Luke 23–24

23RD CHAPTER

Pilate Questions Jesus—Matthew 27:11–14; Mark 15:1–5; John 18:28–38

¹Then the entire assembly stood up and took him to Pilate. 

²They began to accuse Jesus by saying, “We found that he stirs up trouble among our people: He keeps them from paying taxes to the emperor, and he says that he is Christ, a king.” 

³Pilate asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?” 

“Yes, I am,” Jesus answered. 

⁴Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowd, “I can’t find this man guilty of any crime.” 

Pilate Sends Jesus to Herod

⁵The priests and the crowd became more forceful. They said, “He stirs up the people throughout Judea with his teachings. He started in Galilee and has come here.” 

⁶When Pilate heard that, he asked if the man was from Galilee. ⁷When Pilate found out that he was, he sent Jesus to Herod. Herod ruled Galilee and was in Jerusalem at that time. 

⁸Herod was very pleased to see Jesus. For a long time he had wanted to see him. He had heard about Jesus and hoped to see him perform some kind of miracle. ⁹Herod asked Jesus many questions, but Jesus wouldn’t answer him. ¹⁰Meanwhile, the chief priests and the experts in Moses’ Teachings stood there and shouted their accusations against Jesus. 

¹¹Herod and his soldiers treated Jesus with contempt and made fun of him. They put a colorful robe on him and sent him back to Pilate. ¹²So Herod and Pilate became friends that day. They had been enemies before this. 

¹³Then Pilate called together the chief priests, the rulers, and the people. ¹⁴He told them, “You brought me this man as someone who turns the people against the government. I’ve questioned him in front of you and haven’t found this man guilty of the crimes of which you accuse him. ¹⁵Neither could Herod. So he sent this man back to us. This man hasn’t done anything to deserve the death penalty. ¹⁶So I’m going to have him whipped and set free.”^a

The Crowd Rejects Jesus—Matthew 27:15–26; Mark 15:6–15; John 18:39–40

¹⁸The whole crowd then shouted, “Take him away! Free Barabbas for us.” ¹⁹(Barabbas had been thrown into prison for his involvement in a riot that had taken place in the city and for murder.) 

²⁰But because Pilate wanted to free Jesus, he spoke to the people again. 

²¹They began yelling, “Crucify him! Crucify him!” 

²²A third time Pilate spoke to them. He asked, “Why? What has he done wrong? I haven’t found this man deserving of the death penalty. So I’m going to have him whipped and set free.” 

²³But the crowd pressured Pilate. They shouted that Jesus had to be crucified, and they finally won. ²⁴Pilate decided to give in to their demand. ²⁵He freed Barabbas, who had been put in prison for rioting and murdering, because that’s what they wanted. But he let them do what they wanted to Jesus. 

Jesus Is Led Away to Be Crucified

²⁶As the soldiers led Jesus away, they grabbed a man named Simon, who was from the city of Cyrene. Simon was coming into Jerusalem. They laid the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus. 

²⁷A large crowd followed Jesus. The women in the crowd cried and sang funeral songs for him. ²⁸Jesus turned to them and said, “You women of Jerusalem, don’t cry for me! Rather, cry for yourselves and your children! ²⁹The time is coming when people will say, ‘Blessed are the women who couldn’t get pregnant, who couldn’t give birth, and who couldn’t nurse a child.’ ³⁰Then people will say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us!’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us!’ ³¹If people do this to a green tree, what will happen to a dry one?” 

³²Two others, who were criminals, were led away to be executed with him. 

The Crucifixion—Matthew 27:31–44; Mark 15:20–32; John 19:16b–24

³³When they came to the place called The Skull, they crucified him. The criminals were also crucified, one on his right and the other on his left. 

³⁴Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them. They don’t know what they’re doing.”^b

Meanwhile, the soldiers divided his clothes among themselves by throwing dice. 

³⁵The people stood there watching. But the rulers were making sarcastic remarks. They said, “He saved others. If he’s the Messiah that God has chosen, let him save himself!” ³⁶The soldiers also made fun of him. They would go up to him, offer him some vinegar, ³⁷and say, “If you’re the king of the Jews, save yourself!” 

³⁸A written notice was placed above him. It said, “This is the king of the Jews.” 

Criminals Talk to Jesus

³⁹One of the criminals hanging there insulted Jesus by saying, “So you’re really the Messiah, are you? Well, save yourself and us!” 

⁴⁰But the other criminal scolded him: “Don’t you fear God at all? Can’t you see that you’re condemned in the same way that he is? ⁴¹Our punishment is fair. We’re getting what we deserve. But this man hasn’t done anything wrong.” 

⁴²Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you enter your kingdom.” 

⁴³Jesus said to him, “I can guarantee this truth: Today you will be with me in paradise.” 

Jesus Dies on the Cross—Matthew 27:45–56; Mark 15:33–41; John 19:28–30

⁴⁴Around noon darkness came over the entire land and lasted until three in the afternoon. ⁴⁵The sun had stopped shining. The curtain in the temple was split in two. 

⁴⁶Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I entrust my spirit.” After he said this, he died. 

⁴⁷When an army officer saw what had happened, he praised God and said, “Certainly, this man was innocent!” ⁴⁸Crowds had gathered to see the sight. But when all of them saw what had happened, they cried and returned to the city. ⁴⁹All his friends, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance and watched everything. 

Jesus Is Placed in a Tomb—Matthew 27:57–61; Mark 15:42–47; John 19:38–42

⁵⁰There was a good man who had God’s approval. His name was Joseph. He was a member of the Jewish council, ⁵¹but he had not agreed with what they had done. He was from the Jewish city of Arimathea, and he was waiting for God’s kingdom. 

⁵²He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. ⁵³After he took it down from the cross, he wrapped it in linen. Then he laid the body in a tomb cut in rock, a tomb in which no one had ever been buried. ⁵⁴It was Friday, and the day of rest—a holy day, was just beginning. 

⁵⁵The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed closely behind Joseph. They observed the tomb and how his body was laid in it. ⁵⁶Then they went back to the city and prepared spices and perfumes. But on the day of rest—a holy day, they rested according to the commandment. 

24TH CHAPTER

Jesus Comes Back to Life—Matthew 28:1–10; Mark 16:1–8; John 20:1–10

¹Very early on Sunday morning the women went to the tomb. They were carrying the spices that they had prepared. ²They found that the stone had been rolled away from the tomb. ³When they went in, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. ⁴While they were puzzled about this, two men in clothes that were as bright as lightning suddenly stood beside them. ⁵The women were terrified and bowed to the ground. 

The men asked the women, “Why are you looking among the dead for the living one? ⁶He’s not here. He has been brought back to life! Remember what he told you while he was still in Galilee. ⁷He said, ‘The Son of Man must be handed over to sinful people, be crucified, and come back to life on the third day.’ ” ⁸Then the women remembered what Jesus had told them. 

⁹The women left the tomb and went back to the city. They told everything to the eleven apostles and all the others. ¹⁰The women were Mary from Magdala, Joanna, and Mary (the mother of James). There were also other women with them. They told the apostles everything. 

¹¹The apostles thought that the women’s story didn’t make any sense, and they didn’t believe them. 

¹²But Peter got up and ran to the tomb. He bent down to look inside and saw only the strips of linen. Then he went away, wondering what had happened. 

Jesus Appears to Disciples on a Road to Emmaus

¹³On the same day, two of Jesus’ disciples were going to a village called Emmaus. It was about seven miles from Jerusalem. ¹⁴They were talking to each other about everything that had happened. 

¹⁵While they were talking, Jesus approached them and began walking with them. ¹⁶Although they saw him, they didn’t recognize him. 

¹⁷He asked them, “What are you discussing?” 

They stopped and looked very sad. ¹⁸One of them, Cleopas, replied, “Are you the only one in Jerusalem who doesn’t know what has happened recently?” 

¹⁹“What happened?” he asked. 

They said to him, “We were discussing what happened to Jesus from Nazareth. He was a powerful prophet in what he did and said in the sight of God and all the people. ²⁰Our chief priests and rulers had him condemned to death and crucified. ²¹We were hoping that he was the one who would free Israel. What’s more, this is now the third day since everything happened. ²²Some of the women from our group startled us. They went to the tomb early this morning ²³and didn’t find his body. They told us that they had seen angels who said that he’s alive. ²⁴Some of our men went to the tomb and found it empty, as the women had said, but they didn’t see him.” 

²⁵Then Jesus said to them, “How foolish you are! You’re so slow to believe everything the prophets said! ²⁶Didn’t the Messiah have to suffer these things and enter into his glory?” ²⁷Then he began with Moses’ Teachings and the Prophets to explain to them what was said about him throughout the Scriptures. 

²⁸When they came near the village where they were going, Jesus acted as if he were going farther. ²⁹They urged him, “Stay with us! It’s getting late, and the day is almost over.” So he went to stay with them. 

³⁰While he was at the table with them, he took bread and blessed it. He broke the bread and gave it to them. ³¹Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. But he vanished from their sight. 

³²They said to each other, “Weren’t we excited when he talked with us on the road and opened up the meaning of the Scriptures for us?” 

³³That same hour they went back…