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1–12. Christ from Pilate and Herod. – 13–25. Condemnation of Christ to crucifixion. – 26–32. Procession of Christ to Golgotha. – 33–43. Crucifixion of Christ. – 44–56. Death and burial of Christ. Luke 23:1. And the whole multitude of them rose up, and led Him to Pilate, The following story of the trial of Christ by Pilate and Herod was almost entirely composed independently by the Evangelist Luke, only the 3rd verse is a repetition of Mark 15:2. “The whole multitude of them rose up,” i.e. all the members of the Sanhedrin who had just finished interrogating Christ; “and they led Him to Pilate” (see Matthew 27:2). Luke 23:2. and they began to accuse Him, saying: We have found that He corrupts our people and forbids giving tribute to Caesar, calling Himself Christ the King. The members of the Sanhedrin accuse Christ before Pilate of claiming the dignity of the Messiah, whom they represent in order to be understood by Pilate as a king. “It corrupts our people,” i.e. first of all, it leads him astray from the true path, alienating the people from our spiritual leadership, and at the same time deviates the people from subordination to Roman authority. This accusation, in its first half, was, of course, fair, because the Lord really taught the people not to listen to the Pharisees and their leaders in general (Matthew 15:14). “Forbids giving tribute to Caesar.” This was already a complete lie (cf. Luke 20:25). “Calling Himself Christ the King” - more precisely: “calling Himself the Messiah, the king.” The second word was supposed to explain to Pilate what the Messiah is. By this, the enemies of Christ thought to force Pilate to immediately deal with Christ as a dangerous political criminal. Luke 23:3. Pilate asked Him: Are you the King of the Jews? He answered him: You speak. Pilate, however, by his appearance and generally by the first impression that Christ made on him, realized that He was not at all the one for whom the accusers were presenting Him. To Pilate’s question: “Are you the King of the Jews?” Christ responds with a vague expression: “you say.” Pilate obviously understood this expression not as an affirmative answer, but rather as a negative answer; he understood that Christ did not at all lay claim to the royal throne in Judea. If Pilate had accepted Christ’s answer as agreement with the accusation, then he, of course, should have immediately begun an investigation and trial of Him, but yet he did not do this. Thus, the expression “you say” is equivalent to the expression: “do you see? Суди же сам, царь ли Я?..» 28 . Luke 23:4. Pilate said to the chief priests and the people: I find no guilt in this man. Pilate, understanding Christ’s words in the indicated sense, announces to the high priests and the people that he does not find any guilt in Christ at all. Evangelist Luke here already notices the presence of “people” in front of Pilate’s palace. Luke 23:5. But they insisted, saying that He was disturbing the people by teaching throughout all Judea, starting from Galilee to this place. But the Jews insisted more and more, or, more correctly, became more and more excited (ἐπίσχυον). Now they directly say that Christ “revolts the people, teaching throughout all Judea, starting from Galilee” to Jerusalem. It may very well be that by the word “Judea” they designate the entire Jewish country, and not just one Judean region (cf. Luke 1:5, 7:17). Luke 23:6. Pilate, hearing about Galilee, asked: Is He a Galilean? Having heard about Galilee, i.e. hearing that Christ had begun His work in Galilee. Luke 23:7. And having learned that He was from Herod’s region, He sent Him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem these days. Herod Antipas ruled Galilee and Perea (cf. Luke 3:1), and by sending Christ to him as his subject (Herod at that time came to Jerusalem to celebrate the Easter holiday, since he professed the Jewish faith), Pilate probably assumed that Herod was interested in the cause of his subject. Luke 23:8. Herod, seeing Jesus, was very happy, for he had long wanted to see Him, because he had heard a lot about Him, and hoped to see some miracle from Him, Luke 23:9. and asked Him many questions, but He answered him nothing. The frivolous Herod, who had long wanted to see Christ in order to see how He performed miracles, asked Christ various questions, but Christ did not honor him with any answer, since Herod was not worth an answer - the questions were asked out of empty curiosity. Luke 23:10. The chief priests and scribes stood and strongly accused Him. Luke 23:11. But Herod and his soldiers, having humiliated Him and mocked Him, dressed Him in light clothes and sent Him back to Pilate. Luke 23:12. And that day Pilate and Herod became friends with each other, for before they had been at enmity with each other. Although the high priests brought accusations against Christ here too, Herod did not find any reason to find Christ guilty. Only in a feeling of offended pride, since Christ did not want to answer his questions, did he and his soldiers mock Christ. He ordered Him to be dressed in shiny clothes, similar to those that kings usually wore - not white, which candidates for public office wore in Rome, but generally decorated, maybe even purple. By this he wanted to show Pilate that such a “king” could not be scary to them. Evangelist Luke notes that Herod and Pilate from that time became friends, since Herod, in the words of Justin the Martyr, sent Jesus to Pilate at his discretion and thereby showed his disposition to trust Pilate (“Conversation with Tryphon the Jew,” 103). Some critics recognize the entire story about the trial of Christ by Herod as a later insertion, since they do not find it possible to explain why all the other evangelists do not mention this trial at all. But, strictly speaking, this story does not bring anything special during the process that was conducted about Christ, and other evangelists could therefore omit it. Luke 23:13. Pilate, having called together the high priests and rulers and the people, Luke 23:14. He said to them: You brought this man to me as one who corrupts the people; and behold, I examined before you and did not find this man guilty of anything of which you accuse Him; Luke 23:15. and Herod also, for I sent Him to him; and nothing was found in Him worthy of death; Luke 23:16. So, having punished Him, I will release Him. Luke 23:17. And he needed to release one prisoner to them for the holiday. Luke 23:18. But all the people began to shout: Death to Him! but release Barabbas to us. Luke 23:19. Barabbas was put in prison for causing outrage and murder in the city. Luke 23:20. Pilate again raised his voice, wanting to release Jesus. Luke 23:21. But they shouted: crucify him, crucify him! Luke 23:22. He said to them the third time, “What evil has He done?” I did not find anything worthy of death in Him; So, having punished Him, I will release Him. Luke 23:23. But they continued with great shouting to demand that He be crucified; and the cry prevailed over them and the chief priests. Luke 23:24. And Pilate decided to be at their request, Luke 23:25. and he released to them the man who had been imprisoned for indignation and murder, whom they asked for; and he gave Jesus over to their will. About the condemnation of Christ to crucifixion, the Evangelist Luke says essentially the same as Mark (Mark 15:6–15), but with some changes and additions. Thus, he reports that Pilate now himself convenes the members of the Sanhedrin and the people, obviously so that the defenders of Christ can come out from among the people (verse 13). “I examined in your presence” (verse 14). This seems to contradict the testimony of the Evangelist John, who says that Pilate interrogated Christ in private (John 18:33 et seq.). But the words of the Evangelist Luke do not mean that the interrogation actually took place on the porch of the palace in front of the eyes of all the people. Pilate only says that they themselves saw that the interrogation took place; Pilate took Christ inside the palace in front of their eyes. “For I sent Him to him” (verse 15). This passage is read differently. Textus receptus: "I sent you to him." In Tischendorf (according to most ancient codes): “he (Herod) sent Him (Christ) to us” (Pilate, according to Roman custom, as the representative of the emperor, refers to himself in the plural). The last reading is undoubtedly better, as it is more authentic and at the same time clearer. The reading of the Textus receptus cannot be accepted simply because Pilate did not send high priests to Herod. Our Russian translation obviously follows the version preserved in the ancient Syriac translations (cf. Merckx, 1905, pp. 486–487). “No one was found in Him worthy of death” - more precisely: and so (it turned out according to my and Herod’s investigation), He (αὐτῷ - dative case of accessory with a passive verb) has nothing done that would be worthy of the death penalty. “Therefore, having punished Him, I will let Him go” (verse 16). Pilate wants to punish Christ in order to give some satisfaction to the malice of His enemies. This punishment is not the one that the Evangelist Mark is talking about (Mark 15:15); Mark mentions the punishment that was inflicted on Christ after His condemnation to death. Pilate, obviously, had already begun to surrender, to yield to the enemies of Christ. According to Merckx’s research (1905, p. 488), this punishment itself was very severe, namely, scourging (the Greek word used here is equivalent to the Hebrew verb “radah,” which in the Talmud means a very cruel punishment, sometimes ending in death). “And he needed...” (verse 17 et seq.). (See Matthew 27:15 et seq.; Mark 15:6–15). Luke 23:26. And when they led Him away, they seized a certain Simon of Cyrene who was coming from the field, and laid a cross on him to carry after Jesus. Luke 23:27. And a great multitude of people and women followed Him, weeping and lamenting for Him. Luke 23:28. Jesus turned to them and said: Daughters of Jerusalem! do not weep for Me, but weep for yourself and for your children, Luke 23:29. For the days are coming in which they will say: Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that have not given birth, and the breasts that have not nursed! Luke 23:30. then they will begin to say to the mountains: fall on us! and the hills: cover us! Luke 23:31. For if they do this to a green tree, what will happen to a dry tree? Luke 23:32. They also led two villains with Him to death. The procession of Christ to Golgotha ​​is depicted in such detail by one evangelist Luke, only the 26th verse was borrowed by him from Mark (Mark 15:21). Evangelist Luke says that many “women who wept” (ἐκόπτοντο; cf. Luke 8:52) followed Christ and “lamented for Him,” considering Him an innocent victim of the malice of his enemies. The Lord, at the sight of these signs of sympathy, told them (however, Merck believes that in the Hebrew language the expression “daughters of Jerusalem” meant not only women, but all the inhabitants of the capital) that their fate would also be unhappy, even more unfortunate than the fate of Christ (because Christ will be glorified after death, and theirs will only be a painful and inglorious death). In particular, it will be hard for them to look at the torment that their little children will obviously undergo during the destruction of Jerusalem. In those days, those who have no children will be considered happy, and in horror they will turn to the mountains and hills with a prayer that they will quickly fall on them and end their painful existence. Why should the inhabitants of Jerusalem expect such a terrible fate for themselves? The Lord explains this in the words: “for if with a green tree...” (verse 31). According to the usual interpretation (see, for example, Bishop Michael in the Explanatory Gospel), here Christ means Himself by the “green tree”, and by the “dry” - the Jews who will be exterminated by the Romans. But we cannot agree with such an interpretation, firstly, because according to the Evangelist Luke, the Romans are not at all the perpetrators of the death of the Savior (only the Jews are guilty of it, who, one might say, forced Pilate to pronounce judgment on Christ), and secondly, if we assume that the Evangelist presents the Romans as the “unrighteous” judge who condemned Christ, then this cannot serve as a basis for hoping that this The “unrighteous” judge who condemned the Righteous One will also treat the enemies of This Righteous One – the wicked Jews... It is better, therefore, to accept the interpretation proposed by Merckx (1905, p. 491). According to him, the Lord is speaking here about the corruption among the ruling classes of the Jewish people, which led to such terrible injustice towards Christ. But the further it goes, the greater this corruption will become. What can ordinary Jews expect from such leaders? What will the children of these women have to experience when these children grow up and become under the rule of such cruel people as the leaders of the Jewish people? “They led two evildoers with Him to death” (verse 32; cf. Mark 15:27). Luke 23:33. And when they came to a place called Lobnoye, they crucified Him and the villains there, one on the right and the other on the left. Luke 23:34. Jesus said: Father! forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing. And they divided His garments by casting lots. Luke 23:35. And the people stood and watched. The leaders also mocked them, saying: He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ, God's chosen one. Luke 23:36. The soldiers also mocked Him, coming up and offering Him vinegar. Luke 23:37. and saying: if You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself. Luke 23:38. And there was an inscription over Him, written in Greek, Roman and Hebrew words: This is the King of the Jews. Luke 23:39. One of the hanged villains slandered Him and said: if You are the Christ, save Yourself and us. Luke 23:40. The other, on the contrary, calmed him down and said: Or are you not afraid of God, when you yourself are condemned to the same thing? Luke 23:41. and we are condemned justly, because we accepted what was worthy of our deeds, but He did nothing bad. Luke 23:42. And he said to Jesus: remember me, Lord, when you come into your kingdom! Luke 23:43. And Jesus said to him, “Truly I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.” The Evangelist Luke tells about the crucifixion of Christ, in essence, in agreement with Mark (Mark 15:22–32), but he also has something special. “Place of execution” (see Matthew 27:33). “He spoke” (verse 34) – apparently while He was being crucified. “Forgive them,” i.e. not to the soldiers, who were only the executioners, but to the high priests and leaders of the Jews, the true culprits of the death of Christ. "They don't know what they're doing." The Lord somewhat mitigates the guilt of His enemies: they, of course, did not know that they were killing the real Messiah (cf. 1 Cor. 2:8). “The rulers also mocked with them” (verse 35; ἐξεμυκτήριζον; cf. Luke 16:14), i.e. While the people looked with curiosity at the crucifixion of Christ, the leaders even mocked Christ. “If He” (in Greek - εί οὗτος) is an expression of ridicule and contempt: “this one.” “God’s chosen one” (cf. Luke 9:35). “And the soldiers cursed...” (verses 36-37). One evangelist Luke notes this, adding that they, among other things, expressed their ridicule by offering vinegar to the crucified Christ. The Evangelist Mark says something similar (Mark 15:36). From the entire nature of the narration of the Evangelist Luke about the death of Christ, one can draw the conclusion that these were not Roman, but Jewish soldiers, in all likelihood, from among those who served at the church. “And there was a writing over Him” (verse 38). And Evangelist Luke obviously understands the placement of this inscription as a mockery of Christ. “One of those who were hanged...” (verse 39). Evangelist Luke here depicts the matter more thoroughly than the first two evangelists, according to whom crucified thieves in general slandered the Lord (Mark 15:32; Matt. 27:44). “If you are the Christ...” More correctly: “Are you not the Messiah? (οὐχὶ σὺ εἶ ὁ Χριστός) Save yourself and us in this case.” “Or do you not fear God” (verse 40), i.e. Do you really have no fear of God - if you are no longer able to repent even at this hour - after all, you are condemned to death as well as the One Whom you mock! The speaker apparently himself repented of the deed that led him to the cross (cf. verse 41). “Remember me, O Lord” (verse 42), i.e. remember me (resurrect me and accept me into Your Messianic Kingdom) when You come to earth in Your royal majesty (cf. Matthew 16:28). The repentant thief obviously heard the Lord’s teaching about His second coming to judgment to establish His glorious Kingdom, and now the impression from what he had heard before was so revived under the influence of the thought of imminent death that he believed in Christ as the Messiah. Of course, the grace of God, which mysteriously disposes the hearts of people to faith in Christ, also helped him. “Today you will be with Me in Paradise” (verse 43). Instead of a distant reward in His future earthly glorious Kingdom, the Lord promises the thief who believed in Him a speedy reward: now both of them, Christ and the thief, will die (sometimes the crucified remained alive for several days), and both will enter heaven together. This paradise (ὁ παράδεισος), as can be deduced from the parable of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:23), was, according to the beliefs of the Jews, in “Sheol” and was the blissful abode of righteous souls until the day of resurrection. It should not be confused with the “heavenly paradise” that the Apostle Paul speaks of (2 Cor. 12:4) and the Apocalypse (Rev. 2:7) 29. But does Christ's response represent a promise to satisfy the thief's request? Some interpreters argue that the robber did not receive what he asked for. But this is not true. The Lord makes it clear to the thief that his request will be fulfilled, since if the soul of the thief goes to heaven, then it means that he is thereby guaranteed participation in the resurrection of the righteous and in the future glorious Messianic Kingdom. Luke 23:44. Now it was about the sixth hour of the day, and darkness fell over all the land until the ninth hour: Luke 23:45. and the sun was darkened, and the curtain of the church was torn in the middle. Luke 23:46. Jesus cried out with a loud voice and said: Father! I commit My spirit into Your hands. And having said this, he gave up the ghost. Luke 23:47. The centurion, seeing what was happening, glorified God and said: Truly this man was a righteous man. Luke 23:48. And all the people who had gathered to see this spectacle, seeing what was happening, returned, beating their chests. Luke 23:49. Yet those who knew Him, and the women who followed Him from Galilee, stood afar off and looked on. Luke 23:50. Then a man named Joseph, a member of the council, a good and truthful man, Luke 23:51. not participating in the council and in their business; from Arimathea, a city of Judea, also awaiting the Kingdom of God, Luke 23:52. came to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus; Luke 23:53. and, taking it off, he wrapped it in a shroud and laid it in a tomb hewn out of the rock, where no one had ever been laid. Luke 23:54. That day was Friday, and Saturday was coming. Luke 23:55. The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee also followed and looked at the tomb and how His body was laid out; Luke 23:56. Having returned, they prepared incense and ointments; and on the Sabbath they remained in peace according to the commandment. The Evangelist Luke speaks about the death and burial of Christ in general agreement with Mark (Mark 15:33–47), however, he sometimes borrows from another source known to him. “And the sun was darkened” (verse 45). According to the Gospel of Luke, the darkness that came around the sixth hour occurred from an eclipse of the sun, which, obviously, was miraculous, since during the full moon - and then there was a full moon - there are usually no solar eclipses (Merckx, 1905, p. 504). “Father! into Your hands I commend My spirit” (verse 46). Only one evangelist, Luke, cites this exclamation of Christ, which is a repetition, in a slightly modified form, of the words of the 30th Psalm (Ps. 30:6). The Lord dies with full consciousness, and Himself betrays His spirit to God, since He completed all the work of redemption entrusted to Him. “Having seen what happened” (verse 47), i.e. hearing the dying exclamation of Christ and hearing His last breath, and not seeing the tearing of the veil (verse 45), which was impossible for him. "Glorified God". He glorified him by his very deed, through his confession (cf. John 9:24). However, the Evangelist Luke puts into the centurion’s mouth only a confession of righteousness, i.e. the innocence of Christ, and not the recognition of Him as the Son of God, even if not in the proper sense of the word (cf. Mark 15:39). “The people” (verse 48), which earlier, being stirred up by the high priests, demanded Christ’s execution (verses 4–5, 13, 18, 21, 23), now show repentance, beat themselves in the chest (cf. Luke 8:52), thereby admitting themselves guilty of the crucifixion of Christ (cf. Luke 18:13). The reason for such a change that happened to the people was that they saw what had happened, i.e. everything that happened at the crucifixion, and in particular the sudden darkening of the sun (verse 45) 30. “Those who knew Him” (verse 49) are the disciples and other followers of Christ who, however, did not follow Him, as well as the women who came after Him from Galilee (cf. Luke 8:2 et seq.). They were afraid to come close to the cross, so as not to incur any suspicion (those crucified were sometimes secretly abducted with the cross by their relatives and friends). “He did not participate in their council or in their work” (verse 51), i.e. disagreeing with the decision of the Sanhedrin and the course of action of the members of the Sanhedrin in relation to Christ. “And the Sabbath came” (verse 54). Saturday began on Friday evening, around six o'clock in the evening, with the setting of the sun. Thus, the burial of Christ took place just before the onset of the Sabbath. “The women also followed” (verse 55), of course, they followed Joseph from Golgotha ​​to the burial place of Christ. “When they returned, they prepared spices and ointments” (verse 56). According to the Gospel of Mark, they acquired aromas later (Mark 16:1). Evangelist Luke here more accurately determines the time of this purchase 31. Some critics (for example, Merckx, 1905, p. 479) try here to find evidence of the idea that Christ did not at all claim the dignity of the Messiah, which was attributed to Him at a later time (ibidem, p. 481). But they do not pay attention to the fact that the Lord does not want to recognize Himself in the answer to Pilate only as a king, and Pilate did not ask about His Messiahship. Moreover, Pilate asks Christ a question about royal dignity, understanding the “kingdom” purely in a political sense, so that, in fact, Christ here does not deny His Royal dignity in a special higher sense, which was confirmed to him by the Angel when announcing His birth (Luke 1:32-33). Keil, together with Schenkel, understand, however, that there is a heavenly paradise here, without finding any basis for the assumption and existence of a temporary paradise in “Sheol.” But in this case, the expression “today you will...” becomes incomprehensible. The pardoned robber could not get into heavenly paradise on the same day... In some ancient Syriac translations, after the word “returned,” they added: “saying: Woe to you, what has happened today because of our sins. For the desolation of Jerusalem is drawing near.” But, probably, these words are taken from the apocryphal Gospel of Peter, where they are given in this form: “woe to our sins, for condemnation and destruction are drawing near to Jerusalem” (Merckx, 1905, p. 505). Thus, the death of Christ followed, according to our account, at about three o'clock in the afternoon, the burial at about six o'clock in the evening, and Joseph's journey to Pilate took place between three and six o'clock. You might be interested in: