The Good News by Luke 23

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Jesus is Condemned to the Cross

1 Then the whole gathering got up and brought Jesus to Pilate.* 2 They began to present charges against him, saying, “We found this person inciting our nation to revolution, and opposing the payment of tax to Caesar, and claiming that he is the Messiah, meaning he is king!”* 3 So Pilate asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?” He answered him, “You have spoken correctly.”

4 Then Pilate said to the chief priests and to the crowds, “I have not found in this man any basis for a complaint against him.” 5 But they insisted, saying, “He is stirring up the people in the entire region of Judea with his teaching. He began in Galilee and has now arrived here.” 6 When Pilate heard the mention of Galilee, he asked if the man was from there. 7 And when he realized that Jesus was subject to Herod's jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem at that time.*

8 When Herod saw Jesus, he rejoiced. He had been wanting to see him for a long time, because he had heard about him and had been hoping that Jesus would work a miracle in front of him. 9 He threw many questions at him, but Jesus did not reply to him. 10 Then the chief priests and the scholars came forward and began to accuse him harshly. 11 So Herod and his soldiers scorned him and mocked him. Then he put a splendid robe on him and sent him back to Pilate. 12 On that day, Herod and Pilate became friends, whereas before that they had been enemies.

13 Then Pilate called together the chief priests, the leaders, and the people, 14 and said to them: “You brought this person to me, saying that he was inciting the people to revolution. But I have examined him in front of you and have not found any basis for the complaint you have presented against him. 15 Neither has Herod found anything, since he sent him back to us. So he has not done anything that deserves death. 16 Therefore I will punish him and release him.”

17 Now Pilate was obliged to release one prisoner for them during the festival. 18 So the whole crowd cried out together, “Kill him! Release Barabbas for us!” 19 This Barabbas had been thrown into prison because of an insurrection that had occurred in the city, and for the crime of murder. 20 However, Pilate wanted to release Jesus, so he addressed the crowd again; 21 but they responded to him by shouting, “Crucify him! Crucify him!” 22 So he spoke to them a third time and said, “Why? What wrong has he committed? I find nothing in him that deserves death. Therefore, I will punish him and release him.” 23 But they insisted on their demand, shouting at the top of their voices that he should crucify him, and their shouting prevailed.

24 So Pilate decided to grant them their request. 25 He released the man they had requested, the one who was in prison for insurrection and murder, and he yielded to their request with regard to Jesus.

The Cross

26 When the soldiers* took him away, they seized Simon of Cyrenaica* as he was returning from the countryside and put the cross on him to carry it behind Jesus. 27 A large number of people followed him, among them many women, slapping [themselves] and wailing for him. 28 But Jesus turned to them and said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, don't weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. 29 For a time is coming when people will say, ‘How fortunate for the [woman] who did not conceive and did not give birth and did not nurse.’ 30 At that time [people] will say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us,’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us.’ 31 For if [people] are doing this to the tree when it is green, what will happen to them when it dries out?”*

32 They took two others, who were both criminals, in order to execute them with him. 33 When they arrived at the place whose name is “The Skull,” they crucified him there along with the criminals, one on his right and the other on his left. 34 Jesus said, “My Father, forgive them, for they don't know what they are doing.” Then they divided his clothes among themselves by [casting] lots.

35 The people stood watching, while the leaders were mocking [him], saying, “He saved others, so if he himself is the Messiah, the king whom God has chosen,* then let him save himself.” 36 The soldiers were mocking him as well; they came closer and offered him vinegar.* 37 They said, “If you are the King of the Jews, then save yourself!” 38 And they put a sign above him that said, “This is the King of the Jews.”

39 Now one of the criminals hanging [there] was insulting him, saying, “You say you're the Messiah. Then save yourself, and save us!” 40 But the other one rebuked him and said to him, “Don't you fear God? You're receiving the same punishment as [Jesus]. 41 With regard to us, however, our punishment is just, because we're receiving the penalty for what we've done; but as for this man, he hasn't committed any wrong.” 42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your reign.” 43 So Jesus said to him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in Paradise.”

The Death of the Messiah

44 Noon came, and darkness settled over the whole land until three in the afternoon, 45 because the sun had become dark. The curtain that was present in the Temple of God split into halves, 46 and Jesus called out loudly, saying, “My Father, into your hands I entrust my spirit.” When he had said this, he passed away.

47 As for the captain of the guard*, when he saw what had happened, he praised God and said, “Truly this man was righteous.” 48 The whole crowd that had gathered at this scene observed what took place, and they went back, beating on their chests. 49 As for all his companions and the women who had followed him from Galilee, they were standing at a distance and observed these things.

The Burial of the Messiah

50 Now there was a member of the High Council named Joseph. He was a devout and righteous man 51 and had disagreed with their decision and with their behavior. He was from Arimathea, which is a town in Judea, and he was waiting for the appearance of the Kingdom of God. 52 He went to Pilate and asked for the dead body of Jesus. 53 Then he took it down, wrapped it in a linen shroud and placed it in a tomb dug in the rock, in which no one had ever been placed. 54 That day was the day of preparation,* and Saturday was approaching.

55 The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed Joseph, and they saw the tomb and how the body was placed in it. 56 Then they returned home and prepared fragrant oils and ointments. On Saturday they rested, according to the commandment.

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Definitions

 *23:1 Pilate: Pontius Pilate, the governor of the Roman province of Iudaea from AD 26 to 36. At this time the province included the districts of Idumea, Judea, and Samaria, but not the districts of Galilee and the East Bank. Pilate lived and judged in the royal palace in Jerusalem.

 *23:2 the Messiah: the person sent by God to save people and rule over them forever in the Kingdom of God, both in this life and in the world to come. See footnote at Luke 4:43; see also Acts 10:34-43. The accusers of Jesus hoped that his claim to be the Messiah — the King chosen by God — would cause the governor to view him as an enemy of the Roman government.

 *23:7 Herod: Herod Antipas, the youngest son of King Herod the Great and ruler over Galilee and the East Bank from 4 BC to AD 39. He is the one who killed the prophet John the Baptist.

 *23:26 soldiers: Roman soldiers, working under the command of the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate.

 *23:26 Cyrenaica: a region in northeast Libya. The main city was Cyrene near present-day Shahhat.

 *23:31 The answer to this question from history is that after the Messiah ascended to heaven, the Jews rebelled against the Romans in 66 AD, and the rebels violently captured Jerusalem and killed thousands of their fellow Jews. When the rebellion began, the followers of the Messiah fled across the Jordan. In April of the year 70 AD, the Roman army surrounded Jerusalem, and in August the soldiers broke through the walls, killed most of the people, and took the rest as slaves. Meanwhile, fires broke out in the Temple complex and destruction overtook it.

 *23:35 the Messiah, the king whom God has chosen: the one whom God has chosen to rule, guide, and save everyone, both the Children of Israel and others.

 *23:36 vinegar: wine vinegar, meaning grape juice that had gone sour. It was not distilled vinegar, which didn't exist at that time.