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The Gospel of Luke Chapter 23
Commentary by Timothy H. Burdick
On our journey through Luke, We have
reached the next to the last Chapter in the Book. This is a
very rich chapter, and I hope that you will apply it to your
life. Too often Bible study can become just a collection of
facts and figures, but in order to grow in Christ, we must
plumb the depths of Scripture and see what God is saying to
us.
But before jumping in, let’s try and
set the stage by looking at some background. The ministry of
Jesus both started and ended during the Feast of the
Passover. The dream of the Jewish person was to attend this
feast. If you were 15-miles away and a male in good health,
you were required to attend. The noted First Century
historian, Josephus, says that there were over two million
people that attended the feast when Christ was crucified.
Now that we have said that, let’s begin.
Chapter 23:1 – “Then the whole
assembly rose and led him off to Pilate.”
Let’s look at the extra detail about
these events that John gives in John 18:28-29 – “Then the
Jews led Jesus from Caiaphas to the palace of the Roman
governor. By now it was early morning, and to avoid
ceremonial uncleanness the Jews did not enter the palace;
they wanted to be able to eat the Passover. So Pilate came
out to them and asked, ‘What charges are you bringing
against this man?’"
Now, let’s go back to verse 2 of
Luke23 – “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 Christ, a king.’"
To see that their statements weren’t
true about Him, look at Matthew 22:18-21 - “But Jesus,
knowing their evil intent, said, "You hypocrites, why are
you trying to trap Me? Show me the coin used for paying the
tax." They brought Him a denarius, and He asked them, "Whose
portrait is this? And whose inscription?’ ‘Caesar's,’ they
replied. Then He said to them, ‘Give to Caesar what is
Caesar's, and to God what is God's.’”
If you will reflect with me on this,
you will see that the charges these leaders brought before
their council, as we saw in Luke Chapter 22 were different
than what they brought before Pilate. To see this look at
Luke 22 66-71 – “At daybreak the council of the elders of
the people, both the chief priests and teachers of the law,
met together, and Jesus was led before them. ‘If You are the
Christ,‘ they said, tell us.’ Jesus answered, ‘If I tell
you, you will not believe me, and if I asked you, you would
not answer. But from now on, the Son of Man will be seated
at the right hand of the mighty God.’ They all asked, ‘Are
you then the Son of God?’ He replied, ‘You are right in
saying I am.’ Then they said, ‘Why do we need any more
testimony? We have heard it from His own lips.’"
The Romans had a whole pantheon of
so-called “gods,” so what did Governor Pilate care about one
more, as long as it wasn’t disrupting his authority? As we
go on, we will see how they tried to paint Jesus, in the
eyes of Pilate, as a political revolutionary.
Now back to Luke 23:3-7 – “So Pilate
asked Jesus, ‘Are you the king of the Jews?’ ‘Yes, it is as
you say,’ Jesus replied. Then Pilate announced to the chief
priests and the crowd, ‘I find no basis for a charge against
this man.’ 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.’ On hearing this, Pilate asked if the
man was a Galilean. When he learned that Jesus was under
Herod's jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod, who was also in
Jerusalem at that time.”
Like a typical politician, we see
Pilate passing the buck to someone else. But, there is
something even more important here. Galilee was known as a
haven for trouble makers, and where political uprisings
started. The Jewish leaders were using Galilee as a
“buzzword” to incite Pilate’s wrath against Jesus.
Luke continued in Verses 8-9 – “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 Jesus perform some miracle. He
plied Him with many questions, but Jesus gave him no
answer.”
In Verse 8, we see Herod wanting to
be entertained by Jesus, because his curiosity was aroused.
A lot of people are still that way. They have heard a lot
about Jesus, but rather than accepting His claims, they see
Him as just an object of curiosity. Why do YOU want to see
Jesus?
I also think it is interesting, that
Herod asked Jesus so many questions without getting a single
answer. I think we should learn from this as well. Many
times I find that I am too quick to reply, and it would be
better if I had said nothing. Think about this Verse in
Proverbs 25:11 - “A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold
in settings of silver.”
Now back to Luke 23:10-12 – “The
chief priests and the teachers of the law were standing
there, vehemently accusing Him. 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.”
There is a lot to see in these
Verses, but the first thing to note is that this was King
Herod Antipas. He was the same Herod who had John the
Baptist beheaded. To see this, look at Mark 6:21-28.
“Finally the opportune time came. On his birthday Herod gave
a banquet for his high officials and military commanders and
the leading men of Galilee. When the daughter of Herodias
came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his dinner guests.
The king said to the girl, ‘Ask me for anything you want,
and I'll give it to you.’ And he promised her with an oath,
"Whatever you ask I will give you, up to half my kingdom.’
She went out and said to her mother, ‘What shall I ask for?’
‘The head of John the Baptist,’ she answered. At once the
girl hurried in to the king with the request: ‘I want you to
give me right now the head of John the Baptist on a
platter.’ The king was greatly distressed, but because of
his oaths and his dinner guests, he did not want to refuse
her. So he immediately sent an executioner with orders to
bring John's head. The man went, beheaded John in the
prison, and brought back his head on a platter. He presented
it to the girl, and she gave it to her mother.
The fact that Pilate and Herod
became friends, speaks to the immense political pressure
that Pilate must have felt. We will follow this pressure and
see how it only increases, but this kind of pressure is why
we are told to pray for our leaders. To see what Paul had to
say about this, look at 1 Timothy 2:1-4 - I urge, then,
first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and
thanksgiving be made for everyone - for kings and all those
in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in
all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God
our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a
knowledge of the truth.”
Now, let’s return to Luke 23:13-16
---
“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. Neither has
Herod, for He sent Him back to us; as you can see, He has
done nothing to deserve death. Therefore, I will punish Him
and then release Him.’"
When Pilate talked about punishment,
he was referring to Roman scourging. This was done with a
short whip that had leather thongs attached. Each thong had
pieces of broken glass and or bone embedded in it. The
person who beat a prisoner like Jesus, would use all of the
strength he could muster, ripping his victim’s back open.
Luke goes on in Verse 18 – “With one
voice they cried out, ‘Away with this man! Release Barabbas
to us!’"
Have you ever been in a crowd where
emotions ruled? Transfer that experience over to this
setting. A public beating would not do, for now the Leaders
were stirring up the same crowd who had listened to Jesus in
the temple. The same crowd who just days before had welcomed
Him as their King. This verse can not only teach us to be
careful who we associate with, but all of us need to examine
ourselves, and see whether we are governed by negative
emotions. To see the results of emotional control, look at
James 1:6-8. “But when he asks, he must believe and not
doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea,
blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he
will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded
man, unstable in all he does.”
Now Luke turns his attention to the
criminal named Barabbas, in Verse 19 – “Barabbas had been
thrown into prison for an insurrection in the city, and for
murder.”
Barabbas was a noted criminal and is
a type of all humanity, since “all have sinned and come
short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). For just as
Barabbas was guilty and Jesus died in his place, He has died
for all of us who have ever lived. Maybe we are not
criminals in the sight of human law, but we have all sinned,
and the Bible says that the judgment upon that sin is death.
To see that, look at Romans 6: 23 - “For the wages of sin is
death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus
our Lord.”
Luke continues in Verses 20-23 of
Luke Chapter 23 – “Wanting to release Jesus, Pilate appealed
to them again. But they kept shouting, ‘Crucify him! Crucify
him!’ 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.’ But with loud shouts they insistently
demanded that he be crucified, and their shouts prevailed.’”
Now for comparison purposes, look at
Matthew 27:15-26. “Now it was the governor's custom at the
Feast to release a prisoner chosen by the crowd. At that
time they had a notorious prisoner, called Barabbas. So when
the crowd had gathered, Pilate asked them, "Which one do you
want me to release to you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called
Christ?" For he knew it was out of envy that they had handed
Jesus over to him. While Pilate was sitting on the judge's
seat, his wife sent him this message: ‘Don't have anything
to do with that innocent Man, for I have suffered a great
deal today in a dream because of Him.’ But the chief priests
and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and
to have Jesus executed. ‘Which of the two do you want me to
release to you?’ asked the governor. ‘Barabbas,’ they
answered. ‘What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called
Christ?’ Pilate asked. They all answered, ‘Crucify him!’
‘Why? What crime has he committed?’ asked Pilate. But they
shouted all the louder, ‘Crucify him!’ When Pilate saw that
he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was
starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the
crowd. ‘I am innocent of this man's blood,’ he said. ‘It is
your responsibility!’ All the people answered, ‘Let His
blood be on us and on our children!’ Then he released
Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged, and handed Him
over to be crucified.”
As we said above, Pilate was under
going pressure from all sides. Not only did he have
religious and political pressure, but now he had pressure
from home. Not being a man of conviction, he capitulated;
caved in.
Look at what Luke says about this in
Verses. 24-25. “So Pilate decided to grant their demand. 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.”
The Crucifixion --- Luke 23:26 &
forward
“Now as they 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.”
Compare the preceding Verses in Luke
with an account in the Book of John - “Carrying His own
cross, He went out to the place of the Skull which in
Aramaic is called Golgotha, where they crucified Him…” (John
19: 17-18).
Let’s look at these seemingly
contradictory narratives. First we have to remember that
Jesus was in a weakened state. For one example of this, look
back at what He went in through the Garden of Gethsemane
just before all of this took place. See Luke 22: 41-44: “He
withdrew about a stone's throw beyond them, knelt down and
prayed, ‘Father, if You are willing, take this cup from Me;
yet not My will, but Yours be done.’ An angel from heaven
appeared to Him and strengthened Him. And being in anguish,
He prayed more earnestly, and His sweat was like drops of
blood falling to the ground.
Putting both accounts together it is
clear that Jesus must have either carried His cross until He
fell under the weight, or that He carried a cross beam, and
Simon carried the rest. In any case, it is probable to say
that Simon wasn’t a willing volunteer. That didn’t matter to
the Roman government though. The soldiers had the authority
to make him carry the cross. They would simply lay a sword
flat on his shoulder, and bid him to come with them.
Simon of Cyrene was one of those
people in the Bible, that we know very little about. He came
from Cyrene which is in northern Africa; modern day Libya.
It is thought that later he might have become a believer,
but this is speculation. In any case he seems to have been
well known by the early church.
Now let’s go back to Luke 23:27-31 –
“A large number of people followed him, including women who
mourned and wailed for him. Jesus turned and said to them,
‘Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for Me; weep for
yourselves and for your children. For the time will come
when you will say, 'Blessed are the barren women, the wombs
that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!' Then
they will say to the mountains, 'Fall on us!' and to the
hills, 'Cover us!' For if men do these things when the tree
is green, what will happen when it is dry?"
To understand this passage of
Scripture, it is necessary to understand that it was not
only a curse for a woman to be barren; it was legal grounds
for divorce. The symbolism of the “green tree” and the
“dry,” simply refers to Jesus being among us, and then going
back to His Father. To see the Scripture that Jesus is
referring to in the last part of this passage, look at Hosea
10:8 - “The high places of wickedness will be destroyed - it
is the sin of Israel. Thorns and thistles will grow up and
cover their altars. Then they will say to the mountains,
‘Cover us!’ and to the hills, ‘Fall on us!’"
In Luke 23:32-33, “Two other men,
both criminals, were also led out with Him to be executed.
When they came to the place called the Skull, there they
crucified Him, along with the criminals - one on His right,
the other on His left.”
When they came to the spot where the
crucifixion was to take place, the cross would have been
laid on the ground in the form of a “T.” They would have
laid Jesus on it nailing His hands and feet to the beams,
using nails similar to railroad spikes. Aside from the pain,
the dirt would have been ground into His already bloody
back, causing pain and infection. When the up right beam was
driven into the ground, the person’s body weight would cause
him to slip down, making it hard to breathe. Despite the
pain, Luke shows us that Jesus was thinking of everyone
else. In Luke 23:34, Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for
they do not know what they are doing.” To see how this
prayer was answered, look with me at Acts 2:38 - “Peter
replied, ‘Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the
name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And
you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.’” The last
part of Luke 22:34 says, “And they divided up his clothes by
casting lots.” We will look at this in just a minute.
Now back to Luke 23:35-38 – The
people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him.
They said, "He saved others; let Him save Himself if He is
the Christ of God, the Chosen One.’ 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.’ There was
a written notice above Him, which read: THIS IS THE KING OF
THE JEWS.
Now lets look at John 19:19-24 –
“Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It
read: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS. Many of the
Jews read this sign, for the place where Jesus was crucified
was near the city, and the sign was written in Aramaic,
Latin and Greek. The chief priests of the Jews protested to
Pilate, ‘Do not write 'The King of the Jews,' but that this
man claimed to be king of the Jews.’ Pilate answered, ‘What
I have written, I have written.’ When the soldiers crucified
Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four
shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment
remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece
from top to bottom. ‘Let's not tear it,’ they said to one
another. ‘Let's decide by lot who will get it.’ This
happened that the Scripture might be fulfilled which said,
‘They divided my garments among them and cast lots for My
clothing.’ So this is what the soldiers did.
To see the Scripture that John was
referring to, look at Psalms 22:18 – “They divide My
garments among them and cast lots for my clothing.”
Luke continued in Chapter 23, in
Verses 39-43 – “One of the criminals who hung there hurled
insults at Him: ‘Aren't You the Christ? Save Yourself and
us!’ 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.’ Then he said,
‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’ Jesus
answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with
Me in paradise."
It is interesting to note that
Luke’s Gospel is the only gospel that contains the story of
the repentant thief. The Bible shows us in these Verses that
it is never to late to seek and find God. The thief on the
cross believed that Jesus was who He said He was. The idea
of being in” paradise” with Jesus meant to walk in the
garden of the king. Compare these two Scriptures with the
text in Hebrews 11:6 which says, “And without faith it is
impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him
must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who
earnestly seek Him.” Secondly look at Psalms 42:1-2, written
by “the Sons of Korah.” - “As the deer pants for streams of
water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for
God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?”
I have included this Psalm because
sometimes I think that we get the wrong idea about deathbed
confessions. A person cannot just say a few magic words if
they do not come from his or her heart. The person who asks
for forgiveness must turn from their old life, repent and
turn to God.
On another subject John is the only
writer who records the discourse that Jesus gave concerning
His mother. I think we should look at John 19:25-27, as it
shows another side of Jesus - “Near the cross of Jesus stood
His mother, His mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas,
and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw His mother there, and the
disciple whom He loved standing nearby, He said to His
mother, ‘Dear woman, here is your son,’ and to the disciple,
‘Here is your mother.’ From that time on, this disciple took
her into his home.”
Again, I think that this short
narrative is important, for when we see Jesus talking about
the high cost of following Him, we often misunderstand,
forgetting how deep His love for family and friends really
was.
Luke goes on in Luke 23:44-54. “It
was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over the
whole land until the ninth hour, for the sun stopped
shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two.
Jesus called out with a loud voice, ‘Father, into Your hands
I commit My spirit.’ When He had said this, He breathed His
last.
Now let’s compare the account in
Luke with Mark 15:37-38 - “With a loud cry, Jesus breathed
His last. The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top
to bottom.” Now look at some added detail from Matthew’s
account in Matthew 27:50-54 - And when Jesus had cried out
again in a loud voice, He gave up His spirit. At that moment
the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to
bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split. The tombs broke
open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were
raised to life. They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus'
resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to
many people. When the centurion and those with him who were
guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened,
they were terrified, and exclaimed, "Surely He was the Son
of God!"
While there is repetition in these
accounts, it is Luke’s turn to provide some additional
detail in Luke 23:47-49 – “The centurion, seeing what had
happened, praised God and said, ‘Surely this was a righteous
man.’ When all the people who had gathered to witness this
sight saw what took place, they beat their breasts and went
away. But all those who knew Him, including the women who
had followed Him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching
these things.”
The tearing of the curtain of the
temple speaks of the entrance that Jesus made for us into
the presence of His Father. Since God is a Holy God, He
cannot look upon sin. So being the perfect Son of God, Jesus
took our sins on Himself. Compare these sections of
Scripture, with John 14:6 - “Jesus answered, "I am the way
and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father
except through Me.”
In the Old Testament, God couldn’t
be approached like He can now. A certain priest who was
annually chosen for the honor was the only one who could go
before God in the Holy of Holies part of the Temple. And
that happened only once each year. The men who stood outside
the Holy of Holies would have had ropes tied around the legs
of the Priest, in case God struck him dead because of some
impurity found in him. The intention was to drag out the
priest by the ropes, if in fact He did die.
Many people think that there is more
than one way to God. But Jesus offered much more than just a
philosophy. Being a perfect man and also God, He personally
dealt with our sins. There is no other way to God; no one
else could do this. Have you asked Him to show you the way?
Before going on, let’s look again at
John 19: 28-37. “Later, knowing that all was now completed,
and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, ‘I
am thirsty.’ A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked
a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop
plant, and lifted it to Jesus' lips. When He had received
the drink, Jesus said, ‘It is finished.’ With that, He bowed
his head and gave up His spirit. Now it was the day of
Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath.
Because the Jews did not want the bodies left on the crosses
during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs
broken and the bodies taken down. The soldiers therefore
came and broke the legs of the first man who had been
crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other. But when
they came to Jesus and found that He was already dead, they
did not break His legs. Instead, one of the soldiers pierced
Jesus' side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood
and water. The man who saw it has given testimony, and his
testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he
testifies so that you also may believe. These things
happened so that the Scripture would be fulfilled: ‘Not one
of his bones will be broken,’ and, as another Scripture
says, ‘They will look on the one they have pierced.’”
Look with me at these two
Scriptures: Psalms 34:20 says “He protects all His bones,
not one of them will be broken.” Also look at Zechariah
12:10 - "And I will pour out on the house of David and the
inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication.
They will look on Me, the one they have pierced, and they
will mourn for Him as one mourns for an only child, and
grieve bitterly for Him as one grieves for a firstborn son.”
Jesus' Burial – Luke 23:50-53 –
“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 was waiting for the kingdom
of God. Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus' body. 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.
Now let’s compare Luke’s account
with that of John’s.
John 19 38-41. “Later, Joseph of
Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was
a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the
Jews. With Pilate's permission, he came and took the body
away. He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier
had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of
myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds. Taking Jesus'
body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips
of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs.
At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden,
and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been
laid.”
We see by looking at these two
accounts side-by-side, that Luke doesn’t tell us that Joseph
was a secret disciple out of fear, nor does he say that he
was accompanied by Nicodemus. While they both say that no
one had lain in the tomb, only John says that the tomb was
in a garden. Luke however does tell us that Joseph was a
member of the counsel who waited for the Kingdom of God.
Lastly John gives the details of how Joseph and Nicodemus
prepared the body of Jesus.
Now for the closing remarks of Luke
23:54-56 – “It was Preparation Day, and the Sabbath was
about to begin. The women who had come with Jesus from
Galilee followed Joseph and saw the tomb and how His body
was laid in it. Then they went home and prepared spices and
perfumes.”
We can see that not only were these
obedient women, but according to Jewish culture, they had
great respect for the burial of the dead.
When I opened this study, we talked
about the Jewish Passover. Now let’s go back briefly, and
look at it again. We are told about this Feast in Exodus
12:46 - "It must be eaten inside one house; take none of the
meat outside the house. Do not break any of the bones.” In
Numbers 9:12 it says, “They must not leave any of it till
morning or break any of its bones. When they celebrate the
Passover, they must follow all the regulations.”
Christ as we saw, not only had no
broken bones, but He was our perfect and sinless Lamb of God
who takes away the sin of the world. It is for that reason
that the apostle Paul can say in 1 Corinthians 5:7-8 - “Get
rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without
yeast - as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb,
has been sacrificed. Therefore let us keep the Festival, not
with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness, but
with bread without yeast, the bread of sincerity and truth.”
Thank you for reading this. Please
join me next time as we look at the final chapter of Luke.
Friday Study Ministries
The First Church On The Net
www.FridayStudy.org
www.FirstChurchOnTheNet.org
"While
we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8)
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