The ordinary crowd at an execution. AND OF WOMEN. Such a crowd would be largely made up of women. These were not the Galilean women (Luke 23:49), but women of Jerusalem (Luke 23:28). BEWAILED AND LAMENTED HIM. This does not of itself indicate any real at... [ Continue Reading ]
Luke 23:28. DAUGHTERS OF JERUSALEM. A natural address, but solemn and pointing to their relation to a doomed city. WEEP NOT FOR ME. Comp. Hebrews 12:2. He not only endures the cross, but forgets His sorrows, so heavy, to tell the truth to those who manifested for Him only a human sympathy. BUT W... [ Continue Reading ]
Luke 23:29. BAYS ARE COMING. As certainly coming, as He was going to death. THEY SHALL SAY. ‘They' refers to those in Jerusalem, especially the women in Jerusalem, _at the time foretold._ His disciples would not be there, and there is here implied a warning to escape. But the whole tone of the pre... [ Continue Reading ]
Luke 23:30. BEGIN TO SAY, etc. The language is quoted from Hosea 10:8. ‘Begin' does not necessarily imply a repetition of the saying, but there is probably an allusion to another and a greater day of wrath. The prediction had a primary reference to the siege of Jerusalem and a literal fulfilment the... [ Continue Reading ]
Luke 23:31. IF THEY DO THESE THINGS IN THE GREEN TREE, etc. In proverbial form our Lord here contrasts what is coming upon Himself, ‘the green tree,' the fruitful vine, the innocent one when He bore our sins, with what would come upon them, ‘the dry tree,' the unfruitful ones standing to bear their... [ Continue Reading ]
Luke 23:32. TWO OTHERS. The sympathy seems to have been, not for them, but for Him alone. LED WITH HIM. Luke alone narrates this.... [ Continue Reading ]
Luke 23:33-38. THE CRUCIFIXION AND MOCKING. See on Matthew 27:33-43; Mark 15:22; Mark 15:33; John 19:17-24. Luke's account is the briefest. He mentions (the others do not) the mocking offer of drink by the soldiers (Luke 23:36). Here only do we find the touching prayer, usually called the _first_ wo... [ Continue Reading ]
Luke 23:33. SKULL. Comp. the Hebrew _Golgotha_ (Matthew, Mark, and John), which also means this. ‘Calvary' is of kindred meaning, but taken from the Latin version. The name probably arose from a resemblance to a skull in the shape of the slight elevation where the crosses were placed. Mount Calvary... [ Continue Reading ]
Luke 23:34. AND JESUS SAID. During the act of crucifixion, as it would appear from the language which follows. This first of the seven words on the cross, preserved by Luke alone, is perhaps the one best adapted to ‘draw all men' unto Him ‘when lifted up.' FATHER, FORGIVE THEM. Even in the act of c... [ Continue Reading ]
Luke 23:35. AND THE PEOPLE STOOD BEHOLDING. At the time when the prayer was uttered. A crowd would not, however, remain still long on such an occasion, and others would be coming from the city, so that there is no disagreement with the accounts of Matthew and Mark. BUT THE RULERS, etc. As if in co... [ Continue Reading ]
Luke 23:36. OFFERING HIM VINEGAR. It was about midday, when they would be eating and drinking, and they drunk to Him, holding out to Him in mockery the sour wine (vinegar) they used. Thus the incident is natural, and at the same time totally distinct from the one related by the other Evangelists, wh... [ Continue Reading ]
Luke 23:37. IF THOU ART THE KING OF THE JEWS, SAVE THYSELF. This scoff was learned from the rulers no doubt (Matthew 27:42), but it included a sneer at the Jews as well.... [ Continue Reading ]
Luke 23:38. AND THERE WAS ALSO A SUPERSCRIPTION OVER HIM. See notes under the text Luke mentions the title later than the other Evangelists; the sneer of the soldiers suggested the mention of Pilate's mockery in writing this superscription.... [ Continue Reading ]
Luke 23:39. ONE OF THE MALEFACTORS. Alford: ‘All were now mocking: the soldiers, the rulers, the mob; and the evil-minded thief, perhaps out of bravado before the crowd, puts in his scoff also.' This fourfold mocking is a fearful revelation of the extent and power of sin. The better attested form of... [ Continue Reading ]
Luke 23:39-43. THE PENITENT ROBBER. Peculiar to Luke. John makes no allusion to the conduct of the malefactors, while Matthew and Mark intimate that both scoffed at our Lord. While those accounts may be regarded as simply more general, we think it probable that both robbers began to revile, but duri... [ Continue Reading ]
Luke 23:40. BUT THE OTHER a NSWERED, the word ‘us' had included him, and he protests against being made a partner in the mockery. It is very improbable that this man was a Gentile. The two were probably placed on either side of Jesus to carry out the taunt that this was the King of the Jews, and the... [ Continue Reading ]
Luke 23:41. AND WE INDEED JUSTLY, etc. He speaks like a true penitent; for the connection with the last verse involves a reference to _God's_ justice. Too many forget it under the shadow of the cross! BUT THIS MAN HATH DONE NOTHING AMISS. A strong statement of innocence. ‘Even had the robber said... [ Continue Reading ]
Luke 23:42. AND HE LAID, JESUS, REMEMBER ME, etc. He does not ask liberation from the cross, but is satisfied to cast himself on the personal love and care of the Being hanging in torture beside him. WHEN THOU COMEST IN THY KINGDOM, _i.e.,_ at thy coming in thy kingdom. ‘Into' is incorrect, and le... [ Continue Reading ]
Luke 23:43. VERILY I SAY UNTO THEE. A Divine assurance in response to faith. TODAY, _i.e.,_ before that day ended. The Roman Catholics, to sustain the doctrine of purgatory, join this with ‘I say unto thee,' but there was no need of asserting that He was _speaking ‘today.'_ The promise implies firs... [ Continue Reading ]
Luke 23:44-46. THE CLOSING SCENE. See on Matthew 27:45-53; Mark 15:33-38. Luke's account is very brief, passing over the tender scene narrated in John 19:26-27, the lamentation mentioned by Matthew and Mark, and the last refreshment recorded by all three, but it alone has preserved for us _the last... [ Continue Reading ]
Luke 23:45. THE RAN FAILING, _i.e.,_ its light. This was the cause of the darkness. It can scarcely imply that the sun had been visible during the darkness and at last itself disappeared. AND THE VAIL OF THE TEMPLE, etc. Matthew, who is more detailed, speaks of this after our Lord's death. It prob... [ Continue Reading ]
Luke 23:46. CRYING WITH A LOUD VOICE. Matthew and Mark mention this without giving the words. FATHER, INTO THY HANDS I COMMIT MY SPIRIT. Our Lord dies with Scriptural words on His lips (Psalms 31:5). The whole Psalm is not necessarily Messianic, for, by saying ‘Father,' our lo _rd_ gives the whole... [ Continue Reading ]
Luke 23:47. SAW WHAT WAS DONE. Mark is most exact here: ‘that he so cried out.' HE GLORIFIED GOD. The original implies a continued action and thus favors the idea that the centurion was really converted by the sight CERTAINLY THIS MAN WAS RIGHTEOUS. ‘Righteous' means here first _innocent, then j... [ Continue Reading ]
Luke 23:47-49. THE EFFECT ON THE SPECTATORS. See on Matthew 27:54-56; Mark 15:39-41. Luke inserts a new detail in Luke 23:48.... [ Continue Reading ]
Luke 23:48. AND ALL THE MULTITUDES, etc. No mention is made of the rulers. Jerusalem was crowded, and the ‘multitudes' were great. This sight, or ‘spectacle.' THE THINGS WHICH WERE DONE. These put an end to mockery. RETURNED SMITING THEIR BREASTS. In self-reproach, for they had cried out for His... [ Continue Reading ]
Luke 23:49. AND ALL HIS ACQUAINTANCE. Peculiar to Luke. ‘All ‘now present in Jerusalem. The Eleven may be included, though John had led Mary home. Possibly they were not there, fearing to come, a view favored by the fact that no mention is made of them in connection with the burial. The account is s... [ Continue Reading ]
Luke 23:50. A COUNCILLOR. A member of the Sanhedrin, as the next verse plainly shows. GOOD, in moral character. AND JUST. In the Old Testament sense. ‘Good' is more than ‘just' (comp. Romans 5:7), but the former always includes the latter.... [ Continue Reading ]
ON the leading events of this section, see especially Matthew 27:57-66.... [ Continue Reading ]
Luke 23:51. HE HAD NOT CONSENTED. From chap, Luke 22:70, we may infer that he was absent from the morning meeting of the Sanhedrin, probably from all. THEIR COUNSEL. The formal decision, which resulted in the DEED, _i.e.,_ crucifixion. OF, or ‘from,' ARIMATHEA. He was ‘of' that city, but it is p... [ Continue Reading ]
Luke 23:52. See Mark 15:43-45, for the particulars of the request to Pilate.... [ Continue Reading ]
Luke 23:54. AND IT WAS THE DAY OF THE PREPARATION, _i.e.,_ the day before the Sabbath (Mark 15:42) AND THE SABBATH DREW ON. The word used of the natural day, is applied here to the legal day, which began at sunset. The time was probably between five and six in the evening.... [ Continue Reading ]
Luke 23:55. AND THE WOMEN, etc. Matthew and Mark mention the two Marys alone; it is probable that others were with them, but that these two alone remained at the sepulchre. None of them, nor even Nicodemus, seems to have been with Joseph when the body was taken down.... [ Continue Reading ]
Luke 23:56. AND PREPARED SPICES AND OINTMENTS. It would seem that this preparation of spices took place that evening, while Mark (Mark 16:1) implies that it took place later. The other women, who did not remain at the sepulchre, may have made immediate preparations. The last clause of this verse is... [ Continue Reading ]