Luke 23–24

JESUS FACES PILATE

23Then^h their whole assembly rose up and brought him before Pilate. ²They began to accuse him, saying, “We found this man misleading our nation, opposing payment of taxesⁱ to Caesar, and saying that he himself is the Messiah, a king.”

³So Pilate asked him,^j “Are you the king of the Jews?”^k

He answered him, “You say so.”^C

⁴Pilate then told the chief priests and the crowds, “I find no grounds^l for charging this man.”

⁵But they kept insisting, “He stirs up the people,^m teaching throughout all Judea, from Galileeⁿ where he started even to here.”

JESUS FACES HEROD ANTIPAS

⁶When Pilate^o heard this,^D he asked if the man was a Galilean. ⁷Finding that he was under Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod,^p who was also in Jerusalem during those days. ⁸Herod was very glad to see Jesus; for a long time he had wanted to see him because he had heard about him and was hoping to see some miracle^A performed by him. ⁹So he kept asking him questions, but Jesus did not answer him.^{q 10}The chief priests and the scribes stood by, vehemently accusing him. ¹¹Then Herod, with his soldiers, treated him with contempt, mocked^r him, dressed him in bright clothing,^s and sent him back to Pilate. ¹²That very day Herod and Pilate became friends.^Bt Previously, they had been enemies.

JESUS OR BARABBAS

¹³Pilate called together the chief priests, the leaders, and the people,^{u 14}and said to them, “You have brought me this man as one who misleads the people.^v But in fact, after examining him in your presence, I have found no grounds^w to charge this man with those things you accuse him of. ¹⁵Neither has Herod, because he sent him back to us. Clearly, he has done nothing to deserve death. ¹⁶Therefore, I will have him whipped^Cx and then release him.”

¹⁸Then^y they all cried out together, “Take this man away!^z Release Barabbas to us!” ¹⁹(He had been thrown into prison for a rebellion that had taken place in the city, and for murder.)

²⁰Wanting to release Jesus,^aa Pilate addressed them again, ²¹but they kept shouting, “Crucify! Crucify him!”

²²A third time he said to them, “Why? What has this man done wrong?^ab I have found in him no grounds^ac for the death penalty. Therefore, I will have him whipped and then release him.”

²³But they kept up the pressure, demanding with loud voices that he be crucified, and their voices^E won out. ²⁴So^ad Pilate decided to grant their demand^{ae 25}and released the one they were asking for, who had been thrown into prison for rebellion and murder. But he handed Jesus over to their will.^af

THE WAY TO THE CROSS

²⁶As^ag they led him away, they seized Simon, a Cyrenian,^ah who was coming in from the country, and laid the cross^ai on him to carry behind Jesus. ²⁷A large crowd of people followed him, including women who were mourning and lamenting him.^{aj 28}But turning to them, Jesus said, “Daughters of Jerusalem,^ak do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and your children. ²⁹Look, the days are coming^al when they will say, ‘Blessed are the women without children, the wombs that never bore, and the breasts that never nursed!’^{am 30}Then they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us!’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us!’^{Fan 31}For if they do these things when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?”^ao

CRUCIFIED BETWEEN TWO CRIMINALS

³²Two others—criminals^ap—were also led away to be executed with him. ³³When^aq they arrived at the place called The Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals, one on the right and one on the left. ³⁴Then Jesus said, “Father,^a forgive^b them, because they do not know what they are doing.”^Ac And they divided his clothes and cast lots.^d

³⁵The^e people stood watching, and even the leaders were scoffing:^f “He saved others; let him save himself if this is God’s Messiah, the Chosen One!”^{g 36}The soldiers also mocked him. They came offering him sour wine^{h 37}and said, “If you are the king of the Jews,ⁱ save yourself!”

³⁸An inscription was above him:^B This Is the King of the Jews.

³⁹Then^j one of the criminals hanging there began to yell insults at^C him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”

⁴⁰But the other answered, rebuking him: “Don’t you even fear God,^k since you are undergoing the same punishment? ⁴¹We are punished justly, because we’re getting back what we deserve for the things we did, but this man has done nothing wrong.”^{l 42}Then he said, “Jesus, remember me^Dm when you come into your kingdom.”ⁿ

⁴³And he said to him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”^o

THE DEATH OF JESUS

⁴⁴It^p was now about noon,^E and darkness came over the whole land^F until three,^{G 45}because the sun’s light failed.^H The curtain^q of the sanctuary was split down the middle. ⁴⁶And Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I entrust my spirit.”^Ir Saying this, he breathed his last.

⁴⁷When the centurion saw what happened, he began to glorify^s God, saying, “This man really was righteous!”^{J 48}All the crowds that had gathered for this spectacle, when they saw what had taken place, went home, striking their chests.^{t 49}But^u all who knew him, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance,^v watching these things.

THE BURIAL OF JESUS

⁵⁰There^w was a good and righteous man named Joseph, a member of the Sanhedrin, ⁵¹who had not agreed with their plan^x and action. He was from Arimathea, a Judean town, and was looking forward to the kingdom of God.^{y 52}He approached Pilate and asked for Jesus’s body. ⁵³Taking it down, he wrapped it in fine linen and placed it in a tomb cut into the rock, where no one had ever been placed.^{Kz 54}It was the preparation day, and the Sabbath was about to begin.^{L 55}The women^aa who had come with him from Galilee followed along and observed the tomb and how his body was placed. ⁵⁶Then they returned and prepared spices and perfumes.^ab And they rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment.^ac

RESURRECTION MORNING

24On^ad the first day of the week,^ae very early in the morning, they^A came to the tomb, bringing the spices they had prepared. ²They found the stone rolled away from the tomb. ³They went in but did not find the body^af of the Lord Jesus.^{ag 4}While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two men stood by them in dazzling^ah clothes. ⁵So the women were terrified and bowed down to the ground.

“Why are you looking for the living among the dead?” asked the men. ⁶“He is not here, but he has risen!^ai Remember how he spoke to you when he was still in Galilee,^{aj 7}saying, ‘It is necessary that the Son of Man be betrayed^ak into the hands of sinful men, be crucified, and rise^al on the third day’⁸And they remembered his words.

⁹Returning from the tomb, they reported all these things to the Eleven^am and to all the rest. ¹⁰Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James,^an and the other women with them were telling the apostles^ao these things. ¹¹But these words seemed like nonsense to them, and they did not believe^ap the women. ¹²Peter,^aq however, got up and ran to the tomb. When he stooped to look in, he saw only the linen cloths.^Bar So he went away, amazed^as at what had happened.

THE EMMAUS DISCIPLES

¹³Now^at that same day two of them were on their way to a village called Emmaus, which was about seven miles^Cau from Jerusalem.^{av 14}Together they were discussing everything that had taken place. ¹⁵And while they were discussing and arguing, Jesus himself came near and began to walk along with them. ¹⁶But they^D were prevented from recognizing him.^{a 17}Then he asked them, “What is this dispute that you’re having^E with each other as you are walking?” And they stopped walking and looked discouraged.

¹⁸The one named Cleopas answered him, “Are you the only visitor in Jerusalem who doesn’t know the things that happened there in these days?”^b

¹⁹“What things?” he asked them.

So they said to him, “The things concerning Jesus of Nazareth,^c who was a prophet^d powerful in action and speech^e before God and all the people,^{f 20}and how our chief priests and leaders^g handed him over to be sentenced to death,^h and they crucified him.^{i 21}But we were hoping that he was the one who was about to redeem^j Israel. Besides all this, it’s the third day^k since these things happened. ²²Moreover, some women from our group astounded us. They arrived early at the tomb, ²³and when they didn’t find his body, they came and reported that they had seen a vision of angels who said he was alive. ²⁴Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but they didn’t see him.”^l

²⁵He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow^F to believe all that the prophets have spoken!^{m 26}Wasn’t it necessary for the Messiah to sufferⁿ these things and enter into his glory?”^{o 27}Then beginning with Moses^p and all the Prophets,^q he interpreted for them the things concerning himself in all the Scriptures.^r

²⁸They came near the village where they were going, and he gave the impression that he was going farther.^{s 29}But they urged him, “Stay with us, because it’s almost evening, and now the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them.

³⁰It was as he reclined at the table with them that he took the bread, blessed and broke^t it, and gave it to them. ³¹Then their eyes were opened,^u and they recognized him, but he disappeared from their sight.^{v 32}They said to each other, “Weren’t our hearts burning within us while he was talking with us on the road and explaining the Scriptures^w to us?” ³³That very hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem. They found the Eleven^x and those with them gathered together, ³⁴who said, “The Lord has truly been raised and has appeared to Simon!”^{y 35}Then they began to describe what had happened on the road and how he was made known to them in the breaking of the bread.^z

THE REALITY OF THE RISEN JESUS

³⁶As^aa they were saying these things, he himself stood in their midst. He said to them, “Peace^ab to you!” ³⁷But they were…