Luke 23:15
in Luke 23Neither has Herod, for he sent Him back to us. As you can see, He has done nothing deserving of death.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
no, nor yet Herod: for he sent him back unto us; and behold, nothing worthy of death hath been done by him.
KJV
No, nor yet Herod: for I sent you to him; and, lo, nothing worthy of death is done unto him.
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This verse in Luke 23
Commentary
17 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Nothing worthy of death is done unto him - Deserving of death. The charges are not proved against him. They had had every opportunity of proving them, first before Pilate and then before Herod, unjustly subjecting him to trial before “two” men in succession, and thus giving them a double opportunity of condemning him, and yet, after all, he was declared by both to be innocent. There could be no better evidence that he “was” innocent.
This site's exposition
called together the chief priests
on Luke 23:13-16
Pilate called together the chief priests, the rulers, and the people to give his second acquittal: He has done nothing deserving of death. His offer, I will punish Him and release Him, is itself unjust, since a man found guilty of nothing should not be flogged at all.
This site's exposition
He has done nothing deserving of death
Herod's return of the prisoner counts as a second verdict. Albert Barnes notes that the accusers had every opportunity to prove their charges before two judges in turn, and both declared Jesus innocent. He concludes that there could be no better evidence of his innocence.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers5 voices
Here Pilate, who as a judge acquits Christ, is made the minister of His crucifixion. He is sent to Herod, sent back to Pilate, as it follows, Nor yet Herod, for I sent you to him, and behold nothing worthy of death is done unto him. They both refuse to pronounce Him guilty, yet for fear's sake, Pilate gratifies the cruel desires of the Jews.
He is sent to Herod, sent back to Pilate. And although neither of them pronounce him guilty, they still comply with the desires of someone else's cruelty. Indeed, Pilate washed his hands, but he did not wash away his deeds; for a judge ought not to yield to envy or fear, so as to deliver the blood of an innocent person. His wife warned him: grace shone in the darkness; divinity was evident; yet she did not temper the sacrilegious sentence in this way.
Similarly, I think that this is a prototype of all judgments that they would condemn those whom they believed to be innocent. However, it is evident that the Gentiles are more tolerant than the Jews, as Pilate's association with them demonstrates, and they are more persuaded by divine works.
They brought the holy and just One to Pilate. They spoke violent and unrestrained words against him and poured out falsely invented accusations. They persisted in the ferocity with which they accused him. Pilate then ruled that it should be as they desired, although he had publicly said, "I find no wickedness in this man." It says, "They cried out, 'Away with him, crucify him!' " The Lord had rebuked this unmerciful and unlawful cry by the voice of the prophet Isaiah. It is written, "The vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are his pleasant planting; and he looked for justice, but behold, bloodshed; for righteousness, but behold, a cry!" In another place, he said of them, "Woe to them, for they have strayed from me! Destruction to them, for they have rebelled against me! I would redeem them, but they speak lies against me." It is written again, "Their princes shall fall by the sword, because of the rudeness of their tongue."
Many have been crucified throughout the world, but the demons are not afraid of any of these. These people died because of their own sins, but Christ died for the sin of others. He "did not sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth." It was not Peter, who could be suspected of partiality, who said this, but Isaiah, who, although not present in the flesh, in spirit foresaw the Lord's coming in the flesh. Why do I bring only the prophet as a witness? Take the witness of Pilate himself. He passed judgment on him, by saying, "I find no guilt in this man." When he delivered him over and washed his hands, he said, "I am innocent of the blood of this just man." The robber is another witness to Jesus' innocence. He is the first man to enter paradise. He rebuked his friend and said, "We are receiving what our deeds deserved, but this man has done nothing wrong, because you and I were present at his judgment."
9 more voices on this verse
The Medieval Church4 voices
Therefore it is added: He said to them: You have brought this man to me as one turning the people away, recalling the accusation: whence John eighteen: "If this man were not a malefactor, we would not have delivered him to you." And after the …
But neither did Herod. For I referred you to him, and look, nothing deserving death has been done by him. Listen, blind Jew, listen, cruel pagan. Pilate himself confesses that neither he nor Herod found anything deserving death in Christ, but in putting him to …
When Christ was sent back to Pilate, see how the truth shines forth again. "You," says Pilate, "brought this man to me as one who perverts the people"; but I find nothing in Him "worthy of death," nor does Herod. Do you see the testimony …
Wherefore by the testimony of two men, Jesus is declared innocent, but the Jews His accusers brought forward no witness whom they could believe. See then how truth triumphs. Jesus is silent, and His enemies witness for Him; the Jews make loud cries, and not one of them corroborates their clamour.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
): " I sent you to him, who is supposed to have known more of him than I have done, and he has sent him back, not convicted of any thing, nor under any mark of his displeasure; in his opinion, his crimes are not capital.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens+odd-straight-quotes
No, nor yet Herod,....
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
J.C. Ryle1816–1900
Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Luke (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition) (1858)
We should observe, for one thing, in this passage — what striking testimony was borne to our Lord Jesus Christ's perfect innocence by His judges. We are told that Pilate said to the Jews, "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." The Roman and the Galilean governors were both of one mind.
A commentator
J.C. Ryle1816–1900
Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Luke (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition) (1858)
proposed
We should observe, for one thing, in this passage — what striking testimony was borne to our Lord Jesus Christ's perfect innocence by His judges. We are told that Pilate said to the Jews, "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." The Roman and the Galilean governors were both of one mind. Both agreed in pronouncing our Lord not guilty of the things laid to His charge. There was a peculiar fitness in this public declaration of Christ's innocence . Our Lord, we must remember, was about to be offered up as a sacrifice for our sins. It was proper and right that those who examined Him should formally pronounce Him to be an innocent and blameless person. It was fit and right that the Lamb of God should be found by those who slew Him, to be "a Lamb without blemish and without spot." (1 Peter 1:19.) The over-ruling hand of God so ordered the events of His trial, that even when His enemies were judges — they could find no fault with Him, nor prove any charge against Him. The circumstance before us, may seem of trifling importance to a careless Bible reader. It ought however to commend itself to the heart of every well-instructed Christian. We ought to be daily thankful that our great Substitute was in all respects perfect — and that our Surety was a complete and faultless Surety. What man can count the number of his sins? We leave undone, things which we should do; and we do things which we ought not to do — every day we live. But this must be our comfort, that Christ the Righteous One has undertaken to stand in our place, to pay the debt we all owe, and to fulfill the law we have all broken. He did fulfill that law completely.
No, nor yet Herod: for I sent you to him - That is, to see whether he could find that Christ had ever attempted to raise any disaffection or sedition among the Galileans, among whom he had spent the principal part of his life; and yet Herod has not been able to find out any evil in his conduct. Your own accusations I have fully weighed, and find them to the last degree frivolous. Instead of ανεπεμψα γαρ ὑμας προς αυτον, for I sent you to him, BHKLM, and many other MSS., with some versions, read ανεπεμψεν γαρ αυτον προς ἡμας, for he hath sent him to us. As if he had said, “Herod hath sent him back to us, which is a sure proof that he hath found no blame in him.” Nothing worthy of death is done unto him - Or rather, nothing worthy of death is committed by him, Πεπραγμενον αυτῳ, not, done unto him. This phrase is of the same sense with ουδεν πεπραχεν αυτος, he hath done nothing, and is frequent in the purest Attic writers. See many examples in Kypke.
The words behind it
16 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ἀλλ᾽ | all᾽ | But | G235 → | 635 times |
| οὐδὲ | oude | not even [did] | G3761 → | 141 times |
| Ἡρῴδης· | herodes | Herod; | G2264 → | 43 times |
| ἀνέπεμψεν | anepempsen | he sent back | G375 → | 5 times |
| γὰρ | gar | for | G1063 → | 1039 times |
| αὐτὸν | auton | Him | G846 → | 5565 times |
| πρὸς | pros | to | G4314 → | 700 times |
| ἡμᾶς, | hemas | us | G3165 → | 1936 times |
| καὶ | kai | And | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| ἰδοὺ | idou | behold | G2400 → | 200 times |
| οὐδὲν | ouden | no [thing] | G3762 → | 232 times |
| ἄξιον | axion | worthy | G514 → | 41 times |
| θανάτου | thanatou | of death | G2288 → | 120 times |
| ἐστὶν | estin | is | G1510 → | 2333 times |
| πεπραγμένον | pepragmenon | done | G4238 → | 39 times |
| αὐτῷ. | auto | by Him. | G846 → | 5565 times |
ἀλλ᾽But
all᾽G235 →635 times
οὐδὲnot even [did]
oudeG3761 →141 times
Ἡρῴδης·Herod;
herodesG2264 →43 times
ἀνέπεμψενhe sent back
anepempsenG375 →5 times
γὰρfor
garG1063 →1039 times
αὐτὸνHim
autonG846 →5565 times
πρὸςto
prosG4314 →700 times
ἡμᾶς,us
hemasG3165 →1936 times
καὶAnd
kaiG2532 →9120 times
ἰδοὺbehold
idouG2400 →200 times
οὐδὲνno [thing]
oudenG3762 →232 times
ἄξιονworthy
axionG514 →41 times
θανάτουof death
thanatouG2288 →120 times
ἐστὶνis
estinG1510 →2333 times
πεπραγμένονdone
pepragmenonG4238 →39 times
αὐτῷ.by Him.
autoG846 →5565 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Luke
This page draws on 15 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Ambrose of Milan, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Ambrose of Milan, EXPOSITION OF THE GOSPEL OF LUKE 10.100; Ambrose of Milan, EXPOSITION OF THE GOSPEL OF LUKE 10.101; Bede, On the Gospel of Luke; Bonaventure, Commentary on Luke, Chapter 23; Cyril of Alexandria, COMMENTARY ON LUKE, HOMILY 152; Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lecture 13:3; J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Luke (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition); John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on Luke and Theophylact of Ohrid, Catena Aurea by Aquinas.