Luke 23

1  THEN THE whole assembly of them got up and conducted [Jesus] before Pilate.2  And they began to accuse Him, asserting, We found this Man perverting (misleading, corrupting, and turning away) our nation and forbidding to pay tribute to Caesar, saying that He Himself is Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One), a King!3  So Pilate asked Him, Are You the King of the Jews? And He answered him, [It is just as] you say. [I AM.]4  And Pilate said to the chief priests and the throngs, I find no guilt or crime in this Man.5  But they were urgent and emphatic, saying, He stirs up and excites the people, teaching throughout all Judea--from Galilee, where He began, even to this place.6  Upon hearing this, Pilate asked whether the Man was a Galilean.7  And when he found out [certainly] that He belonged to Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent Him up to Herod [a higher authority], who was also in Jerusalem in those days.8  Now when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceedingly glad, for he had eagerly desired to see Him for a long time because of what he had heard concerning Him, and he was hoping to witness some sign (some striking evidence or spectacular performance) done by Him.9  So he asked Him many questions, but He made no reply. 10  Meanwhile, the chief priests and the scribes stood by, continuing vehemently and violently to accuse Him.11  And Herod, with his soldiers, treated Him with contempt and scoffed at and ridiculed Him; then, dressing Him up in bright and gorgeous apparel, he sent Him back to Pilate. 12  And that very day Herod and Pilate became friends with each other--[though] they had been at enmity before this.13  Pilate then called together the chief priests and the rulers and the people,14  And said to them, You brought this Man before me as One Who was perverting and misleading and turning away and corrupting the people; and behold, after examining Him before you, I have not found any offense (crime or guilt) in this Man in regard to your accusations against Him;15  No, nor indeed did Herod, for he sent Him back to us; behold, He has done nothing deserving of death.16  I will therefore chastise Him and deliver Him amended (reformed, taught His lesson) and release Him.17  For it was necessary for him to release to them one prisoner at the Feast. 18  But they all together raised a deep cry [from the depths of their throats], saying, Away with this Man! Release to us Barabbas!19  He was a man who had been thrown into prison for raising a riot in the city, and for murder.20  Once more Pilate called to them, wishing to release Jesus;21  But they kept shouting out, Crucify, crucify Him!22  A third time he said to them, Why? What wrong has He done? I have found [no offense or crime or guilt] in Him nothing deserving of death; I will therefore chastise Him [in order to teach Him better] and release Him.23  But they were insistent and urgent, demanding with loud cries that He should be crucified. And their voices prevailed (accomplished their purpose).24  And Pilate gave sentence, that what they asked should be done.25  So he released the man who had been thrown into prison for riot and murder, for whom they continued to ask, but Jesus he delivered up to be done with as they willed.26  And as they led Him away, they seized one Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, and laid on him the cross and made him carry it behind Jesus.27  And there accompanied [Jesus] a great multitude of the people, [including] women who bewailed and lamented Him.28  But Jesus, turning toward them, said, Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children.29  For behold, the days are coming during which they will say, Blessed (happy, fortunate, and to be envied) are the barren, and the wombs that have not borne, and the breasts that have never nursed [babies]!30  Then they will begin to say to the mountains, Fall on us! and to the hills, Cover (conceal, hide) us!31  For if they do these things when the timber is green, what will happen when it is dry?32  Two others also, who were criminals, were led away to be executed with Him. 33  And when they came to the place which is called The Skull [Latin: Calvary; Hebrew: Golgotha], there they crucified Him, and [along with] the criminals, one on the right and one on the left.34  And Jesus prayed, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. And they divided His garments and distributed them by casting lots for them. 35  Now the people stood by [calmly and leisurely] watching; but the rulers scoffed and sneered (turned up their noses) at Him, saying, He rescued others [from death]; let Him now rescue Himself, if He is the Christ (the Messiah) of God, His Chosen One!36  The soldiers also ridiculed and made sport of Him, coming up and offering Him vinegar (a sour wine mixed with water) 37  And saying, If you are the King of the Jews, save (rescue) Yourself [from death].38  For there was also an inscription above Him in letters of Greek and Latin and Hebrew : This is the King of the Jews.39  One of the criminals who was suspended kept up a railing at Him, saying, Are You not the Christ (the Messiah)? Rescue Yourself and us [from death]!40  But the other one reproved him, saying, Do you not even fear God, seeing you yourself are under the same sentence of condemnation and suffering the same penalty?41  And we indeed suffer it justly, receiving the due reward of our actions; but this Man has done nothing out of the way [nothing strange or eccentric or perverse or unreasonable].42  Then he said to Jesus, Lord, remember me when You come in Your kingly glory!43  And He answered him, Truly I tell you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.44  It was now about the sixth hour (midday), and darkness enveloped the whole land and earth until the ninth hour (about three o’clock in the afternoon),45  While the sun’s light faded or was darkened ; and the curtain [of the Holy of Holies] of the temple was torn in two. 46  And Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, said, Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit! And with these words, He expired. 47  Now the centurion, having seen what had taken place, recognized God and thanked and praised Him, and said, Indeed, without question, this Man was upright (just and innocent)!48  And all the throngs that had gathered to see this spectacle, when they saw what had taken place, returned to their homes, beating their breasts.49  And all the acquaintances of [Jesus] and the women who had followed Him from Galilee stood at a distance and watched these things.50  Now notice, there was a man named Joseph from the Jewish town of Arimathea. He was a member of the council (the Sanhedrin), and a good (upright, advantageous) man, and righteous (in right standing with God and man),51  Who had not agreed with or assented to the purpose and action of the others; and he was expecting and waiting for the kingdom of God.52  This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.53  Then he took it down and rolled it up in a linen cloth for swathing dead bodies and laid Him in a rock-hewn tomb, where no one had ever yet been laid.54  It was the day of Preparation [for the Sabbath], and the Sabbath was dawning (approaching).55  The women who had come with [Jesus] from Galilee followed closely and saw the tomb and how His body was laid.56  Then they went back and made ready spices and ointments (perfumes). On the Sabbath day they rested in accordance with the commandment.

Luke 23

Pilate

1-2 Then they all took Jesus to Pilate and began to bring up charges against him. They said, "We found this man undermining our law and order, forbidding taxes to be paid to Caesar, setting himself up as Messiah-King."

3 Pilate asked him, "Is this true that you're 'King of the Jews'?"
"Those are your words, not mine," Jesus replied.

4 Pilate told the high priests and the accompanying crowd, "I find nothing wrong here. He seems harmless enough to me."

5 But they were vehement. "He's stirring up unrest among the people with his teaching, disturbing the peace everywhere, starting in Galilee and now all through Judea. He's a dangerous man, endangering the peace."

6-7 When Pilate heard that, he asked, "So, he's a Galilean?" Realizing that he properly came under Herod's jurisdiction, he passed the buck to Herod, who just happened to be in Jerusalem for a few days.

8-10 Herod was delighted when Jesus showed up. He had wanted for a long time to see him, he'd heard so much about him. He hoped to see him do something spectacular. He peppered him with questions. Jesus didn't answer—not one word. But the high priests and religion scholars were right there, saying their piece, strident and shrill in their accusations.

11-12 Mightily offended, Herod turned on Jesus. His soldiers joined in, taunting and jeering. Then they dressed him up in an elaborate king costume and sent him back to Pilate. That day Herod and Pilate became thick as thieves. Always before they had kept their distance.

13-16 Then Pilate called in the high priests, rulers, and the others and said, "You brought this man to me as a disturber of the peace. I examined him in front of all of you and found there was nothing to your charge. And neither did Herod, for he has sent him back here with a clean bill of health. It's clear that he's done nothing wrong, let alone anything deserving death. I'm going to warn him to watch his step and let him go."

18-20 At that, the crowd went wild: "Kill him! Give us Barabbas!" (Barabbas had been thrown in prison for starting a riot in the city and for murder.) Pilate still wanted to let Jesus go, and so spoke out again.

21 But they kept shouting back, "Crucify! Crucify him!"

22 He tried a third time. "But for what crime? I've found nothing in him deserving death. I'm going to warn him to watch his step and let him go."

23-25 But they kept at it, a shouting mob, demanding that he be crucified. And finally they shouted him down. Pilate caved in and gave them what they wanted. He released the man thrown in prison for rioting and murder, and gave them Jesus to do whatever they wanted.

Skull Hill

26-31 As they led him off, they made Simon, a man from Cyrene who happened to be coming in from the countryside, carry the cross behind Jesus. A huge crowd of people followed, along with women weeping and carrying on. At one point Jesus turned to the women and said, "Daughters of Jerusalem, don't cry for me. Cry for yourselves and for your children. The time is coming when they'll say, 'Lucky the women who never conceived! Lucky the wombs that never gave birth! Lucky the breasts that never gave milk!' Then they'll start calling to the mountains, 'Fall down on us!' calling to the hills, 'Cover us up!' If people do these things to a live, green tree, can you imagine what they'll do with deadwood?"

32 Two others, both criminals, were taken along with him for execution.

33 When they got to the place called Skull Hill, they crucified him, along with the criminals, one on his right, the other on his left.

34-35 Jesus prayed, "Father, forgive them; they don't know what they're doing."
Dividing up his clothes, they threw dice for them. The people stood there staring at Jesus, and the ringleaders made faces, taunting, "He saved others. Let's see him save himself! The Messiah of God—ha! The Chosen—ha!"

36-37 The soldiers also came up and poked fun at him, making a game of it. They toasted him with sour wine: "So you're King of the Jews! Save yourself!"

38 Printed over him was a sign: this is the king of the jews.

39 One of the criminals hanging alongside cursed him: "Some Messiah you are! Save yourself! Save us!"

40-41 But the other one made him shut up: "Have you no fear of God? You're getting the same as him. We deserve this, but not him—he did nothing to deserve this."

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

43 He said, "Don't worry, I will. Today you will join me in paradise."

44-46 By now it was noon. The whole earth became dark, the darkness lasting three hours—a total blackout. The Temple curtain split right down the middle. Jesus called loudly, "Father, I place my life in your hands!" Then he breathed his last.

47 When the captain there saw what happened, he honored God: "This man was innocent! A good man, and innocent!"

48-49 All who had come around as spectators to watch the show, when they saw what actually happened, were overcome with grief and headed home. Those who knew Jesus well, along with the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a respectful distance and kept vigil.

50-54 There was a man by the name of Joseph, a member of the Jewish High Council, a man of good heart and good character. He had not gone along with the plans and actions of the council. His hometown was the Jewish village of Arimathea. He lived in alert expectation of the kingdom of God. He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Taking him down, he wrapped him in a linen shroud and placed him in a tomb chiseled into the rock, a tomb never yet used. It was the day before Sabbath, the Sabbath just about to begin.

55-56 The women who had been companions of Jesus from Galilee followed along. They saw the tomb where Jesus' body was placed. Then they went back to prepare burial spices and perfumes. They rested quietly on the Sabbath, as commanded.