Luke 23

Chapter 23

Jesus before Pilate

¹Then the whole body of them got up and ^abrought Him before Pilate.

^2aAnd they began to accuse Him, saying, “We found this man ^bmisleading our nation and ^cforbidding to pay taxes to Caesar, and saying that He Himself is ¹Christ, a King.”

³So Pilate asked Him, saying, “Are You the King of the Jews?” And He answered him and said, “^aIt is as you say.”

⁴Then Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, “^aI find no guilt in this man.”

⁵But they kept on insisting, saying, “He stirs up the people, teaching all over Judea, ^astarting from Galilee even as far as this place.”

⁶When Pilate heard it, he asked whether the man was a Galilean.

⁷And when he learned that He belonged to Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent Him to ^aHerod, who himself also was in Jerusalem ¹at that time.

Jesus before Herod

⁸Now Herod was very glad when he saw Jesus; for ^ahe had wanted to see Him for a long time, because he had been hearing about Him and was hoping to see some ¹sign performed by Him.

⁹And he questioned Him ¹at some length; but ^aHe answered him nothing.

¹⁰And the chief priests and the scribes were standing there, accusing Him vehemently.

¹¹And Herod with his soldiers, after treating Him with contempt and mocking Him, ^adressed Him in a gorgeous robe and sent Him back to Pilate.

¹²Now ^aHerod and Pilate became friends with one another that very day; for before they had been enemies with each other.

Pilate Seeks Jesus’ Release

¹³Pilate summoned the chief priests and the ^arulers and the people,

¹⁴and said to them, “You brought this man to me as one who ^aincites the people to rebellion, and behold, having examined Him before you, I ^bhave found no guilt in this man regarding the charges which you make against Him.

¹⁵“No, nor has ^aHerod, for he sent Him back to us; and behold, nothing deserving death has been done by Him.

¹⁶“Therefore I will ^apunish Him and release Him.”

¹⁷¹Now he was obliged to release to them at the feast one prisoner.

¹⁸But they cried out all together, saying, “^aAway with this man, and release for us Barabbas!”

¹⁹(He was one who had been thrown into prison for an insurrection made in the city, and for murder.)

²⁰Pilate, wanting to release Jesus, addressed them again,

²¹but they kept on calling out, saying, “Crucify, crucify Him!”

²²And he said to them the third time, “Why, what evil has this man done? I have found in Him no guilt demanding death; therefore I will ^apunish Him and release Him.”

²³But they were insistent, with loud voices asking that He be crucified. And their voices began to prevail.

²⁴And Pilate pronounced sentence that their demand be granted.

²⁵And he released the man they were asking for who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, but he delivered Jesus to their will.

Simon Bears the Cross

^26aWhen they led Him away, they seized a man, Simon of ^bCyrene, coming in from the country, and placed on him the cross to carry behind Jesus.

²⁷And following Him was a large crowd of the people, and of women who were ^1amourning and lamenting Him.

²⁸But Jesus turning to them said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, stop weeping for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children.

²⁹“For behold, the days are coming when they will say, ‘^aBlessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bore, and the breasts that never nursed.’

³⁰“Then they will begin to ^asay to the mountains, ‘Fall on us,’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us.’

³¹“For if they do these things ¹when the tree is green, what will happen ²when it is dry?”

^32aTwo others also, who were criminals, were being led away to be put to death with Him.

The Crucifixion

^33aWhen they came to the place called ¹The Skull, there they crucified Him and the criminals, one on the right and the other on the left.

³⁴¹But Jesus was saying, “^aFather, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” ^bAnd they cast lots, dividing up His garments among themselves.

³⁵And the people stood by, looking on. And even the ^arulers were sneering at Him, saying, “He saved others; ^blet Him save Himself if this is the ¹Christ of God, His Chosen One.”

³⁶The soldiers also mocked Him, coming up to Him, ^aoffering Him sour wine,

³⁷and saying, “^aIf You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself!”

³⁸Now there was also an inscription above Him, “^aTHIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.”

^39aOne of the criminals who were hanged there was ¹hurling abuse at Him, saying, “Are You not the ²Christ? ^bSave Yourself and us!”

⁴⁰But the other answered, and rebuking him said, “Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation?

⁴¹“And we indeed are suffering justly, for we are receiving ¹what we deserve for our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.”

⁴²And he was saying, “Jesus, remember me when You come ¹in Your kingdom!”

⁴³And He said to him, “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in ^aParadise.”

^44aIt was now about ^1bthe sixth hour, and darkness ²fell over the whole land until ³the ninth hour,

⁴⁵¹because the sun was obscured; and ^athe veil of the temple was torn ²in two.

⁴⁶And Jesus, ^acrying out with a loud voice, said, “Father, ^binto Your hands I commit My spirit.” Having said this, He breathed His last.

^47aNow when the centurion saw what had happened, he began ^bpraising God, saying, “Certainly this man was ¹innocent.”

⁴⁸And all the crowds who came together for this spectacle, when they observed what had happened, began to return, ^1abeating their breasts.

^49aAnd all His acquaintances and the women who accompanied Him from Galilee were standing at a distance, seeing these things.

Jesus Is Buried

^50aAnd a man named Joseph, who was a ^bmember of the Council, a good and righteous man

⁵¹(he had not consented to their plan and action), a man from Arimathea, a city of the Jews, who was ^awaiting for the kingdom of God;

⁵²this man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.

⁵³And he took it down and wrapped it in a linen cloth, and laid Him in a tomb cut into the rock, where no one had ever lain.

⁵⁴It was ^athe ¹preparation day, and the Sabbath was about to ²begin.

⁵⁵Now ^athe women who had come with Him out of Galilee followed, and saw the tomb and how His body was laid.

⁵⁶Then they returned and ^aprepared spices and perfumes.

And ^bon the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment.