Lukechapter 23
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Speaks with:Matthew 27×22Mark 15×19Luke 23×13John 19×9Isaiah 53×3Luke 8×4
The Arrival at Calvary — Gustave Doré (engraving), public domain
Summary
Chapter summary
Pilate and Herod; Barabbas released. Simon of Cyrene. 'Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me.' Crucifixion between two thieves: 'to day shalt thou be with me in paradise.' Seven last words (Luke preserves three). 'Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit.' Joseph of Arimathea; the tomb; the women.
Context
Gospel · Luke — Luke overview
- A. 1–12 Pilate, Herod, and a Robe of Mockery
- B. 13–25 Barabbas Released, Jesus Delivered Up
- C. 26–31 Simon Carries the Cross; Weep for Yourselves
- D. 32–43 Father, Forgive Them; Today in Paradise
- E. 44–49 Darkness, the Rent Veil, and the Last Breath
- F. 50–56 Joseph of Arimathea and the Watching Women
The outline
A.Pilate, Herod, and a Robe of Mockeryvv. 1 to 12
Read vv. 1 to 12 →B.Barabbas Released, Jesus Delivered Upvv. 13 to 25
Read vv. 13 to 25 →C.Simon Carries the Cross; Weep for Yourselvesvv. 26 to 31
Read vv. 26 to 31 →D.Father, Forgive Them; Today in Paradisevv. 32 to 43
Read vv. 32 to 43 →E.Darkness, the Rent Veil, and the Last Breathvv. 44 to 49
Read vv. 44 to 49 →F.Joseph of Arimathea and the Watching Womenvv. 50 to 56
Read vv. 50 to 56 →
The world behind this chapter
Luke 23The history
Luke reports the charges as they were framed for a Roman court, and they are political: subverting the nation, forbidding tribute to Caesar, and claiming to be a king. Nobody expected a governor to act on a theological complaint.
The referral to Herod Antipas fits the jurisdiction. Antipas ruled Galilee, and a governor could send a defendant to the authority of his home region; Antipas was in Jerusalem for the festival, as rulers were. It is a legal courtesy, and Luke notes that the two men became friends that day.
Pilate is a documented figure, and Luke's picture of a governor under pressure fits what Josephus and Philo record of his troubled relationship with the province — including his use of force against crowds and the complaints that eventually saw him recalled to Rome.
Simon of Cyrene is pressed into carrying the crossbeam under the standing Roman right to compel a provincial to carry a load. The condemned man normally carried it himself to the execution ground, wearing or preceded by a statement of his crime.
The burial is done against the clock. Sabbath began at sunset, and no work could be done after it, which is why Joseph of Arimathea moves fast and why the women, Luke says, went home and prepared spices and then rested according to the commandment. Rock-cut tombs with a low entrance closed by a heavy stone are found all around Jerusalem.
What it meant to them
Luke's account has Pilate declare him innocent three times, Herod find no guilt, one of the criminals say he has done nothing wrong, and the centurion conclude that this man was righteous. For a reader weighing a court record, that is five verdicts of innocence around one execution.
And the promise given to the dying criminal — today you will be with me in paradise — is Luke's Gospel in miniature. A condemned man with nothing to offer, no time to reform, and no standing at all, receives salvation on the last afternoon of his life.
Sources cited
- Flavius Josephus, The Antiquities of the Jews (Whiston translation)
- F. F. Bruce, New Testament History
- Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament
The text of this chapter
This page carries no textual note on Luke 23. Where this site has examined a place the manuscripts differ, the examination is in the manuscripts room. Every place this site examines →
Connections from this chapter
v. 31 · An echo of this verse
En route to the cross Jesus says 'if they do these things in the green tree (xylon), what shall be done in the dry?' - a xylon saying spoken on the way to the curse-tree.
Galatians 3:13→Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. For it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.”
public-domain quotation; G3586
v. 34 · Written to them
Father, forgive them: from the cross
topics/forgiveness→MannaFest topical index
v. 46 · Quoted here
'Into thy hands I commend my spirit': Jesus, the last word from the cross.
Psalms 31:5→Into Your hands I commit my spirit; You have redeemed me, O LORD, God of truth.
public-domain commentaries in agreement
This page draws on Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory; John Calvin, Commentaries; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the New Testament and Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary.