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| Chapter 23 |
| Bible Text | Notes and Thoughts |
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1 ¶ And the whole multitude of them arose and led Him unto Pilate. 2 And they began to accuse Him, saying, "We found this fellow perverting the nation and forbidding to give tribute to Caesar, saying that he himself is Christ, a king." 3 And Pilate asked Him, saying, "Art thou the king of the Jews?" And He answered him and said, "Thou sayest it." 4 Then said Pilate to the chief priests and the people, "I find no fault in this man." 5 And they became the more fierce, saying, "He stirred up the people, teaching throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee to this place." 6 When Pilate heard of Galilee, he asked whether the Man were a Galilean. 7 And as soon as he learned that He belonged unto Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent Him to Herod, who himself also was at Jerusalem at that time. 8 And when Herod saw Jesus he was exceedingly glad, for he had been desirous to see Him for a long time, because he had heard many things about Him, and he hoped to see some miracle done by Him. 9 Then he questioned Him with many words, but He answered him nothing. 10 And the chief priests and scribes stood and vehemently accused Him. 11 And Herod, with his men of war, treated Him with contempt and mocked Him, and arrayed Him in a gorgeous robe and sent Him again to Pilate. 12 And on the same day, Pilate and Herod were made friends together, for before that there was enmity between them. 13 ¶ And Pilate, when he had called together the chief priests and the rulers and the people, 14 said unto them, "Ye have brought this man unto me as one who perverted the people. And behold, I, having examined him before you, have found no fault in this man concerning those things whereof ye accuse him. 15 No, nor yet Herod; for I sent you to him, and lo, nothing worthy of death is done unto him. 16 I will therefore chastise him and release him." 17 (For of necessity he must release one unto them at the Feast.) 18 And they all cried out at once, saying, "Away with this man, and release unto us Barabbas," 19 (who had been cast into prison for a certain sedition made in the city, and for murder). 20 Pilate therefore, desiring to release Jesus, spoke again to them. 21 But they cried, saying, "Crucify him, crucify him!" 22 And he said unto them the third time, "Why? What evil hath he done? I have found no cause for death in him. I will therefore chastise him and let him go." 23 But they were instant with loud voices, requiring that He might be crucified. And the voices of them and of the chief priests prevailed. 24 And Pilate gave sentence that it should be as they required. 25 And he released unto them the one who for sedition and murder had been cast into prison, whom they had desired; but he delivered Jesus to their will. 26 ¶ And as they led Him away, they laid hold upon one Simon, a Cyrenian, coming out of the country, and on him they laid the cross, that he might bear it after Jesus. 27 And there followed Him a great company of people, and of women who also bewailed and lamented Him. 28 But Jesus, turning unto them, said, "Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. 29 For behold, the days are coming in which they shall say, ‘Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bore and the breasts which never gave suck.’ 30 Then shall they begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us!’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us!’ 31 For if they do these things in a green tree, what shall be done in the dry?" 32 ¶ And there were also two others, malefactors, led with Him to be put to death. 33 And when they had come to the place which is called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand and the other on the left. 34 Then Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." And they parted His raiment and cast lots. 35 And the people stood beholding. And the rulers who were also with them derided Him, saying, "He saved others; let him save himself if he be Christ, the chosen of God." 36 And the soldiers also mocked Him, coming to Him and offering Him vinegar 37 and saying, "If thou art the king of the Jews, save thyself." 38 And a superscription also was written over Him in letters of Greek and Latin and Hebrew: THIS IS THE KING OF THE Jews. 39 And one of the malefactors who was hanged railed against Him, saying, "If thou be Christ, save thyself and us!" 40 But the other answering rebuked him, saying, "Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art under the same condemnation? 41 And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds. But this Man hath done nothing amiss." 42 And he said unto Jesus, "Lord, remember me when Thou comest into Thy Kingdom." 43 And Jesus said unto him, "Verily I say unto thee, today shalt thou be with Me in Paradise." 44 ¶ And it was about the sixth hour, and there was a darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. 45 And the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was rent in the midst. 46 And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, "Father, into Thy hands I commend My spirit." And having said thus, He gave up His spirit. 47 Now when the centurion saw what was done, he glorified God, saying, "Certainly this was a righteous man!" 48 And all the people who came together to that sight, beholding the things which had been done, smote their breasts and returned. 49 And all His acquaintances and the women who had followed Him from Galilee stood afar off, beholding these things. 50 ¶ And behold, there was a man named Joseph, a council member, and he was a good man and a just. 51 (The same had not consented to their counsel and deed.) He was of Arimathea, a city of the Jews, who himself also waited for the Kingdom of God. 52 This man went unto Pilate and begged the body of Jesus. 53 And he took it down and wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a sepulcher that was hewn in stone, wherein never man before was laid. 54 And that day was the Preparation, and the Sabbath drew near. 55 And the women also, who came with Him from Galilee, followed after, and beheld the sepulcher and how His body was laid. 56 And they returned and prepared spices and ointments, and rested the Sabbath day according to the commandment. |
For order of events of Arrest, Trial and Crucifixion see Order of events at the crucifixion. Jesus before Pilate. Matt 27:2,11-14; Mark 15:1-5; John 18:28-38. v1 The Roman governor of Palestine, Pontius Pilate, A.D. 26-36, normally lived in Caesarea, but because of the possibility of problems, would move to Jerusalem during the Passover period. It was possible that he knew of the arrest of Jesus because there appears to have been Roman soldiers present on the Mount of Olives, John 18:3,12, probably necessary as the Roman Governor would not be too pleased to have a band of Temple guards wandering around without his permission. v2 Jesus was found guilty of blasphemy under the Jewish court, which would not have been accepted in a Roman court. Now Jesus was being accused of claiming to be "king of the Jews, leading the people away from Roman authority, telling them not to pay the Roman tax," which would make a Roman Governor interested in the charge. v3,4 When Pilate saw Jesus, the Greek used indicates that he was surprised, "You are the king of Jews?" Luke does not record the full exchange, just the decision of the court, "I find no fault in this man." v5 This did not go down to well with the Jewish leadership. v6,7 When Pilate heard that Jesus was from the Galilee area, he thought he had a get out, Pilate had no direct control of the area, this was under Herod, who being a nominal Jew, was required to be at the Passover and was therefore in Jerusalem. v8 Luke records in Luke 9:7-9 that Herod had heard of Jesus and had great interest and a strong desire to meet Jesus. v9 Jesus does not respond to Herod’s questioning, despite the scribes and priests making accusations, to Jesus this was a waste of time, to Herod this was all a joke, Herod even encourages the people and soldiers with him to mock Jesus and His royal claims. v12 Because Pilate had recognized Herod’s position any hatred between the two was now removed. v13-16 Pilate tells the religious leaders that he and Herod can find nothing worthy of death. Pilate proposed a Roman scourge, possible illegal if not guilty, then to release Jesus. v17-25 It was the normal custom of the Roman governor to release a political prisoner during the Passover, John 18:39, Pilate hopes to release Jesus, but the people wanted the release of a known outlaw Barabbas, who had led an anti Roman riot, v19 and John 18:40. The crowd, lead by the religious leaders, demanded the release of Barabbas and to crucify Jesus. v26-49 The Crucifixion. Matt 27:33-38; Mark 15:22-28; John 19:17-19. v26 Jews have moved around the world, this man had come from Cyrene, it is possible that he was on the way to the Cyrenian synagogue in Jerusalem, Acts 6:9. The prisoner who was about to be crucified had to carry the cross to the place of crucifixion, Jesus, following the treatment He has received, the scourging etc., is unable to carry the heavy wooden cross all the way, so the Roman guard grab one of the people watching to carry the cross for the prisoner. This act is of interest as He represents all Mankind, Man has to carry the cross to their punishment, even though God Himself was to pay the price. v27-30 Only Luke records this situation. The friends and believers are shocked and sad to find that the trial had taken place so quickly. The Lord was more concerned for their future, He knew that Jerusalem was soon to be destroyed, A.D. 70, and the people who lived in it were to suffer greatly. v31 A well known proverb at the time, it means that ‘if an innocent man is treated this way in peacetime, what will happen to those in the time of war.’ v32 "Malefactors," Matthew describes them as "thieves," some people wonder if they were part of the band controlled by Barabbas, there is no evidence as such. For study notes on the Cross. v33 "Calvary," The actual site position is unknown as many of the landmarks were destroyed during the siege of Jerusalem. We know it was outside the city wall at the time, near a major highway of the time. "Calvary" or "Golgotha" means "skull," It is suggested that the place may have looked like a skull. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre could have been built at the place, it was outside the city during the New Testament times, others claim Gordon’s Calvary, further to the North is the place. v34 Jesus asks the Father God to forgive those involved as they were only carrying out God’s plan for the redemption of Mankind. It was the right of the soldiers who carried out the crucifixions to have any possessions and clothes of the prisoners. John 19:23,24 records that the soldiers divided the clothing into four and then gambled on the cloak which was seamless and could not be split into four as it would destroy it. v35 The religious leaders were challenging Jesus to prove who He was by coming down from the cross. They could not see that the events were all part of the redemption of mankind, the offering of the Lamb of God, Heb 9:11,12; Col 2:13,14. v36,37 The Roman soldiers on guard also mocked, laughed at Him. Wine is offered, Matt 27:34 tells us that the wine vinegar had gall added. Gall has the power to deaden pain and other reactions and make it easier for the prisoner. Jesus refused it as He wanted to be in full control. v38 It was common practice to display a sign of what crimes the prisoner had committed, usually nailed to the cross or hung round the neck. Pilate had written the charge in three languages so all could read, "THIS IS THE KING OF THE Jews." The Gospels give a slightly different record of the words used, there may have been slight differences due to the languages. Matt 27:37; Mark 15:26; John 19:19. v39-43 A better translation could be "You are the Messiah? Then save yourself and us." A sarcastic, hurtful remark by the first thief, but the second points out that they deserve their suffering, this man shows great faith in Jesus, both had only hours to live yet the thief could see Jesus entering His kingdom. v43 Jesus promised the man that he would be in the house of God with Him today. v44 The sixth hour, about noon, all times are from daybreak at six o’clock in the morning. This darkness cannot be due to an eclipse, not during a Passover full moon, which meant that the moon was on the wrong side of the earth. We are not told how far "there was darkness over all the land covered," whether local or global, also it lasts for three hours. "The veil of the temple was torn." This was a large, very thick woven curtain which hung in the Temple, to separate the Holy Place, where the priests carried out their duties, from the Holy of Holies, only the High Priest could enter this area. The records state that the curtain was torn from the top to the bottom, distinctly supernatural. This opened the Holy of Holies to the world, easy access to God was now indicated. v46 Jesus makes one more announcement, "It is finished," John 19:30. The task that had been set by God the Father was now completed, Jesus was now able to dismiss His spirit into the hands of the Father, His death was conscious and voluntary, not a death as a direct result of the crucifixion. Matt 27:50; Mark 15:37; John 19:30. v47 The centurion, a Gentile who had probably seen many crucifixions, confesses that Jesus was something special, "a righteous man!" v48,49 Many people, including the friends and relatives watched this happen with great sadness. The burial of Jesus. Matt 27:57-61; Mark 15:42-47; John 19:38-42. v50,51 Joseph of Arimathea was a member of the Sanhedrin, who had not consented to the verdict of death of Jesus, as a known follower he may not have even been told of the meeting. v52 Normally the bodies would have been thrown on a rubbish heap, so when Joseph approaches Pilate for the body he was immediately under suspicion, a brave man. v53-56 The words used indicate that Joseph carefully wrapped the body tightly in several layers of a bandage-like cloth. He then takes it to a sepulcher tomb which he had prepared for himself, Isaiah 53:9. Jesus died on Friday afternoon, the Sabbath would have begun at sunset that day, so the women were planning to complete the burial after the Sabbath had passed. Having seen how and where the body was placed they return home to prepare for the Sabbath and then prepare the necessary spices and ointments used to preserve the body, this action would have also been a sign of care, love and respect for the dead by the relatives and friends. |
Easy English Translation
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