| Luke 23 | |
|---|---|
The Greek text of Luke 23:47-24:1 on Codex Bezae (Cambridge University Library MS. Nn.2.41), written about AD 400. | |
| Book | Gospel of Luke |
| Category | Gospel |
| Christian Bible part | New Testament |
| Order in the Christian part | 3 |
Luke 23 is the twenty-third chapter of the Gospel of Luke in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The book containing this chapter is anonymous, but early Christian tradition uniformly affirmed that Luke the Evangelist composed this Gospel as well as the Acts of the Apostles.[1] This chapter records the trial of Jesus Christ before Pontius Pilate, Jesus' meeting with Herod Antipas, and his crucifixion, death and burial.[2]
The original text was written in Koine Greek. This chapter is divided into 56 verses.
Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter are:
"The whole multitude of them" (Greek: απαν το πληθος, hapan to plēthos) may also be translated as "the whole assembly",[6] or "the whole Council".[7] Luke uses το πληθος (rather than το ὄχλος, to ochlos) to signify a multitude in number.[8] They led Jesus to Pontius Pilate, the provincial governor (prefect) of Judaea.
Cross reference: Matthew 27:11; Mark 15:2; John 18:37
Textus Receptus/Majority Text:
Transliteration:
The style of response is the same as in Luke 22:70, where Jesus answers the Sanhedrin's question, "Are you the Son of God?"
Traditionally, "throughout all Judea" has been rendered as "throughout all Jewry".[11] F. W. Farrar suggests that these words imply a "Judean ministry" which the synoptic gospels do not narrate,[8] as the only journey of Jesus in Judea which is recorded is that from Jericho to Jerusalem. On the other hand, Judea has "sometimes been the name of the whole land, including apparently parts beyond the Jordan", see Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, XII, 4.11,[12] which term would therefore include the area of Perea 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 to Jerusalem passed through this region.[13]
Luke's version of the trial scene "emphasizes Pilate's reluctance to act against Jesus".[15]
This "third time" of declaring Jesus' innocence follows the previous declarations in verses 4 and 14-15.[15]
This verse reads ο δε πιλατος επεκρινεν γενεσθαι το αιτημα αυτων in the Textus Receptus, matching the opening words of Mark 15:15, ο δε πιλατος ("so Pilate ..."), but the sentence begins καὶ Πιλᾶτος ... ("and Pilate ...") in critical texts such as Westcott-Hort.[18] Pilate's "official decision" [19] was to comply with the request of the crowd. The word ἐπέκρινεν (epekrinen, "pronounced sentence") is specific to Luke,[20] although it also appears in the apocryphal 2 Maccabees 4:47, where innocent men are condemned to death.[21][8]
The prophet Hosea spoke in similar language, when recognising that the disobedience of the Israelites required God's punishment, but calling for some mitigation:
One of the two thieves who die with Jesus reviles him, the other is saved by faith.[24]
Like Mark 15:33–34, Luke records three hours of darkness, which signify "the awesomeness of what is taking place".[15]
Jesus' crying "with a loud voice" is not, as in Mark 15:34, one of desolation (why have you forsaken me?), but of "secure confidence". Jesus quotes Psalm 31:5, rather than Psalm 22:1 which appears in Mark's gospel.[15]
William Robertson Nicoll understands the phrase "the things that had happened" (Greek: τὰ γενόμενα, tà genómena) "comprehensively, including the crucifixion and all its accompaniments".[28] Albert Barnes refers to "the earthquake, the darkness, and the sufferings of Jesus" as the "things which were done".[29] The earthquake is only recorded in Matthew's Gospel, but the third century historian Sextus Julius Africanus also refers to an earthquake on or around the day of the crucifixion.[30]
"The women" that followed Jesus from Galilee (also in Luke 23:55) were "Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them" according to Luke 24:10.[32] 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, and Salome".[33]
According to Luke 24:10, "the women" (also in Luke 23:49) were "Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them".[32] Matthew 27:61 lists "Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary", whereas Mark 15:47 names "Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of Joses".[33]
