Luke 23 is the twenty-third chapter of the

Gospel of Luke The Gospel of Luke), or simply Luke (which is also its most common form of abbreviation). tells of the origins, Nativity of Jesus, birth, Ministry of Jesus, ministry, Crucifixion of Jesus, death, Resurrection of Jesus, resurrection, and Ascensi ...

in the

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chris ...

of the

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι� ...

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus ...

. The book containing this chapter is

anonymous Anonymous may refer to: * Anonymity, the state of an individual's identity, or personally identifiable information, being publicly unknown ** Anonymous work, a work of art or literature that has an unnamed or unknown creator or author * Anony ...

, but early Christian tradition uniformly affirmed that

Luke the Evangelist Luke the Evangelist (Latin: '' Lucas''; grc, Λουκᾶς, '' Loukâs''; he, לוקאס, ''Lūqās''; arc, /ܠܘܩܐ לוקא, ''Lūqā’; Ge'ez: ሉቃስ'') is one of the Four Evangelists—the four traditionally ascribed authors of t ...

composed this

Gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...

as well as the

Acts of the Apostles The Acts of the Apostles ( grc-koi, Πράξεις Ἀποστόλων, ''Práxeis Apostólōn''; la, Actūs Apostolōrum) is the fifth book of the New Testament; it tells of the founding of the Christian Church and the spread of its messag ...

.Holman Illustrated Bible Handbook. Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee. 2012. This chapter records the trial of Jesus Christ before

Pontius Pilate Pontius Pilate (; grc-gre, Πόντιος Πιλᾶτος, ) was the fifth governor of the Roman province of Judaea, serving under Emperor Tiberius from 26/27 to 36/37 AD. He is best known for being the official who presided over the trial of ...

, Jesus' meeting with

Herod Antipas Herod Antipas ( el, Ἡρῴδης Ἀντίπας, ''Hērǭdēs Antipas''; born before 20 BC – died after 39 AD), was a 1st-century ruler of Galilee and Perea, who bore the title of tetrarch ("ruler of a quarter") and is referred to as both ...

, and his crucifixion, death and

burial Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...

.Halley, Henry H. ''Halley's Bible Handbook'': an Abbreviated Bible Commentary. 23rd edition. Zondervan Publishing House. 1962.

Text

The original text was written in

Koine Greek Koine Greek (; Koine el, ἡ κοινὴ διάλεκτος, hē koinè diálektos, the common dialect; ), also known as Hellenistic Greek, common Attic, the Alexandrian dialect, Biblical Greek or New Testament Greek, was the common supra-reg ...

. This chapter is divided into 56 verses.

Textual witnesses

Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter are: * Papyrus 75 (AD 175–225) *

Codex Vaticanus The Codex Vaticanus ( The Vatican, Bibl. Vat., Vat. gr. 1209), designated by siglum B or 03 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), δ 1 ( von Soden), is a fourth-century Christian manuscript of a Greek Bible, containing the majority of the Greek Old ...

(325-350) *

Codex Sinaiticus The Codex Sinaiticus ( Shelfmark: London, British Library, Add MS 43725), designated by siglum [Aleph] or 01 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts), δ 2 (in the von Soden numbering of New Testament manuscript ...

(330-360) *

Codex Bezae The Codex Bezae Cantabrigiensis, designated by siglum D or 05 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts), δ 5 (in the von Soden of New Testament manuscript), is a codex of the New Testament dating from the 5th century writ ...

(c. 400) *

Codex Washingtonianus The Codex Washingtonianus or Codex Washingtonensis, designated by W or 032 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), ε 014 ( Soden), also called the ''Washington Manuscript of the Gospels'', and ''The Freer Gospel'', contains the four biblical gospels an ...

(c. 400) *

Codex Alexandrinus The Codex Alexandrinus (London, British Library, Royal MS 1. D. V-VIII), designated by the siglum A or 02 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts), δ 4 (in the von Soden numbering of New Testament manuscripts), is a manu ...

(400-440) *

Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus The Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus (Paris, National Library of France, Greek 9) designated by the siglum C or 04 {in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts), δ 3 (in the von Soden numbering of New Testament manuscripts), is a ma ...

(c. 450; extant verses 26–56)

Old Testament references

Psalm The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), also known as the Psalms, or the Psalter, is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the Tanakh, and a book of the Old Testament. The title is derived f ...

a *:

New Testament references

*: ; ; *: ; ; *: ; ; *: ; ;

Verse 1

:''And the whole multitude of them arose, and led him unto Pilate.'' "The whole multitude of them" ( gr, απαν το πληθος, ''hapan to plēthos'') may also be translated as "the whole assembly", or "the whole Council". Luke uses το πληθος (rather than το ὄχλος, ''to ochlos'') to signify a multitude in number.Farrar, F. W. (1891)
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
on Luke 23, accessed 10 February 2022 They led Jesus to

, the provincial governor (

prefect Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect's ...

) of

Judaea Judea or Judaea ( or ; from he, יהודה, Standard ''Yəhūda'', Tiberian ''Yehūḏā''; el, Ἰουδαία, ; la, Iūdaea) is an ancient, historic, Biblical Hebrew, contemporaneous Latin, and the modern-day name of the mountainous so ...

Verse 3

: ''Then Pilate asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”'' : ''He answered, “You say so.”'' ( NRSV) Cross reference: Matthew 27:11; Mark 15:2; John 18:37

Verse 3 in Greek

Textus Receptus ''Textus Receptus'' (Latin: "received text") refers to all printed editions of the Greek New Testament from Erasmus's ''Novum Instrumentum omne'' (1516) to the 1633 Elzevir edition. It was the most commonly used text type for Protestant deno ...

Majority Text In the textual criticism of the New Testament, the Byzantine text-type (also called Majority Text, Traditional Text, Ecclesiastical Text, Constantinopolitan Text, Antiocheian Text, or Syrian Text) is one of the main text types. It is the form fo ...

: : ὁ δὲ Πιλάτος ἐπηρώτησεν αὐτόν, λέγων, Σὺ εἶ ὁ βασιλεὺς τῶν Ἰουδαίων; : ὁ δὲ ἀποκριθεὶς αὐτῷ ἔφη, Σὺ λέγεις. Transliteration: : Ho de Pilatos epērōtēsen auton, legōn, "Su ei ho

basileus ''Basileus'' ( el, ) is a Greek term and title that has signified various types of monarchs in history. In the English-speaking world it is perhaps most widely understood to mean " monarch", referring to either a " king" or an "emperor" and ...

tōn Ioudaiōn?": : Ho de apokritheis autō ephē, "Su legeis."

Verse 3 in Latin

Biblia Sacra Vulgata: : Pilatus autem interrogavit eum dicens tu es rex Iudaeorum : at ille respondens ait tu dicis. The style of response is the same as in Luke 22:70, where Jesus answers the

Sanhedrin The Sanhedrin ( Hebrew and Aramaic: סַנְהֶדְרִין; Greek: , '' synedrion'', 'sitting together,' hence ' assembly' or 'council') was an assembly of either 23 or 71 elders (known as " rabbis" after the destruction of the Second Temp ...

's question, "Are you the Son of God?"

Verse 5

:''But they were the more fierce, saying, “He stirs up the people, teaching throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee to this place.”'' Traditionally, "throughout all

Judea Judea or Judaea ( or ; from he, יהודה, Standard ''Yəhūda'', Tiberian ''Yehūḏā''; el, Ἰουδαία, ; la, Iūdaea) is an ancient, historic, Biblical Hebrew, contemporaneous Latin, and the modern-day name of the mountainous so ...

" has been rendered as "throughout all Jewry". F. W. Farrar suggests that these words imply a "Judean ministry" which the synoptic gospels do not narrate, as the only journey of Jesus in Judea which is recorded is that from

Jericho Jericho ( ; ar, أريحا ; he, יְרִיחוֹ ) is a Palestinian city in the West Bank. It is located in the Jordan Valley, with the Jordan River to the east and Jerusalem to the west. It is the administrative seat of the Jericho ...

to Jerusalem. On the other hand, Judea has "sometimes been the name of the whole land, including apparently parts beyond the

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

", see

Josephus Flavius Josephus (; grc-gre, Ἰώσηπος, ; 37 – 100) was a first-century Romano-Jewish historian and military leader, best known for '' The Jewish War'', who was born in Jerusalem—then part of Roman Judea—to a father of priestly ...

, ''Antiquities of the Jews'', XII, 4.11, which term would therefore include the area of

Perea Perea or Peraea (Greek: Περαία, " the country beyond") was the portion of the kingdom of Herod the Great occupying the eastern side of the Jordan River valley, from about one third the way down the Jordan River segment connecting the Sea ...

east of the Jordan River. Matthew, Mark and John all refer to Jesus' stay in Perea, and Lucan scholars generally assume that the route Jesus followed from

Galilee Galilee (; he, הַגָּלִיל, hagGālīl; ar, الجليل, al-jalīl) is a region located in northern Israel and southern Lebanon. Galilee traditionally refers to the mountainous part, divided into Upper Galilee (, ; , ) and Lower Gali ...

to Jerusalem passed through this region.

Verse 14

:'' ilatesaid to them, "You have brought this Man to me, as one who misleads the people. And indeed, having examined Him in your presence, I have found no fault in this Man concerning those things of which you accuse Him."'' Luke's version of the trial scene "emphasizes Pilate's reluctance to act against Jesus".Franklin, E., ''59. Luke'' in Barton, J. and Muddiman, J. (2001)
The Oxford Bible Commentary
p. 956-7

Verse 22

:''Then he said to them the third time, "Why, what evil has He done? I have found no reason for death in Him. I will therefore chastise Him and let Him go."'' This "third time" of declaring Jesus' innocence follows the previous declarations in verses 4 and 14-15.

Verse 24

:'' So Pilate gave sentence that it should be as they requested.'' This verse reads ο δε πιλατος επεκρινεν γενεσθαι το αιτημα αυτων in the

, matching the opening words of , ο δε πιλατος ("so Pilate ..."), but the sentence begins καὶ Πιλᾶτος ... ("''and'' Pilate ...") in critical texts such as

Westcott-Hort ''The New Testament in the Original Greek'' is a Greek-language version of the New Testament published in 1881. It is also known as the Westcott and Hort text, after its editors Brooke Foss Westcott (1825–1901) and Fenton John Anthony Hort (1828 ...

. Pilate's "official decision" was to comply with the request of the crowd. The word ἐπέκρινεν (''epekrinen'', "pronounced sentence") is specific to Luke, although it also appears in the

apocrypha Apocrypha are works, usually written, of unknown authorship or of doubtful origin. The word ''apocryphal'' (ἀπόκρυφος) was first applied to writings which were kept secret because they were the vehicles of esoteric knowledge considered ...

l , where innocent men are condemned to death.

Verse 29

Codex Bezae - Latin Luke 23-47-24-1 (The S

:''Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bore and the breasts which never gave suck.'' The prophet

Hosea In the Hebrew Bible, Hosea ( or ; he, הוֹשֵׁעַ – ''Hōšēaʿ'', 'Salvation'; gr, Ὡσηέ – ''Hōsēé''), son of Beeri, was an 8th-century BCE prophet in Israel and the nominal primary author of the Book of Hosea. He is t ...

spoke in similar language, when recognising that the disobedience of

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

required God's punishment, but calling for some mitigation: :''Give them, O Lord —'' :''what will you give?'' :''Give them a miscarrying womb'' :''and dry breasts.'' SVouet

Verses 39-43

One of

the two thieves The Penitent Thief, also known as the Good Thief, Wise Thief, Grateful Thief, or Thief on the Cross, is one of two unnamed thieves in Luke's account of the crucifixion of Jesus in the New Testament. The Gospel of Luke describes him asking Jesus ...

who die with Jesus reviles him, the other is saved by faith.

Verse 44

:''Now it was about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour.'' Like , Luke records three hours of darkness, which signify "the awesomeness of what is taking place".

Verse 46

:''And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, “Father, ‘into Your hands I commit My spirit.’ ” Having said this, He breathed His last.'' Jesus' crying "with a loud voice" is not, as in , one of desolation (''why have you forsaken me?''), but of "secure confidence". Jesus quotes , rather than which appears in Mark's gospel.

Verse 48

:''And the whole crowd who came together to that sight, seeing what had been done, beat their breasts and returned.''

William Robertson Nicoll Sir William Robertson Nicoll (10 October 18514 May 1923) was a Scottish Free Church minister, journalist, editor, and man of letters. Biography Nicoll was born in Lumsden, Aberdeenshire, the son of Rev. Harry Nicoll (1812–1891), a Free Chu ...

understands the phrase "the things that had happened" ( gr, τὰ γενόμενα, ''tà genómena'') "comprehensively, including the crucifixion and all its accompaniments". Albert Barnes refers to "the earthquake, the darkness, and the sufferings of Jesus" as the "things which were done". The earthquake is only recorded in Matthew's Gospel, but the

third century The 3rd century was the period from 201 ( CCI) to 300 ( CCC) Anno Domini (AD) or Common Era (CE) in the Julian calendar.. In this century, the Roman Empire saw a crisis, starting with the assassination of the Roman Emperor Severus Alexander i ...

historian

Sextus Julius Africanus Sextus Julius Africanus (c. 160 – c. 240; Greek: Σέξτος Ἰούλιος ὁ Ἀφρικανός or ὁ Λίβυς) was a Christian traveler and historian of the late second and early third centuries. He is important chiefly because o ...

also refers to an earthquake on or around the day of the crucifixion.

Verse 49

:''And all his acquaintance, and the women that followed him from Galilee, stood afar off, beholding these things.'' "The women" that followed

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and relig ...

from Galilee (also in Luke 53:55) were "

Mary Magdalene Mary Magdalene (sometimes called Mary of Magdala, or simply the Magdalene or the Madeleine) was a woman who, according to the four canonical gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to his crucifixion and resurre ...

Joanna Joanna is a feminine given name deriving from from he, יוֹחָנָה, translit=Yôḥānāh, lit=God is gracious. Variants in English include Joan, Joann, Joanne, and Johanna. Other forms of the name in English are Jan, Jane, Janet, Janice ...

, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them" according to Luke 24:10. Matthew 27:55 lists "Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee", whereas Mark 15:40 names "Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the little and

Joses Joses ( grc-gre, Ἰωσῆς) is a name, usually regarded as a form of Joseph, occurring many times in the New Testament: * Joses, one of the four brothers of Jesus () * Joses or Joseph, son of a Mary and brother of a James ( James the Less acc ...

, and

Salome Salome (; he, שְלוֹמִית, Shlomit, related to , "peace"; el, Σαλώμη), also known as Salome III, was a Jewish princess, the daughter of Herod II, son of Herod the Great, and princess Herodias, granddaughter of Herod the Great, a ...

Verse 55

:''And the women who had come with Him from

followed after, and they observed the tomb and how His body was laid.'' NKJV According to Luke 24:10, "the women" (also in Luke 23:49) were "

, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them". Matthew 27:61 lists "Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary", whereas Mark 15:47 names "Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of

References

Bibliography

* *

External links

* King James Bible - Wikisource
English Translation with Parallel Latin Vulgate''Online Bible'' at GospelHall.org
(ESV, KJV, Darby, American Standard Version, Bible in Basic English)
Multiple bible versions at ''Bible Gateway''
(NKJV, NIV, NRSV etc.) {{Gospel of Luke Gospel of Luke chapters Pontius Pilate