Luke 23

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(1) Crowd accuses Jesus, but leaders find him innocent

Then they brought him to Pilate, and accused him saying,

“We found this man misleading our people, forbidding us to pay taxes to Caesar, and calling himself the Chosen One, a king.”

So Pilate asked him if he was the Jewish king, and Jesus answered,

“It is true.”

Then Pilate told the lead priests and crowds that he didn’t find Jesus to be guilty of anything. But the people kept on insisting, saying,

“He stirs up the people, teaching all over Judea from Galilee even as far as this place.”

When Pilate heard that, he asked if Jesus was a Galilean, and when he learned that he belonged to Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod who happened to be in Jerusalem at that time.

Herod was excited to see Jesus, because he had been hearing about him for a long time and wanted to see him perform a sign. He questioned him extensively, but Jesus didn’t give him any answers even though the lead priests and religious writers stood there accusing him vehemently. Herod and his soldiers disrespectfully made fun of him, dressed him in a beautiful robe, and sent him back to Pilate. Herod and Pilate had been enemies, but became friends that very day.

Pilate summoned the lead priests and rulers and told them,

“You brought me this man for inciting rebellion, and after examining him right in front of you, I don’t find him guilty of any of your accusations. Herod hasn’t found him guilty of anything either, because he sent him back here. This man hasn’t done anything to deserve the death penalty. So I will reprimand him and release him.”

(At the feast, he was obligated to release one prisoner for them.)

(18) Crowd demands Jesus be crucified

But in unison the crowd shouted,

“Keep this man and release Barabbas for us!”

(Barabbas was someone who had been imprisoned for murder and inciting an insurrection in the city.) Pilate wanted to release Jesus, so he asked them again, but they kept shouting,

“Crucify him! Crucify him!!”

A third time Pilate asked them,

“Why? What harm has this man done? I don’t see anything in him demanding of death. I will reprimand him and release him.”

But the people were closing in, loudly demanding that he be crucified, and their voices prevailed. So Pilate sentenced that their request be granted. He released the man charged with murder and insurrection and handed Jesus over like they wanted.

(26) The world will only get worse

When they led him away, they grabbed a man named Simon from Cyrene who was coming in from the countryside, and assigned him to carry the cross behind Jesus. A large crowd followed him including women who were mourning him. But Jesus turned to them and said,

“Daughters of Jerusalem, stop crying for me, and cry for yourselves and your children, because the time will come when they’ll say,

‘The women who never had children are lucky.’

And they’ll ask the mountains to fall on them and the hills to bury them. Because if they do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it’s dried up?”

(32) Jesus has pity on the crowd even while they execute him

Two other people who were criminals were also being led away to be executed with him.

When they reached the place called ‘The Skull’ they crucified him there along with the criminals: one on his right, and one on his left. But Jesus said,

“Dad, let them off the hook, because they don’t realize what they are doing.”

They raffled his clothes amongst themselves while everyone stood there watching. The rulers sneered at him saying,

“He saved others—if he really is God’s Chosen One, then let him save himself.”

The soldiers also mocked him by offering him sour wine and saying,

“If you are the Jewish king, then save yourself!”

There was also an inscription above him that said,

“This is the Jewish king”

(39) Respectful criminal joins Jesus in paradise

One of the criminals who hung there insulted him saying,

“Aren’t you the Chosen One? Save yourself and us!”

But the other one reprimanded him, saying,

“Aren’t you scared of God since you have been given the same sentence? Its fair for us to suffer, because we are receiving what we deserve for our actions, but this man hasn’t done anything wrong.”

Jesus, remember me when you arrive in your empire.”

Jesus told him,

“I assure you that today you will be with me in paradise.”

(44) Jesus dies, sun is eclipsed, temple veil is ripped

Then at 12pm, the sun was eclipsed and darkness fell over the whole region until 3pm, and the temple’s curtain was torn in half. Jesus loudly shouted,

“Dad, I place my breath into your hands.”

And with that, Jesus breathed his last. When the commander of the Roman army saw what had happened, he commended God, saying,

“This man really was upright.”

All the crowds gathered to witness this spectacle, and when they saw what had happened, they started mourning and dispersing. Everyone who knew him and the women who followed him from Galilee stood at a distance watching everything take place.

(50) Joseph buries Jesus’s body

There was a senator named Joseph who was an upright, good man who never approved of their plan. He was from Arimathea (a Jewish city), and he had been expectantly waiting for God’s empire. He went to Pilate and asked for Jesus’s body. He took it down, wrapped it in a burial cloth, and laid him in a tomb that had been cut into the rock and never been used before. It was the preparation day and the Sabbath was about to begin. The women who had come with him from Galilee followed, and they witnessed his body being laid in the tomb. So they returned and prepared aromas and ointments.

Then on the Sabbath, everyone rested according to God’s command.