LUKE 22:39-23:56

 

      K. Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane. V. 39-46

V. 39

1. "He came out, and went, as he was wont, to the Mount of Olives" = since Luke does not record what was spoken on their journey, he simply said "he came out" refers to exiting the upper room where they had gathered for the Passover feast; "as he was wont" means as it was His custom--Jesus and His apostles for the last five nights went to Bethany which was on the mount of Olives to spend the night; but this night He stopped in Gethsemane which was on the side of the Mount of Olives across Cedron and in view of the city of Jerusalem--the Eastern gate.

2. "And his disciples also followed him" = refers to 11 of the apostles whom John recorded that Jesus gave instructions as they traveled the short distance from the upper room to the beginning of the accent of the mount of Olives.

 

V. 40

1. "And when he was at the place" = Luke does not give the name of this place but Mat. 26:36 calls it Gethsemane while John 18:1 refers to it as a garden--really more like an orchard of olive trees; this was an enclosed piece of ground; "Gethsemane" = means the place of the olive press, where the olives which abounded on the slope of the mountain were brought in order that the oil contained in them might be pressed out; how fitting a place for Jesus to be at this time as He faced our sins and is pressed out of measure.

2. It seems Jesus left eight of the apostles just inside the garden and carried Peter, James, and John a little farther in the garden. (Mat. 26:36-37)

3. Then, "He said unto them" = Mat. 26:38 tells more than Luke recorded.

4. Luke records that Jesus said, "Pray that ye enter not into temptation" = "pray" refers to the outpouring of one's heart to God; "enter not" means do not yield to "temptation"  = in context this refers to solicitation to sin; an enticement to sin whether arising from the desires of one's flesh or outward circumstances.

 

V. 41

1. "And he was withdrawn from them about a stone's cast" = "them" refers to Peter, James, and John whom we have referred to as His inner circle; Jesus did not show favoritism to these three apostles but these three seemed to have drawn closer to our Lord than the others.

2. These three had witnessed our Lord's power when He raised Jarius' daughter from the dead (Luke 8:51), and His glory on the mount of Transfiguration. (Mark 9:2) Now they were allowed to be witnesses of His bitter agony, so that they might learn themselves and be able to teach others, that the way to glory is suffering.

3. Mark 14:33 states that Jesus "began to be sore amazed" = to throw into amazement or terror, to alarm thoroughly, to terrify, to be struck with terror; and "to be in distress; from a word in the Greek which means to be uncomfortable, as one not at home; it speaks of an experience of which one is not familiar, in which one does not feel at home or at rest, and which distresses him.

4. So He "kneeled down, and prayed" = Mark 14:35 states He "fell on the ground" = the Greek construction reveals two things:

A. The fact that the three apostles saw Him falling upon the ground.

B. The fact that He did it repeatedly, showing the desperateness of the struggle in which our Lord was engaged at the time--this does not contradict this verse in Luke where he said, He "kneeled down"--when in desperation it is hard for one to remain in one position very long.

5. "And prayed" = prayer to God the Father; the tense reveals the praying was continuous--"kept on praying."

 

V. 42

1. "Saying, Father" = a translation of the Greek word for father; Mark 14:36 states He prayed "Abba Father" = "Abba" is an Aramaic word for father; a word denoting a son's affection and tenderness; papa.

2. "If thou be willing" = Mark 14:35 says "If it were possible, the hour might pass from him" = means if it be consistent with justice, and with maintaining the government of the universe, that men should be saved without this extremity of sorrow, let it be done.

3. The fact that these sufferings were not removed, and that the Saviour went forward and bore the cup of our sin without reducing the suffering, shows that it was not consistent with the justice of God and with the welfare of the universe that men should be saved without the awful sufferings of such an atonement.

4. "Remove this cup from me" = refers to that lot or portion that is appointed to us by God. (Rom. 6:23a)

5. "Nevertheless" = but; notwithstanding; shows a contrast between what Jesus said and what the will of God the Father was--"not my will, but thine" = refers to desire and purpose; immediately after our Lord offered His conditional prayer He submits to the will of the Father; there are two things in the cup that caused our Lord to naturally draw back:

A. One was that He was charged by the High Court of Heaven with the guilt of all human sin, while He had known no sin. (I Peter 2:22-23)

B. The other was the agony of being deprived of the fellowship of the Father, which had never been broken before, during all eternity past.  Shrinking away from these two things, dreading them with all His heart, yet counting the awful cost, our Lord said, "Not my will, but thine."

6. Luke only records Jesus praying this prayer one time (even though he used a continuous action verb) but the synoptic gospels of Matthew and Mark records He prayed three times.

A. Mark 14:37-38 as well as Mat. 26:40-41 records He came back to the three apostles and found them asleep after He prayed the first time.

B. He went and prayed the same basic thing the second time and returned and again found the three apostles asleep. (Mark 14:39-40; Mat. 26:42-43)

C. He went and prayed the third time the same basic thing and returned to the three apostles who seemed to be asleep again for He said, "Sleep on now." (Mat. 26:44-45; Mark 14:41) Jesus had told them to "watch" when He left them the first time. (Mark 14:34)  "Watch" means to abstain from sleep and be vigilant (watchful; attentive) or guard against danger; be alert to approaching dangers--and yet He found them asleep three times.

D. Then He said, "He that betrayeth me is at hand." (Mark 14:42; Mat. 26:46)

 

V. 43

1. Verses 43-44 occurred while He was praying the third time.

2. "And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven" = the man, Christ Jesus, was suffering; His human nature was in agony and it is the manner of God to sustain the afflicted by the intervention of others; the angel was God's messenger.

3. "Strengthening him" = Jesus as a man needed strengthened to survive; the devil was making an all out attempt to put Jesus to death before the cross; after Jesus was tempted by the devil Mat. 4:11 states that, "angels came and ministered unto him."

 

V. 44

1. "And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly" = pain so extreme as to cause writhing or contortions of the body; the strength received from the ministry of the angelic being helped Jesus agonize (to writhe with extreme pain) in prayer even more earnestly than before.

2. "And his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground" = some believe this to be literal drops of blood, but the language suggests that the sweat was a clammy mass instead of ordinary sweat; modern medicine claims that under extreme anxiety one's capillaries can burst causing one's sweat to become reddish in color and clammy; it is interesting to note that Luke, a physician, is the only one who mentions this aspect of Jesus' agony in the garden.

 

V. 45

1. "And when he rose up from prayer" = refers to the third time Jesus had prayed.

2. "And was come to his disciples, he found them sleeping for sorrow" = means due to the greatness of sorrow they were exhausted so they fell asleep each time He went to pray.

 

V. 46

1. "And said unto them, Why sleep ye? rise" = wake up and stand up; they were lying on the ground and half asleep due to just being woke up.

2. "And pray, lest ye enter into temptation" = "pray" refers to the outpouring of one's heart to God; "lest ye enter" means do not yield to "temptation" = in context this refers to solicitation to sin; an enticement to sin arising from the desires of one's flesh or outward circumstances.

3. Mark 14:42 states, "Let us go; lo, he that betrayeth me is at hand" means to draw or come near--approaching.

 

      L. Betrayal and arrest of Jesus. V. 47-54

V. 47

1. "And while he yet spake" = just as Jesus got the words out of His mouth (verse 46) Judas came.

2. "Behold a multitude, and he that was called Judas, one of the twelve" = this was a hastily gathered group, members of the Sanhedrin, personal servants of the High Priest, and the captains of the temple forces (these are Jews not Romans) who were the ones who would oversee and do all the "dirty work" of taking Jesus in hand.

3. And Judas "went before them, and drew near unto Jesus to kiss him" = this kiss was a signal according to the agreement Judas had with the council; Mark 14:44 calls it a "token" = a signal; "kiss" is the customary mode of saluting a Rabbi or a common salutation of friends when meeting after an absence; Psa. 41:9 prophesied that a friend would betray Jesus; the word for "kiss" in the Greek construction, especially in Mat. 26:49 and Mark 14:45, refers to repeated kissing (done by the sides of the face); in the dark and under such mob conditions, the betrayer would want to point out clearly to his companions his victim.

4. "Son of man" = Jesus, the Messiah; God, the Son manifest in human flesh identifying Himself in incarnation (God robed in flesh) with mankind.

 

V. 48

1. "But Jesus said unto him, Judas, betrayest thou the Son of man with a kiss?" = "betrayest" means to deliver up one to custody, to be judged, condemned, punished, scourged, tormented, and put to death.

2. This question Jesus asked let Judas know that He was aware of what Judas was doing.

3. A kiss was a sign of affection. And by that slight artful kiss Judas thought to conceal his base purpose.  But Jesus, with this question, severely reproves Judas for it.  Every word is emphatic.  "Betrayest thou" means doest thou violate all thy obligations of fidelity, and deliver thy Master to death?  "Betrayest thou" = thou, so long with Him, so much favored, so sure that this is the Messiah? "Betrayest thou the Son of man"--the Messiah, the hope of the nations, the desire of all the people, the world's Redeemer? Betrayest thou the Son of man with a kiss--the sign of friendship and affection employed in a base and wicked purpose, intending to add deceit and disguise of a mark of affection to the crime of treason? Every word of this must have gone to the very soul of Judas!  It is no wonder that Judas did what he did in Mat. 27:3-5--this was only about seven hours after Jesus had asked him the question of this verse--Mat. 27:1-2 verifies this even though Luke did not record this incident.

4. Perhaps few reproofs of crime more resemble the awful searching of the soul of the wicked in the day of judgment.

5. John 18:2-9 gives an incident that may have occurred just before Judas kissed Jesus.  None of the synoptic gospels record this. Let us look at what is recorded in these verses.

A. "I am he" (verse 5) = "he" is in italics which means that word is supplied by the translators to give the verse a smooth English reading.  Thus Jesus said "I AM" = the self-existent one; these words alone were enough to startle a Jew, even a Pharisee, for they knew the Scripture and knew that Jesus was saying He was the One who met Moses at the burning bush and told him to tell the Israelites that "I AM" hath sent him to deliver them. (Exo. 3:13-14)

B. In verse 6 John stated as soon as Jesus said "I AM," the multitude that came to arrest Jesus, "went backward, and fell to the ground;" we do not know why; therefore, we can only speculate:

1) The frank, open, and fearless manner in which Jesus addressed them may have convinced them of His innocence; therefore, they may have been startled at His open and bold profession.

2) Some say it was a display of Divine power, yet there is no proof that there was any miraculous power displayed.

3) Some say it was Jesus' statement "I AM" which is declaring equality with God and that caused them to withdraw.

4) We really do not have a definite answer as to why they fell backward--but they did.

 

V. 49

1. "When they which were about him" = refers to the 11 apostles that were with Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane.

2. "Saw what would follow" = means they had absolute perfect knowledge--knew Jesus was going to be arrested (the officers of the temple were with the group) and the disciples, in their mind were ready to protect Jesus.

3. "They said unto him, Lord, shall we smite with the sword?" = the Lord's previous discussion concerning the sword (verses 36, 38) was fresh on their mind.

 

V. 50

1. "And one of them" = John 18:10 states that this was Simon Peter.

2. "Smote the servant of the high priest" = John 18:10 states his name as "Malchus."

3. "And cut off his right ear" = Peter was not intending a surgical operation on the man's ear, but purposed to split his skull.

 

V. 51

1. "Jesus answered and said, Suffer ye thus far" = the exact meaning of these words has been much debated; they probably were addressed to this company of armed men, and contained a plea for the mistaken zeal of his disciple Peter--excuse this resistance; also they may have been to Peter. "Stop! No more of this!"--in the Roman world, this part of the account would go far to set the political authorities at ease and help the cause of Christ; the kingdom of God does not bring change through violent means.

2. "And he touched his ear, and healed him" = Luke, the physician, is the only one who recorded this incident; Jesus may have healed this man's ear to remove any influence that Jesus was a revolutionary.

 

V. 52

1. "Then Jesus said unto the chief priests, and captains of the temple, and the elders, which were come to him" = these are all Jews assembled to arrest Jesus.

2. "Be ye come out, as against a thief, with swords and staves?" = having just rebuked the disciples for their resistance, Jesus proceeds to rebuke the group who came to arrest Him; He did not protest against the arrest, but against its manner--He was not a thief (a robber who openly plunders), but a religious teacher.

 

V. 53

1. "When I was daily with you in the temple, ye stretched forth no hands against me" = if Jesus was guilty of the crime they accused Him of, they could have rightly taken Him in the temple for He had been there every day for about the last five days--but they were afraid of what the common people would have done to them if they had tried to arrest Him in the temple.

2. "But this is your hour, and the power of darkness" = they had joined forces with Satan and were the instruments of death; Jesus' hour had come and God had placed His Son into their hands and they were unaware of it; Jesus acknowledged the devil's temporary triumph, but anticipated His own victory.

3. At some point Jesus told that group to "let these (11 apostles) go their way" = (John 18:8-9) that the scripture might be fulfilled. (John 17:12)

4. When the dialog between the multitude and Jesus ceased, Mark 14:50 states "they all forsook him, and fled."

5. Then Mark 14:51-52 comes into existence.

A. "Certain young man" = we do not know who this young man was or the exact reason these two verses are inserted here; we can only speculate:

1) May have been Mark and it is inserted for merely personal interest.

2) It may have been the keeper of the garden who was roused from his sleep at the noise made in the garden and he came quickly to check it out.

B. "Having a linen cloth cast about his naked body" = it was common in that day to sleep in linen bed sheets and when awaking he grabbed the bed sheet and wrapped it around (cast about) his unclothed body; we need to remember that in that day one in their undergarments or pajamas was considered to be naked.

 

V. 54

1. "Then they took him" = the Sanhedrin arrested Jesus.

2. "And led him, and brought him to the high priest's house" = John records that Jesus was first led to Annas (John 18:12-14); Annas having been the high priest must have had considerable influence in the counsels of the Sanhedrin; he may have been noted as a man of wisdom and no doubt he was an advisor to his son-in-law (Caiaphas, the present high priest) in difficult cases; it is believed that in his house the price of the betrayal was paid to Judas; Jesus was probably detained there until the chief priest and elders were assembled at the high priest's (Caiaphas) house which was probably in the same compound.

3. "And Peter followed afar off" = he stayed at a distance behind the multitude--the reason, he feared for his life; John 18:15-16a tells us that Peter at first arriving there stayed at the door without.

 

      M. Peter denies Jesus. V. 55-62

V. 55

1. "And when they had kindled a fire in the midst of the hall" = the "hall" was the uncovered courtyard of the compound; since Jerusalem is 2,000 feet above sea level and the weather was cold because it was early spring and after midnight, they needed a fire; the fire may have been a charcoal fire in a metal container used for heat and light.

2. "They" = refers to some of the council and they "were set down together, Peter sat down among them" = Luke does not tell how Peter got inside the hall but John 18:15-16 does; John, like the rest of the apostles, had forsook Jesus in the garden, but soon afterward he, along with Peter had taken courage and followed Jesus to the house of the high priest.

 

V. 56

1. First and second "him" = "he" = Peter.

2. Third "him" = refers to Jesus, the Messiah.

3. "A certain maid" = a young female servant; called a damsel that kept the door in John 18:17.

4. "Beheld" = means to have absolute knowledge of the facts--she had no doubt that Peter was one of Jesus' followers--disciples; she had to have seen him on one of the days that Jesus was in the temple.

5. "As he sat by the fire" = the fire not only warmed Peter but lit up his face so that he could be easily identified.

6. "Earnestly looked upon him" = to fix the eyes on; gaze upon; something about Peter caught her attention and she made sure that he was the one she had seen on a previous day possibly in the temple, and then she spoke up, "This man was also with him (Jesus)" = "also" means indeed.

 

V. 57

1. "And he denied him" = Peter denied the fact that he was one of Jesus' disciples.

2. "Saying, Woman, I know him not" = Peter said, "I am not one of Jesus' disciples, in fact, I know him not"--I do not even know this man!

 

V. 58

1. "And after a little while" = some time elapsed between the first and second denial--may have been less than an hour; verse 59 states there was a space of one hour between the second and third denial; the time of the denials was from about 1 AM to 3 AM while Jesus was being interrogated by the Sanhedrin.

2. "Another saw him" = "another" is from the Greek word "heteros" which means another of a different kind--this one was a man of the group while the first accuser was a maid--female; "saw" means to have a positive knowledge of the facts; Mark 14:69 speaks of another maid instead of a man--how can that be reconciled?--John 18:25 records that the group (with probably more than one speaking up) asked Peter a direct question.

3. "And said, Thou art also (indeed) of them" = this accuser had no doubt that Peter was one of Jesus' disciples.

4. "And Peter said, Man, I am not" = Peter addressed the man who may have been more dominant than the maid; his denial is emphatic, "I am not."

 

V. 59

1. "And about the space of one hour after" = refers to about the space of one hour between the second and third denial.

2. "Another" = is from a Greek word "allos" which means another of the same kind; Luke records that both the second and third accusations were made by males.

3. "Confidently affirmed" = to affirm stoutly; insisted; he would not back down from his accusation.

4. "Saying, Of a truth this fellow (Peter) also was with him (Jesus); for he is a Galilean" = Mat. 26:73 states, "Thy speech bewrayeth thee" = this means he had a Galilean accent; the Galilean speech was distinguished by their pronunciation or tone of the speech from those in Jerusalem.

 

V. 60

1. "And Peter said, Man, I know not what thou sayest" = this is the third time Peter denied knowing Jesus; Mat. 26:74 states, "Then began he to curse and to swear, saying, I know not the man" = "curse" means to declare a vow under penalty; "swear" means to take an oath; (Mat. 26:72 also says Peter denied with an oath the second time he denied Jesus); the English words "curse" and "swear" today usually are understood to mean that the person is using profanity, but the Greek text here shows that Peter was not guilty of that.

2. "And immediately" = instantly, "while he yet spake" = while he was still speaking--he did not get the last words out of his mouth and "the cock crew" = this is about 3 AM; Mark 14:68 states, "And he went out into the porch; and the cock crew" = this may have been the second rooster crowing fulfilling what Jesus had said earlier that night (Mark 14:30); "porch" is the vestibule to the court which put Peter in direct eye sight with Jesus.

 

V. 61

1. "And the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter" = Jesus, as God, knows all things, therefore, He knew what Peter had just done; so He turned and made eye to eye contact with Peter and looked intently at Peter, not saying a word.

2. "He remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said unto him, "Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice" = Mark 14:30; Mark 14:72 says when the second rooster crowed Peter "called to mind"--remembered and "thought thereon" = to put one's mind upon a thing.

 

V. 62

1. "And Peter went out" = he left the court yard where Jesus was being interrogated.

2. "And wept bitterly" = bust into tears after he went out; word implies long and continued weeping.

3. Jesus' look was more than Peter could stand.  This reminds me of Psa. 32:8 and what my dad did to me at times.

4. Peter's denial was during the trial of the Sanhedrin while they were hearing the false witnesses. (Mat. 26:59-60; Mark 14:55-56)

      N. Jesus is mocked. V. 63-65

V. 63

1. Luke does not record the false witnesses brought before the council. Mark 14:57-61 gives a good discourse of this:

A. V. 57-59: "certain" = Mat. 26:60 says two; they misquoted a statement made by Jesus in John 2:19, probably due to a misunderstanding of His words; He referred to the temple of His body, not the temple in Jerusalem; Mat. 26:61 records the quote different from Mark which may account for Mark 14:59--Matthew may have quoted one witness while Mark quotes the other; the law required two witnesses. (Deut. 17:6)

B. V. 60: This verse shows the action of an irritated, baffled man as he arose from his seat and advanced into the semi-circle of the council toward Jesus. By attacking Jesus with violent questions, he was trying to make up by bluffing, the lack of evidence. "Answerest thou nothing?" = Jesus had not spoken up in defense of, not only these last two witnesses, but all the rest that had witnessed as well; silence was the most dignified  treatment of such accusations anyway.

C. V. 61: "Held his peace" = to be calm and silent; John 18:19-21 gives another question and Jesus' answer which may have occurred at this point; now the high priest ask Jesus a pointed question, which He could not remain silent about or He would have withheld truth and therefore broke the law (Lev. 5:1); in asking this question, Mat. 26:63 records that the high priest put Jesus under a solemn oath to force Him to incriminate Himself, a thing unlawful in the Jewish system of law; "Christ" = anointed one; refers to the Messiah; "blessed" = when used as an adjective it describes one who is worthy to be praised or well-spoken of; here it is used as a name for God; Mat. 26:63 records it as "God."

D. V. 62: "I am" = Jehovah; the one who met Moses in the mount (Exo. 3:14); Jesus refers to Psa. 110:1 and Daniel 7:13 which were considered as a claim to Messiah-ship by the Jews since these verses were looked upon as Messianic; Jesus words were also a solemn warning that His position and that of His judges would one day be reversed; John 18:22-23 reveals the reaction of one of the soldiers towards Jesus after this statement.

E. V. 63: "Rent" = to tear asunder; Greek construction implies violent dramatic action; "clothes" = tunics; people of rank wore two tunics; the tunic was open under the chin, and large enough to receive the head, so that it could be easily placed over the shoulders by inserting the head; when the wearer wished to give this sign of indignation or grief, he would seize the garment at this opening with both hands, and violently tear it asunder down to the waist; it was unlawful for the high priest to do this for private grief (example: Aaron; Lev. 10:6), but when acting as a judge, he was required by custom to express in this way his horror of any blasphemy uttered in his presence; "what need we any further witnesses?" = the relief of the embarrassed judge is manifest; no more witnesses were needed because the prisoner had incriminated Himself.

F: V. 64: "Blasphemy" = reproachful speech injurious of the divine majesty; "what think ye?" = "What is your view?"; "What appears to you to be appropriate penalty of such blasphemous speech?"; "condemned" = to judge worthy of punishment;  "guilty" = liable to a penalty which in this case was death; not one proposed to test the claim of Jesus before voicing their opinion. (Mat. 26:66)

2. "And the men that held Jesus" = the same ones who had arrested Him and brought Him to the High Priest's house. (verses 52, 54)

3. "Mocked him" = to deride (to laugh at in contempt); to laugh at; to ridicule, to treat with scorn and contempt.

4. "Smote him" = to beat; smite.

5. Mark 14:65 describes the mocking and smiting:

A. "Spit on him" = to eject saliva from the mouth on another--something disgusting and very disrespectful. (Mat. 26:67)

B. "To cover" = to cover all around; refers to the act of wrapping a covering around our Lord's head so as to blindfold Him; this was for the purpose of asking Him to identify the one who struck Him.

C. "Buffet" = to strike with a fist; could also mean to hit with the round knob on the end of the hilt of a sword.

D. "Smote" = to hit, the idea is that they gave Him continuous blows.

E. No wonder Isaiah prophesied 700 years before our Lord's suffering in Isa. 52:14 that, "His visage was so marred more than any man" = means that His appearance was not like that of a man. (Example: a boxer's face, after a match, looks inhuman and many times you can't even tell who they are.)

 

V. 64

1. "And when they had blindfolded him" = just dealt with this in Mark 14:65--"to cover;" there is a certain irony (mode of speech expressing a sense contrary to that which the speaker intends to convey) in blindfolding of the One who knows the hearts of men, who saw Nathanael under the tree (John 1:48) and who revealed the course of history to John the Revelator.

2. "They struck him on the face" = different word than verse 63 and implies a striking which was leaving a wound.

3. "And asked him, saying, prophesy,  Who is it that smote thee?" = this implies speaking forth an extraordinary knowledge or inspiration as is the gift of prophecy--of course Jesus knew who was striking Him and yet He spoke not a word.

 

V. 65

1. "And many other things blasphemously" = implies a derogatory or insulting lack of respect for God.

2. "Spake they against him" = the sense here is that formal charges were not being pressed due to it being unlawful for the Sanhedrin to hold a trial at night, so Jesus was subjected to a continuous stream of accusations by the temple guard that held Jesus; this went on from 3AM to 6AM.

 

V. 66

1. "And as soon as it was day" = according to Jewish law, the Sanhedrin (council) could not officially convene at night, therefore, they officially assembled about 6:00AM.

2. So "the elders of the people and the chief priest and the scribes came together" = this is intended to summarize various representatives of official Jewry council.

3. "And led him into their council" = Jesus is led before the Jewish assembly called the council or the Sanhedrin--consisted of 70 members plus the high priest allowed by Rome to pass judgment on religious and civil Jewish issues, but they could not inflict capital punishment, thus when this trial was complete they carried Jesus to Pilate, the Roman governor.

 

V. 67

1. The first question Luke recorded, the Sanhedrin asked was, "Art thou the Christ?" = "Christ" is the English word for the Anointed One or the Messiah; if this question is answered in the affirmative it could have been interpreted as a confession of treason.

2. "Tell us. And he said unto them, If I tell you, ye will not believe" = if you, who have seen my life, have heard my words, and seen my works, believe not, to what end is it to say it again now?

 

V. 68

1. "And if I also ask you, ye will not answer me" = Jesus had basically been silent to this point and now He says, "If I ask you a question, you will not answer me."

2. "Nor let me go" = the council was determined to catch Jesus in His words and no matter what Jesus said they were determined to put Him to death; therefore, Jesus said, "Ye will not let me go no matter what I say."

 

V. 69

1. "Hereafter shall the Son of man sit on the right hand of power" = "the Son of Man" was a familiar term to the Jewish leaders; therefore, Jesus obviously identified Himself by using this terminology since no one asked Him about His role as the Son of Man; He spoke in these terms, choosing not to answer in the first person.

2. Jesus did not answer with a simple yes or no.  Instead He replied in a way designed to further reveal His nature and mission to those who might be seriously interested.  His reply was a reference to His coming resurrection and glorification.  He claimed Messiahship by asserting that following in time He would be elevated to the right hand of God.

 

V. 70

1. "They all" = there was a unanimous agreement.

2. "Art thou then the Son of God?" = the law respecting witnesses also made it a violation of an oath to conceal any part of the truth; and though our Lord might have felt that such a question, put in such a manner, was very improper or was unlawful, yet He also knew that to be silent would be construed into a denial of His being the Christ; Mat. 26:63 states the high priest said, "I adjure thee by the living God that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God."

3. "And he said unto them, Ye say that I am" = the way that records this, it is as if Jesus is saying, "Ye say that I am"--not a direct answer; yet Mark 14:62 states that Jesus simply said, "I am" = the self-existent One who met Moses in the mount (Exo. 3:14); this is a positive "I am."

 

V. 71

1. "And they said" = the council who were in agreement.

2. "What need we any further witness?" = they could not get any two witnesses to agree, therefore, when Jesus said, "I am" they knew that He was saying He was equal with God; to claim that title was therefore, in their view, blasphemy--reproachful speech injurious of the Devine majesty.

3. "For we ourselves have heard of his own mouth" = they had determined beforehand in their own minds that Jesus was not the Messiah and now after Jesus' answer they were ready at once to accuse Him of blasphemy--guilty of death.

 

 

CHAPTER 23:

 

      A. Jesus before Pilate. V. 1-5

V. 1

1. To begin this chapter of Luke, I want to try to list the order of events as they occurred during the daytime of Nisan 14th.

A. First, the Sanhedrin held their lawful council in daylight about 6:00 AM (we discussed that in Luke 22:66-71).

B. The Sanhedrin delivers Jesus to Pilate, the Roman governor. Luke 23:1; Mat. 27:2; Mark 15:1

C. The suicide of Judas seems to have occurred here. Mat. 27:3-10; Acts 1:18-20

      D. Jesus is interrogated by Pilate. Luke 23:2-5

      E. Pilate sends Jesus to Herod. Luke 23:6-12

      F. Jesus is again brought before Pilate. Luke 23:13-16

      G. The release of Barabbas. Luke 23:17-19

      H. Pilate stands up for Jesus. Luke 23:20-23

      I. Pilate delivers Jesus to be crucified. Luke 23:24-25.

J. Jesus is scourged and crowned with a crown of thorns. Mat. 27:26-31

K. Jesus is led forth to be crucified, the cross is laid upon Simon. Mat. 27:31-32

      L. Jesus' discourse to the women. Luke 23:27-31

M. Two other malefactors were led with Jesus to be put to death. Luke 23:32

      N. The arrival at Golgotha. Luke 23:33

      O. The offer of the stupefying drink refused. Mat. 27:34

      P. Jesus is crucified between two thieves. Luke 23:33

      Q. The soldiers part His garments. Luke 23:34

      R. Jesus utters His first cry. Luke 23:34

S. The Jews and the Roman soldiers  mock Jesus. Luke 23:35-38

T. The second cry from the cross. John 19:26-27

U. The thieves rail on Jesus, but one repents and believes. Luke 23:39-43

      V. The third saying from the cross. Luke 23:43

      W. The darkness. Luke 23:44

      X. The fourth cry from the cross. Mat. 27:46

      Y. The fifth cry from the cross. John 19:28

      Z. The sixth cry from the cross. John 19:30

      AA. The seventh cry from the cross. Luke 23:46

      BB. Our Lord dismissed His spirit. Luke 23:46

      CC. The centurion saved. Luke 23:47

      DD. Not a bone of Him broken. John 19:31-37

      EE. The entombment. John 19:38-42; Luke 23:50-56

      FF. The tomb sealed. Mat. 27:62-66

2. "And the whole multitude of them arose" = refers to the Sanhedrin made up of scribes, chief priests, and elders; no doubt there were some onlookers who joined this group to "led him unto Pilate" = this time was soon after 6:00 AM, as quick as the Sanhedrin legally declared Jesus was worthy of death.

3. "Pilate" = Pontius Pilate; the governor of Palestine which included Judaea (Mat. 27:2); Pilate was the Roman governor of Palestine from A.D. 26 to 36; his official residence was in Caesarea, but he usually visited Jerusalem during the Passover season in order to keep a watchful eye on the crowds there; it seems probable that he had been forewarned of the arrest of Jesus in order that he might be on hand early in the morning for the trial; it was necessary to deliver Christ over to the Roman power because the power of life and death had been taken from the Jews since they had become under subjection to the Romans. (John 18:28-32)

 

V. 2

1. "They" = the Sanhedrin who had just gathered in council to try Jesus; Mark 15:1 states they "bound" Jesus--He had been bound in the garden and now being bound again implies that He was loosed while being before the Sanhedrin; Mark also stated they "carried him away" = the word in the Greek carries the idea of force even though we know that He went "as a lamb to the slaughter." (Isa. 53.7)

2. The remorse and suicide of Judas may have occurred at this time since the Sanhedrin were gathered together.  (Mat. 27:3-10; Acts 1:18-19)

3. "Began to accuse him" = to charge with a crime, by a legal process; to bring accusations against Jesus; the charges the priests brought were calculated to incriminate the prisoner in a Roman court since violations of the Mosaic law would have carried no weight with Pilate; therefore, these accusations were not brought up before the Sanhedrin.

4. So before Pilate, Jesus was accused on three counts of what might be called a political or national issue:

A. "We found this fellow perverting the nation" = this would be failure to give allegiance to the nation; refers to inciting them to sedition and tumults which was a common thing, for the Galileans were prone to seditions and tumults according to the Jewish historian, Josephus.

B. "And forbidding to give tribute to Caesar" = accused Him of not paying taxes to Caesar, the title of all Roman emperors--Tiberius was the emperor's name at this time; this was a false charge for Jesus paid taxes and encouraged a proper respect for Roman authority. (Luke 20:22-26; Mat.17:24-27)

C. "Saying that he himself is Christ a king" = "Christ" is the English word that corresponds to the Anointed One of the OT or Messiah; Jesus when questioned by the Sanhedrin during the night was confronted with the question "Art thou the Christ?"  (Luke 22:67-69--see notes); but it is not recorded in any of the gospels that the Sanhedrin asked Jesus about being a king; yet no doubt the Scripture of Mat. 2:1-8 was on their mind.

 

V. 3

1. "And Pilate asked him saying, Art thou the King of the Jews?" = Pilate did not seem to be concerned about the first two charges for he probably expected these things among a somewhat rebellious people as the Galileans; all four of the Gospels dealt with this accusation; in one way he was forced to deal with the accusation that He was a king, because if he failed to do so he would have been charged with neglect of duty towards the throne of the Caesars, for if Jesus was a king He would have been in opposition to Caesar.

2. "And he answered him and said, Thou sayest it" = "Thou sayest right;" "Thou sayest the truth;" Jesus is not giving a smart answer but an affirmative answer to Pilate's question.

3. John 18:34-37 gives a fuller interview between Pilate and Jesus at this time:

A. V. 34: "Jesus answered him, Sayest thou this thing of thyself, or did others tell it thee of me?" = did you, Pilate, speak this from your mind or did the Sanhedrin tell you I am the king of the Jews.

B. V. 35: Pilate answered "Am I a Jew?" = a reply revealing indignation and scorn on Pilate's part at the idea that he had personal interest in the question; Pilate was a proud Roman and he despised the Jews and their ways, "Thine own nation and the chief priests have delivered thee unto me" = he admits that it was the accusations of others--from His own countrymen (the Jews) and from the highest authority (chief priests) among the people who "delivered" = to give over into the hands and power of another; "what hast thou done?" = what has there been occasion for this charge?

C. V. 36: Jesus disclaimed any political or civil kingdom--"not of this world" = "not from hence" = not the same nature; not originated for the same purpose, or conducted on the same plan; "my servants" = used to say if Jesus were an earthly king He would have attendants who would fight to keep Him from being delivered to the Jews.

D. V. 37: Then Pilate, a second time, asks Jesus, "Art thou a king then?" expecting an affirmative answer, but Jesus said, "Thou sayest that I am a king" = this was really saying that Pilate was saying Jesus was a king; though not political, He was nevertheless a king; then Jesus said "to this end was I born" and "for this cause came I into the world" = both phrases mean for this purpose--which was to "bear witness to the truth" = to give a first hand detailed account of what one has seen, heard, or experienced--to give evidence; "truth" = what is true in any matter under consideration; the Greek has the definite article "the" thus, this refers to Jesus (John 14:6); "everyone that is of the truth heareth my voice" = refers to those who have been saved; therefore, they are "of the truth" = of the Lord Jesus and are called sheep--this implies that He is the Shepherd and the one who hears His own sheep. (John 10:27)

E. V. 38: Then "Pilate saith unto him, What is truth?" = this question was probably asked in contempt for Jesus did not answer it; had the question been sincere, Jesus would not have hesitated to explain to him the nature of His kingdom as He did to Nicodemus in John 3, who also did not understand truth; then Pilate went outside the judgment hall to speak to the Jews; "again" repetition of an action; he had already gone out to them in John 18:29 and spake to them (John 18:30-32) and then went back into the judgment hall where Jesus was now in the hands of the Romans--thus Pilate's interrogation of Jesus recorded in John 18:35-38. (just dealt with)

 

V. 4

1. "Then said Pilate to the chief priests and to the people" = Pilate had come back out of the judgment hall, where he had interrogated Jesus, to the Jewish crowd outside; by now there were more Jews present, than just the Sanhedrin.

2. And he said, "I find no fault in this man" = Pilate's decision seems straightforward and factually based, considering the charges that had been made before him; he was not speaking about Jesus' sinlessness, but was simply saying that He had committed no crime that demanded legal action.

 

V. 5

1. "They" = refers to the Sanhedrin and the other Jewish crowd that had gathered outside the judgment hall.

2. "More fierce" = one word in the Greek; they were more insistent and vocal at Pilate's reply.

3. "Saying, He stirreth up the people, teaching throughout all Jewry, beginning from Galilee to this place" = they extended the charges by attempting to show that Jesus' influence was widespread rebellion, not just locally--a large scale rebellion might have called into question Pilate's ability to rule effectively.

A. "All Jewry" = refers to all the Jews of Palestine; the Jews of the south living in Judea were separated from the Jews of the north (Galilee) by the strip of land inhabited by the Samaritans.

B. "Galilee" = place where the northern Jews lived; it is said (not in Bible) that this region was a center of constant turbulence and revolt.

      C. "To this place" = refers to Jerusalem.

 

      B. Jesus sent before Herod. V. 6-12

V. 6

1. Luke is the only one of the gospels that records this.

2. "When Pilate heard of Galilee, he asked whether the man were a Galilaean" = Nazareth, where Jesus grew up was in Galilee; the synoptic Gospels make it clear the greater portion of Jesus' ministry was in Galilee.

 

V. 7

1. "As soon as he knew that he belonged unto Herod's jurisdiction over Galilee" = since Galilee was made part of the kingdom of Herod (the one who beheaded John the Baptist); thus, Pilate welcomed an opportunity to send Jesus to another judge; Herod was at Jerusalem for he was a Jew, in name only, yet was obligated to attend the Passover feast, being a Jew.

2. So "he sent him to Herod" = Pilate sent Jesus to Herod.

3. "Who himself also was at Jerusalem at that time" = "also" means Pilate as well as Herod was at Jerusalem at this time--Passover, yet both were there mainly for political reasons.

 

V. 8

1. "And when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceeding glad" = he was thrilled beyond measure at the sight of Jesus--the reason, "for he was desirous to see him of a long season, for he had heard many things of him" = Herod had heard about Jesus and His miracles for some time; he had even been told that Jesus might be John the Baptist risen from the dead, for he had beheaded him. (Luke 9:7-9)

2. "And he hoped to have some miracle done by him" = this gives us a clear understanding for his desire to see Jesus--he wanted to see Jesus perform a miracle; "miracle" is translated from a Greek word that is usually translated "sign" referring to a sign of His authority; Jesus always refused such requests, indicating that the sign of Jonah should be sufficient for them. (Mat. 16:1-4; 12:39-40)

 

V. 9

1. First "he" = second "him" = Herod.

2. First "him" = second "he" = Jesus.

3. "Then he questioned with him in many words" = it seems that Pilate questioned Jesus repeatedly about many things--but Jesus did not answer not even one of his questions because He knew what his wicked motive was--"but he answered him nothing;" Mat. 7:6 applies here.

 

V. 10

1. "And the chief priests and scribes stood and vehemently accused him" = refers to the Jewish authorities who had made their case before Pilate to no avail; they begin now to accuse Jesus before Herod even in a greater degree than at the first.

2. "Vehemently" = this word suggest an emphases on both the forcefulness of the voice and the reason or content of the argument.

 

V. 11

1. "And Herod with his men of war" = refers to a band of soldiers (Roman) or to his bodyguard which he had to attend him constantly in his travels.

2. "Set him at nought" = to make of no account; to despise utterly; treated Jesus with contempt and ridicule.

3. "And mocked him" = to ridicule; to jeer at; deride; make fun of; to treat with scorn and contempt.

4. "And arrayed him in  a gorgeous robe" = the words refer to a white and shining robe which may have been wore by Herod--may have been one of his older robes; do not confuse this with the purple robe Pilate later put on Jesus--the princes of Rome wore purple while the kings wore white shining robes; Josephus, the Jewish historian, says the robe which king Agrippa wore was so bright with silver interwoven in it, that when the sun shone on it, it so dazzled the eyes that it was difficult to look on it; the Jews and Romans therefore decked Him in like manner appropriate to their own region, for the purpose of mockery.

5. "And sent him again to Pilate" = Herod sent Jesus back to Pilate without any verdict on his part; Herod probably wished to avoid any kind of involvement in the execution of One who reminded him of the death of John the Baptist--still fresh on his mind and conscience; it seems that the gorgeous robe was taken off Jesus before He was returned to Pilate for he had on His own attire when He was before Pilate.

 

V. 12

1. "And the same day Pilate and Herod were made friends together" = this may have been due to Pilate's jester of recognizing Herod's rulership relieving any tension of jealousy between the two officials.

2. "For before they were at enmity between themselves" = "enmity" means hostility and hatred which may have existed between the two; it may have been due to Pilate's slaying the Galileans in Jerusalem. (Luke 13:1-2)

 

      C. Jesus again before Pilate. V. 13-16

V. 13

1. After Jesus was returned to Pilate from Herod, it does not appear that he questioned Jesus again for he had already done that.

2. So now he calls the Jewish authorities with the regular Jewish people to gather outside the Roman judgment hall.

 

V. 14

1. Pilate "said unto them, Ye have brought this man unto me, as one that perverteth the people (causing them to turn from allegiance to nation); and, behold I, having examined him before you" = refers to his already questioning Jesus.

2. And he still had the same conclusion as at the first,--"have found no fault in this man touching those things whereof ye accuse him" = their charges against Jesus could not be substantiated--He is not guilty of insurrection; therefore, He is not guilty of death.

 

V. 15

1. "No, nor yet Herod" = Luke did not record what Herod said when he sent Jesus back to Pilate.

2. "I sent you to him" = I sent Him to Herod for you.

3. "And, lo, nothing worthy of death is done unto him" = "unto him" is really "by him;" Pilate had determined that Herod also found "no fault" with Jesus--at least not worthy of death as your charges against Him suggest.

 

V. 16

1. "I will therefore chastise him" = "chastise" means to bring up, to instruct or to train, but may be used in the more physical sense of disciplining by whipping or scourging; Pilate may have thought he could calm the increasingly insistent accusers of Jesus with such a threshing.

2. "And release him" = to let go as a free man with the charges dismissed.

 

      D. The release of Barabbas. V. 17-19

V. 17

1. "Necessity" = this does not imply any legal necessity but suggests that Pilate was obligated to follow the custom of that day or face additional popular agitation of the Jews.

2. "He must release one unto them at the feast" = refers to the Passover feast; John 18:39 calls it "a custom;" Mat. 27:15 uses the word "wont" which means habit; and Luke states it was a necessity; from what this custom arose or by whom it was introduced, it is not known--it was probably adopted to secure favor among the Jews.

 

V. 18

1. "They" = the multitude of the religious crowd; Mat. 27:20 states the religious crowd persuaded the multitude in this decision.

2. It seems that Pilate gave the people a choice--Jesus or Barabbas. (Mat. 27:17)

3. And they cried, "Away with this man" = referring to Jesus; means put Jesus to death.

4. Also saying, "release unto us Barabbas" = called a notable prisoner, (Mat. 27:16) which means one distinguished for great crimes, part of them listed in the next verse.

 

V. 19

1. "Who" = Barabbas who had been cast into prison; "cast" is in the perfect tense which means a past completed action that has present results--he was put in prison and meant to stay there; he was on death row.

2. "For a certain sedition made in the city" = "sedition" means insurrection or revolution; Barabbas tried to over throw the Roman authorities in Jerusalem.

3. "For murder" = man-slaughter; the taking of human life, except that which occurs as the capital punishment of crime (capital punishment should be enforced today); he who hates is well on his way to murder (I John 3:15); a sin against the sixth commandment. (Exo. 20:13; Mat. 19:18)

4. John 18:40 adds "robber." No doubt Barabbas was the most guilty slated to be crucified (the other two just mentioned to be thieves in Mat.27:38) that day.

 

      E. Pilate stands up for Jesus. V. 20-23

V. 20

1. "Therefore" = in view of the fact that Pilate had interrogated Jesus before and found no fault in Him.

2. "Willing to release Jesus, spake again unto them" = in Mark 15:9-10 Pilate calls Jesus "the King of the Jews;" no doubt this title infuriated these Jews.

 

V. 21

1. "But" = shows the contrast; Pilate wanted to release Jesus but the Jewish crowd wanted to release Barabbas.

2. "But they cried, saying, Crucify him, crucify him" = to be nailed to a cross, a most inhuman form of death; the repetition of these words indicates there was a chorus of confused voices all demanding the crucifixion of Christ.

 

V. 22

1. "And he said unto them the third time" = he declared now the third time that he found no fault in Jesus; at some point between Pilate's declarations, his wife had warned him to "have nothing to do with that just man." (Mat. 27:19)

2. "Why, what evil hath he done?" = "evil" means wickedness, corruptness, perverseness, and wrong.

3. "I have found no cause of death in him" = none of your accusations have been found to be true.

4. "I will therefore chastise him, and let him go" = this is the second time Pilate had said this; see notes on verse 16.

 

V. 23

1. "And they were instant (to be urgent--press upon) with loud voices, requiring that he might be crucified" = their minds were made up and they wasted no time in crying out in essence again, "crucify him, crucify him!"

2. "And the voices of them and of the chief priest prevailed" = means to overpower; to be superior in strength.

3. It seems strange that a Roman governor would allow an inferior in authority (the Sanhedrin) to override what he thought, but remember Jesus' time is come and the will of a Sovereign God rules--this is what Jesus came for, to die on Calvary that you and I can have hope.

 

      F. Pilate turns Jesus over to be crucified. V. 24-26

V. 24

1. "And Pilate gave sentence" = he as judge made a decree, a judgment that Jesus was to be crucified that day.

2. "That it should be as they required" = he gave in to the Jews' demands, whatever the lack of evidence, whatever the injustice, whatever the mystery of the man Jesus, Pilate felt it was more important for him to keep the populace under control--we call that appeasement.

 

V. 25

1. "He" = Pilate.

2. "Them" = "they" = "their" = the Jewish multitude.

3. "Him" = "whom" = Barabbas.

4. He released (set free; clean slate) Barabbas who had been in prison for sediton (insurrection) and murder, because that is what the Jewish multitude wanted (desired).

5. "But he delivered Jesus to their will" = one thing Pilate tried to do was to absolve himself of any wrong in the matter. (Mat. 27:24-25)

6. Luke does not tell about the scourging, robing, or crowning of Jesus. (Mark 15:15-20)

7. First, let us look at the scourging of Jesus. (Mark 15:15) This was done by the Romans not the Jews. History says the Romans used a flogging instrument with between 9 and 19 separate braided leather straps with pieces of pottery, glass, and metal woven into the straps.  At the end is a metal ball, like a ball-bearing.  A person accused of treason against the people would get 50 stripes while a person convicted of treason against Caesar would receive a minimum of 100 and a maximum of 200 lashes.  Because Jesus was accused of treason against Caesar, if you count the number of the individual straps in the flogging instrument, He probably received over 1,000 stripes.  His clothes were removed, He was bent over a 38 inch tall pedestal, and His wrists and ankles were bound together with chains.  The Roman soldier in charge over the scourging would take a wooden rod and beat the prisoner on the back in order to break the corpuscles that cause the blood to come to the surface of the body.  The scourging was administered by four gladiators who had distinguished themselves in the arena during the blood games.  Once each one had administered ten swings of the flogging instrument, called the flagrum, they would start over again until the person was dead or until the allowed stripes had been laid on his back.  A court historian scribe for the court of Pilate, by the name of Sirilius was present at Jesus' scourging and he gave a most vivid account of this incident.  He says Jesus received 79 stripes on His back with the wooden rod to break all the blood vessels on His back.  Then the whipping began. At first the pieces of metal and glass would get stuck in His back, and they would have to jerk it out to pull it free, bringing big pieces of flesh with it.  Sirilius reported there were 50 swings administered on Jesus' back, and by the time they were finished, His backbones and rib s and some of His internal organs were exposed.  After that, they turned Him over and gave 50 more lashes to the front of His body.  At this point Jesus was unrecognizable as a man.  His face was gone. (No wonder Isaiah wrote what he did in Isaiah 52:14) Sirilius had seen more than 200 scourgings  and this was by far the most brutal of any he had ever witnessed, that Jesus was marred and beaten far worse than any man he had ever seen.

8. We need to remember that this was just physical suffering and no doubt Jesus suffered even more spiritually when He took our sin upon Himself from 12:00 PM to 3:00 PM and paid our sin debt of an eternity in hell, by a miracle I do not understand nor comprehend. My! What love!

9. Now let us look at the robing and crowning of Jesus as Mark describes it in Mark 15:16-20:

A. V. 16: "Praetorium" = the palace in which the governor of a province resided while in Jerusalem; "the soldiers" = non-Jews serving under Roman orders; they called together their comrades to have some sport; "band" = a tenth part of a Roman legion, which consisted of 400 to 600 men according to the size of the legion.

B. V. 17: Mat. 27:28 says, "they stripped him" = they removed all of His clothing causing Him to suffer the shame of nakedness; "purple" = a royal color; the ancients gave the name purple to any color that had a mixture of red in it, therefore Mat. 27:28 refers to "a scarlet robe," = probably the cloak of one of the soldiers, one which had been worn and cast off as useless; "platted" = weave together, like a wreath of grapevines; "thorns" = long and sharp often creating a festering wound; the pain arising from the pressure of these sharp thorns must have been excruciating and caused excessive bleeding; Mat. 27:29 states, "they put a reed in his right hand."

C. V. 18: "Salute" = to greet; Mat. 27:29 says, "they mocked him saying, Hail, King of the Jews!" all of this was done as an object of ridicule and scorn in bitter mockery of His claim to be a king.

D. V. 19: "Smote" = to thump with a stick, in this case the reed which had been given Him as a scepter; this was not done just to injure Him by the force of the blow, but to drive the thorns into His head and add cruelty to the insult; the tense of "smote" and "spit" reveals this to be a continuous action not a one time occurrence, they did it again and again; "worshipped" = homage (anything to show the reverence to a superior one) shown to men of superior rank; means to fall upon the knees (indicated in this verse) and touch the ground with the forehead; they did this in mockery; John 19:4-15 gives the actions of Pilate and the Jews at this point.

E. V. 20: The soldiers changed His clothes and delivered Him to the Jews so that they might crucify Him. (John 19:16)

 

V. 26

1. "And they led him away" = the multitude of Jews and Romans together--both hated Jesus; John 19:17 says, "And he bearing his cross;" all four of the gospels speak of a superscription (an inscription)--John 19:19 calls it a title that Pilate put on the cross; the custom of crucifixion was that the charge against anyone crucified was to be placed on the cross; when you put all four of the gospels together the inscription seems to be "This is Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews" and it was written in Hebrew, and Greek, and Latin. (John 19:20)

2. John 19:21-22 gives the reaction of the Jews to the title Pilate wrote.

3. "They laid hold upon one Simon, a Cyrenian, coming out of the country and on him they laid the cross, that he might bear it after Jesus" = why was this done? Mark 15:21 states they compelled him--to force into service.

4. "Simon a Cyrenian" = native of Cyrene, a city of Libya, a country on the northern shore of Africa; he may have become a resident of Jerusalem or may have been coming to attend the Passover; at any rate, as he was passing by he was forced to bear Jesus' cross.

5. Matthew mentions this incident as well as Mark who also mentioned the names of his sons. (Mark 15:21) We do not know why except for the fact they may have been well known disciples of Jesus.

6. The reason for another bearing the cross of Jesus may have been due to Him showing signs of weakness as man.  After all He was strengthened by an angel in the garden a few hours earlier.  Gethsemane, betrayal, the ordeal of the past sleepless night, scourging, and the crowning with thorns caused the flesh to be very weak.  Tradition says the cross was fifteen feet long with the cross member being eight feet; therefore, the cross was heavy.  We were told by some in Jerusalem in 1974 that Jesus fell three times under the weight of the cross--I do not know whether that is true or not.  But for some reason they compelled Simon to bear it the final part of the journey to Calvary.

 

      G. The crucifixion. V. 27-38

V. 27

1. Luke is the only gospel writer who penned down this episode of verses 27-31.

2. "And there followed him a great company of people" = Jesus always had a large gathering of people following Him, even now in this seemingly tragic situation.

3. "And of the women" = these were the ones who "bewailed and lamented him" = "bewailed" means to beat one's chest for grief; "lamented" means to mourn, to grieve, to weep or wail, and to express sorrow; these women loved the Lord and were saddened at what was going on.

 

V. 28

1. "But Jesus turning unto them" = the women specifically calling them "daughters of Jerusalem" = some of these women were from Galilee but Jerusalem was the place God chose to put His name, the place where the temple was, the center of religious activity; these were Jewish women; therefore, they looked to Jerusalem, so Jesus spoke to them with the same compassion He had expressed to Jerusalem just six days before. (Luke 19:41; Mat. 23:37)

2. "Weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children." = the force of Jesus' words was not really against their weeping for Him, but toward their own human predicament and their inability to understand the larger problems they faced of which He tells them in the next three verses.

3. In His own death, He was concerned for the women that followed Him.

 

V. 29

1. "Behold" = used to call special attention to what He is about to say.

2. "The days are coming" = the Lord had prophesied that in AD 70 that Rome would destroy Jerusalem; also there could be an even farther future event during the time of Great tribulation when the Jews will have to flee Jerusalem.

3. "In the which they shall say, Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bare, and the paps which never gave suck" = Jesus turned the women's attention away from His situation to the coming misfortune that would befall the people of Jerusalem--the misfortune of Jerusalem in AD 70 brought great distress to the Jewish people; for the mothers of that day, it would be better that they never had children so that the children would not have to suffer, and their mothers would not have to mourn.

 

V. 30

1. "Then" = refers to the coming days of sorrow mentioned in verse 28-29.

2. "They" = may refer to the daughters of Jerusalem, but it could also refer to all people who would be caught in the coming distress.

3. "They begin to say to the mountains, Fall on us; and to the hills, Cover us" = this is a plea for natural destruction as preferable to the terror and destruction at the hands of one's enemies; this is what the ones left behind at the rapture said when the signs of His coming appeared in the heavens. (Rev. 6:12-17)

 

V. 31

1. "For if they do these things in a green tree, what shall be done in the dry?" = Jesus is quoting a current proverb--a fire burns much more easily in dry wood than in green or wet wood.

2. Applied, it means the sufferings of the Saviour, as compared with the sufferings of the guilty, were like the burning of a green tree as compared with the burning of one that is dry.  A green tree is not adapted to burn, but a dry one is.  So the Saviour--innocent, pure, and holy--stood in relation to suffering.  He had the consciousness of innocence, and He would not suffer forever.  He had no passions to be enkindled that would rage and ruin His soul.  The sinner is adapted to sufferings, like a dry tree to a fire.  If they would do this to Jesus what will they do sinners?

 

V. 32

1. "There were also two other, ..., led with him to be put to death" = Jesus was not alone as He traveled the cobblestone streets through Jerusalem to the Damascus gate of the city to Golgotha--there were two more bearing their crosses to their death that day.

2. "Malefactors" = this word does not refer to Jesus but just the two traveling the path with Jesus to Golgotha; Mat. 27:44 calls these two, thieves, and uses a Greek word meaning a robber; a lawless person who lives by plunder (to take goods by an open force); or who belongs to a band of robbers.

 

V. 33

1. "And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary" = Mark 15:22 states, "the place, Golgotha" = means the place of the skull; refers to a hill shaped like a skull outside the Damascus gate of the city--Calvary to us; the Catholic so-called church has a place inside the walls of Jerusalem that they call Calvary and show tourist today. (Heb. 13:11-12)

2. Mark 15:23 states, "They gave him to drink wine, (vinegar, Mat. 27:34) mingled with myrrh" = "they gave him" = the Greek construction reveals, "they tried to give, they offered, but "he received it not;" "myrrh" = Mat. 27:34 has "gall"--this was a kind of stupefying drink which was usually offered to condemned malefactors through the charity of the women of Jerusalem (tradition says this), the intention being to deaden the sense of pain; Jesus tasted but refused this drink because He was to bear the full burden of the world's sin even this physical pain--in fact God lifted His pain barrier, so He never passed out due to pain but suffered the full blow of pain in our place.

3. "There they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left" = Mark 15:25 states the time as "the third hour" = John 19:14 mentions it was about the sixth hour when he turned Jesus over to be crucified; this is Roman time in John--almost 9:00 AM; in Mark Jewish time is used--9:00AM.

4. It seems that all four of the gospel writers stated the fact they crucified Jesus and the thieves without dwelling on the painful circumstances connected with the act of nailing Jesus to the cross; they just passed on to mention other things.

5. I want to mention this copied description of the cross:

       "To crucify means to put to death on a cross.  The usual manner of the crucifixion was as follows: After the criminal had carried the cross, attended with every possible taunt and insult, to the place of execution, a hole was dug in the earth to receive the foot of the cross.  The cross was laid on the ground; the person condemned to suffer was stripped and was extended on it, and the soldiers fastened the hands and feet either by nails or thongs.  After they had driven the nails deeply in the wood, they elevated the cross with the agonizing sufferer on it, and, in order to fix it more firmly in the earth, they let it fall violently into the hole which they had dug to receive it.  This sudden fall gave to the person that was nailed to it a violent and convulsive shock, and greatly increased his sufferings.  The crucified person was then suffered to hang, commonly, till pain, exhaustion, thirst, and hunger ended his life.  Sometimes the sufferings continued for days; and when finely death terminated the life, the body was often suffered to remain a loathsome object, putrefying in the sun or devoured by birds.

      This punishment was deemed the most disgraceful that was practiced among the Romans.  It was the way in which slaves, robbers, and the most notorious and abandoned wretches were commonly put to death.  It was this, among other things, that exposed those who preached the gospel to so much shame and contempt among the Greeks and Romans.  They despised everything that was connected with the death of one who had been put to death as a slave and an outlaw.

      Not only was it the most disgraceful punishment known, it was the most painful.  The following circumstances made it a death of peculiar pain:  1) The position of the arms and the body was unnatural, the arms being extended back and almost immovable.  The least motion gave violent pain in the hands and feet, and in the back, which was lacerated with stripes.  2) The nails, being driven through the parts of the hands and feet which abound with nerves, created the most exquisite anguish.  3) The exposure of so many wounds to the air brought on a violent inflammation, which greatly increased the painfulness of the suffering.  4) The free circulation of the blood was prevented.  More blood was carried out in the arteries than could be returned by the veins.  The consequence was, that there was a great increase of blood in the veins of the head, producing an intense pressure and violent pain.  The same was true of other parts of the body.  This intense pressure in the blood-vessels was the source of inexpressible misery.  5) The pain gradually increased.  There was no relaxation and no rest.  There was no prospect but death.  The sufferer was commonly able to endure it till the third, and sometimes even to the seventh day.  The intense sufferings of the Saviour, however, were sooner terminated.  This was caused, perhaps, in some measure, by His previous fatigue and exhaustion, but still more by the intense sufferings of His soul in bearing our griefs and carrying our sorrows, in making an atonement for the sins of the world."

 

V. 34

1. I want to take the last part of this verse first: "And they parted his raiment" = it was customary to crucify a person naked--He suffered the shame of every man; the clothes of the one crucified belonged to those who were executioners; John 19:23-24 reveals the action of the four soldiers in charge of Jesus execution; their action fulfilled the prophecy of Psa. 22:18.

2. They "cast lots" = refers to something like throwing dice to see who would obtain the seamless coat (tunic); it is to be understood that they divided the rest of Jesus' attire among themselves, but the seamless coat they cast lots for; this action I believe was done as soon as Jesus' cross had been placed in the ground.

3. And while that may have been going on Jesus said, "Father forgive them; for they know not what they do" = this is the first recorded saying of Jesus while on the cross.

4. "Father" = for Jesus to call God, Father, represented the ultimate blasphemy so far as the Jews were concerned.

5. "Forgive" = for Jesus to express forgiveness from the cross represents the ultimate love of God (John 3:16); this forgiveness was directed toward all mankind who will come God's way, not just these four soldiers dividing His garments or to the Jews who had said, "crucify him;" we are just as guilty of nailing Jesus to the cross as these four soldiers.

 

V. 35

1. "And the people stood beholding" = the people were spectators--they viewed the crucifixion attentively.

2. "And the rulers also with them derided him" = the Jewish rulers not only viewed what was happening but derided Him = "derided" means to laugh at in contempt; to make sport of; to treat with scorn by laughter; this is demonstrated by what they said:

3. "Saying, He saved others; let him save himself, if he be Christ, the chosen of God" = the fact that they charged Him with saving others but being incapable of saving Himself suggests they were aware of His teaching pertaining to salvation but they were laughing at Him not suggesting He actually was a saviour of any kind--He seemed to them like anything but a saviour.

 

V. 36

1. "The soldiers" = refers to the  Roman soldiers.

2. "Also mocked him" = to play with; to trifle with; to mimic in derision--the act of laughing at in contempt; Luke alone records this mocking by the Roman soldiers; they knew very little of the Messiah and probably cared less; one way they did this was:

3. "Coming to him, and offering him vinegar" = this was the second time Jesus was offered a stupefying drink; the first time was when he came to Golgotha (Mat. 27:33-34); there is a third time about 3:00 PM when Jesus said, "I thirst," He was offered vinegar. (John 19:28-29)

 

V. 37

1. This verse gives us what the Roman soldiers said when they mocked Him.

2. "If thou be the king of the Jews, save thyself" = this is the only accusation the Roman soldiers were interested in--Jesus' claim pertaining to kingship; so the soldiers mocked Him in this regard--suggesting that if Jesus were a king He would save or deliver Himself.

 

V. 38

1. "Superscription" = an inscription; title (John 19:19); said to be written upon a white tablet placed upon the top of the cross after being carried before Jesus as He went to the place of execution; John 19:19 states that "Pilate wrote a title and put it on the cross;" this was probably done when the cross was first set up on Calvary; Mark 15:26 called the superscription an "accusation" which means the cause for which one is worthy of punishment--Jesus was accused of claiming to be the king of the Jews.

2. "Written over him in letters of Greek, and Latin, and Hebrew" = thus the title could be read by the great multitude present at the Passover feast.

3. "THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS" = all four of the gospels mention the inscription in part (here; Mat. 27:37; Mark 15:26; John 19:19; when put together the total inscription seems to be, "This is Jesus of Nazareth; the King of the Jews."

4. John 19:20-22 gives the reaction of the Jews to the title Pilate wrote.

 

      H. The repentant thief. V. 39-43

V. 39

1. Mark 15:27-28 states that two thieves were crucified with Jesus; one on his right hand, and the other on His left--this was to fulfill the OT scripture (Isa. 53:12); "transgressors" = violators of the law; lawless; wicked; to be crucified between two men of such character showed great contempt for our Lord.

2. Luke stated, "And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him" = Mat. 27:44 and Mark 15:32 states that both thieves (malefactors) reviled Jesus--"railed" synonymous with revile and means to speak reproachfully of, to blaspheme; Luke records only one spoke against Him.

3. At this same time between 9:00 AM and 12:00 PM Mark 15:29-32 as well as Mat. 27:39-44 records the reaction of the people around the cross and the thieves were just joining in; Luke does not record this action of the people here.

4. During this time John records the second saying of the cross. (John 19:25-27:)

 

John 19:25

1. "Now" = and; John is continuing his description of some who were close to the cross; he knew what happened there that day for he was close to the cross; John is the only gospel writer who mentions this incident.

2. "Stood by the cross of Jesus" = these women were near the cross; this is a vivid contrast to the rude gambling (casting lots) of the soldiers.

3. "Jesus" = "his" = the virgin born Son of God.

4. It seems there were four women mentioned here as Matthew and Mark mention three.  John is the only one who mentions Jesus' mother.

A. "His mother" = John did not mention her name possibly to avoid confusion with the other women named Mary.

B. "His mother's sister" = her name could have been Salome (Mark 15:40) the mother of Zebedee's children (Mat. 27:55-56) who was John's mother; if this is the case, this would make John, Jesus' cousin.

C. "Mary the wife of Cleophas" = the mother of James the less and Joses. (Mat. 27:55-56)

D. Mary Magdalene" = a woman from Magadala, a city on the west coast of the Sea of Galilee; she had seven demons cast out of her. (Mark. 16:9)

 

John 19:26

1. "Jesus" = "his" = "he" = the virgin born Son of God.

2. "Therefore" = these things being so.

3. "Saw" = to know; more than just seeing with the eyes; to have absolute positive knowledge of the facts.

4. "His mother" = Mary--the one who gave birth to the Son of God.

5. "The disciple" = refers to one of Jesus followers--John who is the human instrument the Lord used to pen down this Scripture.

6. "Standing by" = present near the cross.

7. "Whom he loved" = this could be said of any of the Lord's disciples because He loved them all equally; this was John's favorite designation of himself in his gospel. (John 13:23)

8. "Woman" = "thy" = this is not a disrespectful address but an honorable title.

9. "Behold" = an exclamation; means to look; perhaps a glance at John indicated to Mary whom Jesus meant.

10. "Behold thy son" = this along with what Jesus spoke in verse 27 reveal what I believe to be the second saying of Jesus (recorded) while on the cross.

11. These words indicates that Jesus is commending His mother to the care of John the apostle.

 

John 19:27

1. "Then" = after that; gives the sequence of events.

2. "He" = Jesus, the virgin born Son of God now on the cross.

3. "The disciple" = "thy" = "that disciple" = "his" = John the apostle.

4. "Behold thy mother" = this indicates that Jesus wanted John to take care of His mother the same as he would his own mother.

6. John understood what Jesus wanted him to do for he acted immediately = "from that hour" = John may have taken her away from the cross to spare her more suffering than she already had; Luke 2:34-35 prophecies she would suffer.

7. "Took her unto his own home" = indicates the privileges and security John's home provided; she was supported and protected by John for the rest of her life; tradition says that she continued to live with him in Judea until the time of her death, which occurred about 15 years after the death of Christ.

 

Back to V. 39 of Luke 23

5. "Saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us" = same thing the religious crowd looking on said in Mark 15:30-32; they were looking for a sign that they might see and believe, yet there had been many signs (miracles) performed by Jesus; also, Jesus had dealt with them before about signs in Mat. 12:39-40.

 

V. 40

1. "But the other" = the thief on the other side of Jesus--I know not which side of Jesus they were on; need to remember that both thieves were blaspheming Jesus but something clicked in him--from somewhere in his upbringing came fuel for fire and he began to rebuke the other thief for what he was saying; light came, reproval came, repentance came, and faith came.

2. He "rebuked him" = to censure severely, to admonish or charge sharply--the other thief.

3. "Saying, Doest not thou fear God" = do you not fear the thought of having to face God, we are dying and it will not be long till we face God. (Heb. 9:27)

4. "Seeing thou art in the same condemnation?" = word for judgment; you are facing the same judgment as I am.

 

V. 41

1. "And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds" = we deserve what we are getting, we are guilty of transgressing the law and we are reaping what we sowed--a just reward, a just punishment.

2. "But" = reveals contrast between the thieves and Jesus.

3. "This man hath done nothing amiss" = referring to the man between the two thieves--Jesus, who has done nothing wrong; in fact He was and is the sinless Son of God on the cross in my place--for me; Oh! What love!

 

V. 42

1. "And he" = the thief who had just spoke up for Jesus.

2. "Said unto Jesus" = He was crying out for mercy.

3. "Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom" = this request is totally different from the other thief's request.

A. "Lord" = means boss, Master; owner; a title of honor expressive of respect and reverence (Rom. 10:13; I Cor. 12:3); this is not just saying a name but a yielding to Jesus' "Lordship."

B. "Remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom" = no doubt the thief's conception of the Kingdom was just as clouded as that of any Jew who sought a restoration of the Davidic Kingdom, but he certainly knew something of the Messiah and messianic expectation as it was related to the Kingdom.

4. He said Jesus is dying and he believed in Him.  Many saw and heard Jesus when He was alive and well and did not believe.

 

V. 43

1. "And Jesus said unto him" = this is the third recorded saying of Jesus while on the cross--in answer to the thief's request in verse 42.

2. "Verily" = truly.

3. "I" = ""me" = Jesus, the Messiah.

4. "Thee" = "thou" = the thief with a request from Jesus--remember me.

5. "To day shalt thou be with me in paradise" = what and where is the paradise of God:

A. "What" = the resting place for the soul and spirit of departed saints.

B. "Where" = in OT time it was in the heart of the earth, also referred to as Abraham's bosom, where Jesus went three days and nights with the thief He saved on the cross (Mat. 12:40); Acts 2:27 "soul" = the immortal part of man; the real individual; "hell" is Hades (Greek) and Sheol (Hebrew); the unseen world; the region of departed spirits of the lost but included the blessed dead before the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, at which time He led "captivity captive" (Eph. 4:8-10), thus moving paradise from hades into the third heaven. (II Cor. 12:2-4); this verse (Acts 2:27) is a quotation from Psa. 16:10--see notes on Psa. 16:10.

 

Psa. 16:10

1. Here the Psalmist takes a giant leap into the unknown, into that which can only be known by Divine revelation.  David speaks of two truths which hast to await NT revelation to be properly grasped.  One is the truth of the resurrection.

2. "Thou" = "thine" = refers to God the Father.

3. "My" = David; applies to the Lord Jesus Christ also called the "Holy One" in this verse; this verse is definitely Messianic.

4. "Leave" = to forsake; to depart; to loose; negated by "not."

5. "Soul" = the real individual; refers to that part of man's nature which was not mortal or decaying; that which properly constituted his life; that which is distinct from the body; the part of man that will live forever somewhere.  (Gen. 2:7)

6. "Hell" = Sheol; equivalent to Hades, the Greek word also tranlated "hell" in Acts 2:27.

A. At times "hell" = means the never ending place of pain and torment reserved for unrepentant sinners.

B. But here and in Acts 2:27 it is the translation of Sheol and Hades.  Sheol and Hades basically mean the unseen world; the region of departed spirits of the lost but included the blessed dead before the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, at which time He led "captivity captive" (Eph. 4:8-10) thus moving paradise from Hades into the third heaven. (II Cor. 12:2-4)

C. Sheol is sometimes translated "grave" because it is the world of the dead and natural man cannot see beyond the grave.

D. Jesus paid our hell, while on the cross from 12:00 PM to 3:00 PM, by a miracle of God I cannot fully explain nor completely understand.  But He paid our hell while on the cross and when He died His body was buried in an empty tomb and His soul and Spirit went to Sheol, the Paradise compartment, as He told the thief on the cross. (Luke 23:43)  Paradise is equivalent to Abraham's bosom where Lazarus went and the rich man saw while being in torment. (Luke 16:22-24)

7. "Suffer" = to give; allow; negated by "neither;" the idea is that the Father would not give Him over to corruption.

8. "Holy One" = Messianic prophecy concerning the Lord Jesus Christ; it is applied to Christ as being holy, or as being one whom God regarded as particularly His own.

9. "To see" = to experience; to be acquainted with; to behold; to consider.

10. "Corruption" = decay; the idea is that He would not turn back to dust in the grave, or that the change would not occur to Him in the grave which does to those who lie long in the tomb.

11. When Jesus died for our sin, not His for He had none, His soul went down into hades (Paradise) so that He could proclaim in those dark regions the mighty triumph of the cross.  His body lay for three days and three nights in a borrowed tomb, but corruption and decay could not touch Him.

12. David with the eye of faith was able to see the resurrection of the Lord and knew he too would be resurrected.  What hope!  He may have read what Job said in the oldest book in the Bible. (Job 19:25-26)

 

      I. Total darkness. V. 44-45

V. 44

1. "Sixth hour" = noon, Jewish time.

2. "And there was a darkness over all the earth" = this was a supernatural darkness over the land from 12:00 PM to 3:00 PM ("until the ninth hour"--Jewish time) as the sun withdrew its rays.

 

V. 45

1. "And the sun was darkened" = this is when Jesus bore our sin by taking our place and paying our sin debt in the burning compartment of Hades by a miracle of God that I do not understand nor can I explain; many have preached that God turned His back upon His Son, thus the reason for darkness; but the Bible declares different in Isaiah 53:11, "He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied."

2. Luke does not record some of the things that occur at this time:

A. Mat. 27:46 records Jesus' fourth cry from the cross. Note: Jesus cried out to God, not Father, because He was suffering our hell--He  took my place; this cry is about 3:00 PM;

B. Mark 15:34-37 says basically the same things Matthew does but more and Luke leaves it out; see notes on Mark 15:34-37.

 

Mark15:34

1. "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?" = Aramaic language used in Mark while Mat. 27:46 uses a mixture of the Hebrew and Syriac language, thus the reason for the difference; means "My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?"

2. "Forsaken" = to let one down; to desert; abandon; leave one helpless; the idea is that of deserting someone in a set of circumstances that are against him.

3. This expression is a fulfillment of Psa. 22:1 and is one denoting intense suffering, because Jesus took our sin upon Himself and by a miracle of God that I do not fully understand nor can I explain, Jesus paid an eternity of suffering in hell for man's sins during this three hour period of time.

4. John 19:28 records the fifth cry of "I thirst" = the same thirst that the rich man suffered in hell. (Luke 16:24)

5. Jesus never ceased being the Son of God because God provided Himself a sacrifice. (Gen. 22:8; John 3:16)

6. We are not able to enter into the fulness of the desolation felt by Jesus at the moment the Father regarded Him as sin. (II Cor. 5:21)

 

Mark 15:35

1. When some heard the cry, they thought Jesus called for Elias (Elijah) who was regarded by the Jews as a deliverer in a time of trouble.

2. They may have thought that Elijah was coming to help Jesus and fulfill the prophecy of Mal. 4:5.

 

Mark15:36

1. This action was due to the cry, "I thirst."  This is the third time the stupefying drink was offered

2. "Vinegar" = a mixture of sour wine or vinegar with water which the Roman soldiers were accustomed to drink and had brought some along for their refreshment.

3. The one giving Jesus the vinegar was a friendly person touched by compassion whose motive was to offer our Lord the liquid in an effort to prolong His life, so that Elijah would have an opportunity to work an effectual deliverance by taking Him down from the cross.  Therefore the phrase "Let alone" = "wait a moment" and "let us see whether Elias will come to take him down."

4. John 19:30 records the sixth cry, "It is finished," the tense of which reveals a past completed action with existing results--good as done.

 

Mark 15:37

1. This cry is the seventh cry on the cross and is recorded in Luke 23:46.

2. "Gave up the ghost" = to breathe one's last; to breathe out one's life; to expire; Jesus died on an old rugged cross.

 

Back to verse 45 of Luke 23.

3. "And the veil was rent in the midst" = Mark 15:38 states "from the top to the bottom" = done by God in such a way man could not say that man did it; see notes on Mark 15:38.

 

Mark 15:38

1. "Rent" = to split or sever; tear.

2. "Temple" = word for the inner sanctuary, consisting of the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies.

3. This veil or curtain which separated these two rooms from one another was torn by the unseen hand of God, to show that the way into the earthly Holy of Holies was no more.

4. Mat. 27:51-53 records that there was an earthquake at this time which also opened graves from which came resurrected saints after Jesus' resurrection.

 

      J. Jesus dismissed His spirit. V. 46

V. 46

1. "And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice" = this refers to the sixth saying "It is finished" which Luke did not record; the earthquake and the veil rent probably occurred as Jesus spoke the sixth saying.

2. "He said" = this is the seventh recorded saying from the cross.

2. "Father" = refers to God the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ; Jesus is now back in relationship with His Father after paying sins' debt on Calvary.

3. "Into thy hands I commend my spirit" = "commend" means to intrust, commit to one's charge; even in His death He was still in charge for He dismissed His own spirit.

4. "And having said thus, he gave up the ghost" = to breathe one's last breath; to breathe out one's life; to expire; Jesus died on an old rugged cross.

 

     K. The reaction of the people around the cross. V. 47-49

V. 47

1. "Centurion" = a Gentile; a commander of a hundred men in the Roman province, and garrisons were kept there to preserve the people in subjection; his job was to watch (Mat. 27:54) all that took place and to see that the sentence was carried out.

2. "Saw what was done" = Mat. 27:54 states he saw the earthquake; we do not know all this means for he saw Jesus die by dismissing His own spirit; he heard and saw the results of all the seven sayings on the cross.

3. "He glorified God" = to praise, extol, magnify, and celebrate--honor; Mat. 27:54 states they (centurion and they that were with him) "feared greatly" = to reverence and respect God in a great degree.

4. "Certainly" = truly--most certainly. (Mark 15:39)

5. "This was a righteous man" = means innocent, faultless, guiltless, upright; Mark 15:39 states they said, "Truly this man was the Son of God;" the question is, "Did he get saved?"  The devils recognize Jesus as the Son of God and they are not saved. (Mat. 8:29)  By his actions he could have committed more to the Lord than lip service and been saved.  Traditional history says that this centurion was Longinus who was influenced by the miracles, which accompanied the death of Christ, could have acknowledged Him to be the Son of God--a righteous man, and to be a herald of His resurrection, and was ultimately himself put to death for the sake of Christ in Cappadocia.  Whether this is true, I know not.  I will leave that in the hands of the Lord.

 

V. 48

1. "And all the people that came together to that sight" = refers to the common Jews who had come to Jerusalem for the Passover.

2. "Beholding the things which were done" = they viewed attentively and mentally all that was done that day--from 6:00 AM to 3:00 PM.

3. "Smote their breast" = sign of a mourner expressing sorrow and grief.

4. "And returned" = went to their house (those who lived in Jerusalem) or to the inn where they were staying while in Jerusalem at the Passover feast.

 

V. 49

1. "All his acquaintance" = refers to His disciples, "and the women that followed him from Galilee" = refers to a number of women, not named here, but some are named in Mark 15:40-41; these had been faithful to Jesus and Luke records their devotion by indicating that they too, as well as the men, had followed Him from Galilee.

2. "Stood afar off" = these were not as expressive as those who railed against Jesus; the reason for withdrawing from the crowd may have been because of uncertainty or fear.

3. "Beholding these things" = means to see or look in more than ordinary fashion; they watched both Jesus and the public reaction to Him; the Greek indicates that this was intended to refer to the women--while they were perplexed by the whole turn of events, they were attempting to understand what was happening to Jesus.

4. John 19:31-37 records what happened next:

 

John 19:31

1. "The Jews" = belonging to the Jewish nation; refers mainly to the Sanhedrin.

2. "Therefore" = in view of the fact that the day Jesus was crucified was the day of preparation of the passover.

3. "Because" = since.

4. "It was the preparation" = the day on which the Jews made necessary preparation to celebrate a feast--passover; on this day all leaven was to be disposed of and all ceremonial cleansing was to be finished.

5. First "that" = introduces the reason for the Jews' action.

6. "The bodies" = refers to Jesus and the two thieves.

7. "Should not remain upon the cross on the sabbath day" = the Jewish law required that the bodies of those who were hung should not remain suspended during the night (Deut. 21:22-23); the next day being a Sabbath day made it doubly important to the Jews for the bodies to be off the cross; Deut. 21:22-23 was written when the punishment by crucifixion was unknown and when those who were suspended were near death.

8. "Sabbath day" = normally this was the seventh day of each week (Saturday) on which the Israelites were required to abstain from all work (Exo. 20:8-10) and was a day of rest; but this is a special Sabbath for John inserts "(for that sabbath day was an high day)" = several feast days had a day of holy convocation, a day set apart as a special day--an "high day" = a great day; these special days were also called Sabbaths at times in the Scripture (Lev. 23:24,39); notice these Sabbaths were on a certain day of the month thus the day of the week changed from year to year--they were not always on a Saturday; therefore, we conclude that Jesus died on 14^th day of Nissan, a Wednesday the day before the special sabbath of the feast of unleavened bread set aside as a memorial of the passover in Egypt (Exo. 12:14-16) proof text is Mat. 12:40 which states clearly that Jesus had to be in the heart of the earth three 12 hour days and three 12 hour nights and there is no way one can get that from Friday to Sunday but you can from Wednesday to Sunday.

9. "Besought" = requested.

10. "Pilate" = Roman governor.

11. Third and fourth "that" = introduces what the Jews' requests were to Pilate--two requests:

A. "That their legs might be broken" = the effect of this was to hasten their death; this would make it impossible to push up with their legs to relieve pain on the hands and to allow the lungs to obtain air; if the feet could not press the body upward, death was swift; this was done with a crushing blow of a heavy mallet.

B. "That they might be taken away" = to be taken down from the cross and buried before 6:00 PM that same day for that was when the Sabbath (high) began--at sunset.

12. "Their" = "they" = refers to the two thieves as well as Jesus.

13. John is the only gospel writer who gives these details.

 

John 19:32

1. "Then" = these things being so; gives the sequence of events--after the Jews request, Pilate permitted the legs of those on the cross legs to be broken.

2. "Came" = to come from one place to another--at the command of Pilate.

3. "The soldiers" = the Roman soldiers Pilate had put in charge for ending the lives of those on the cross.

4. "Brake the legs of the first, and of the other" = refers to the two thieves.

5. "Which" = who; the thieves are persons not things, therefore masculine gender not neuter.

6. "Crucified" = to impale on a cross to die a horrible death.

7. "Him" = Jesus, the virgin born Son of God.

 

John 19:33

1. "But" = shows the contrast between the two thieves and Jesus.

2. "When" = as.

3. "They" = the Roman soldiers sent to hasten the death of those on the cross.

4. "Jesus" = "he" = the virgin born Son of God.

5. "Saw" = to perceive with the eyes.

6. "Was dead" = His body was limp due to the departure of His spirit and soul; He had dismissed His own spirit; death is separation of spirit and soul from one's body.

7. "Already" = by this time; this was unusual for many times those crucified lingered in pain and agony for as many as seven days and sometimes longer.

8. "Brake not his legs" = there was no reason to for He had been master of His own death; also scripture was to be fulfilled. (verse 36; Psa. 34:20)

 

 

John 19:34

1. "But" = shows contrast between what the soldiers did instead of braking His legs.

2. "One of the soldiers" = one of those appointed to watch the bodies until they were dead.

3. "With a spear" = a lance of sharp-pointed iron; used by the Roman soldiers as a bayonet in war.

4. "Pierced his side" = indicates a deadly wound; this was done that there might be fullest proof that He was truly dead; the providence of God prevented His legs from being broken but this action was proof that Jesus was dead, if not before, He was now; this furnishes conclusive proof that He was actually dead and that atonement had thus been made for mankind; we are not told which side was pierced nor can it be known for certain, but it seems to be on the left side near the heart; the wound was large enough to admit a hand. (John 20:27)

5. "Forthwith" = immediately.

6. "Came there out" = came forth out of the wound.

7. "Blood and water" = this would be a natural effect of piercing one's side and reaching the heart for the heart is surrounded by a membrane called the pericardium which contains a liquid resembling water which prevents the surface of the heart from becoming dry by its continual motion; thus, when the spear reached the heart the blood rushed forth mingled with the water of the pericardium, proof that Jesus was truly dead--on this depends the doctrine of the atonement and of His resurrection.

8. Others have stated, and so have I, in the past that blood and water mixed was a proof Jesus died of a broken heart.  No doubt Jesus heart was broken because His own people--the Jews--would not come to Him for life. (John 1:11; 5:39-40; Mat. 23:37)  But it seems after more study that this was strictly a natural result of Jesus' side being pierced.

 

John 19:35

1. "He" = "his" = John, the human instrument used to write this gospel; he never uses his name in this gospel when referring to himself.

2. "Saw it" = to see with the eyes; to be an eyewitness of the soldier piercing Jesus' side, therefore, he could give these details with accuracy based on his own personal knowledge of these events; the tense is perfect in the Greek which means a past completed action with existing results; this means John saw it when it happened and now 60 years later he still sees it--the incident was fresh on his mind 60 years later; this verse lets us know that John was there when Jesus died even though he may have carried Jesus' mother to his house (verse 27); if he did he returned to be an eye witness of the events that occurred around 3:00 PM to 4:00 PM on this Passover preparation day.

3. "Bare record" = to bear a witness; to give a first-hand detailed account; the tense is perfect in the Greek which means he was a witness the day it happened and still bears witness 60 years later.

4. Second "record" = what one testifies.

5. First "true" = real; genuine; opposite to what is fictitious or false.

6. "Knoweth" = to have absolute positive knowledge of the fact due to his being an eyewitness; the tense is perfect tense in the Greek which means he still has perfect knowledge of the facts even after 60 years.

7. Second "true" = truth.

8. "That" = introduces the reason that God moved on John to write down in detail the things he has concerning the cross--"ye might believe" which is the reason this gospel is written. (John 20:30-31)

9. "Ye" = whosoever; refers to anyone who reads these words.

10. "Believe" = trust; commit; refers to saving faith.

 

John 19:36

1. "For" = "that" = introduces the reason these things were done.

2. "These things" = refers to the soldiers not breaking Jesus' legs but piercing Him with a spear; this went between His ribs so that no bone would be broken.

3. "Were done" = took place; appeared in history.

4. "Scripture" = OT scripture.

5. "Should be fulfilled" = to make complete in every detail; to bring to pass.

6. "Him" = Jesus, the Messiah; the virgin born Son of God.

7. "A bone of him shall not be broken" = this was true of the Passover Lamb which was a type of the Lord Jesus (Exo. 12:46; Num. 9:12) and it was prophesied of the Messiah in Psa. 34:20; it came to pass just as type and prophecy had indicated; need to note that the soldiers knew not the scripture nor was they trying to fulfill it--the Lord was in control.

 

John 19:37

1. "And again" = shows repetition--referring to another OT Scripture.

2. "Another scripture" = Zech. 12:10; Zech. 13:6 speaks of wounds, not scars.

3. "They" = refers to the Jews in context; applies to all mankind for our sins nailed Jesus to the cross (Rev. 1:7; 6:15-16); the Jews were guilty of piercing Jesus even though the Roman soldier did the actual deed; we also are guilty.

4. "Him" = Jesus, the passover Lamb that came to take away the sins of the world. (John 1:29)

      L. Jesus is buried. V. 50-56

V. 50

1. "Behold" = listen to what I (Luke) am about to say.

2. "There was a man named Joseph" = there were several men in the Bible named Joseph, but this Joseph was identified as being of Arimathaea (verse 51), a town believed to be north-west of Jerusalem, the exact location unknown; he was from Arimathaea but now was a settled inhabitant of Jerusalem, since he had provided himself with a burying place (sepulchre).

3. "A counsellor" = an adviser; one who gives counsel or advice; Mark 15:43 describes him as "an honorable counsellor" = "honorable" means influential, respectable, of good standing; refers to his personal character as being a man of integrity and blameless life; he was said to hold a high office among the Jews, either as one of their great counsel or a Jewish senator--personally I believe he was not a member of the counsel, which is the Sanhedrin because verse 51 states he "had not consented to the counsel and deed of them" speaking of their decision to crucify Jesus which states in Mark 14:64 that "all" "condemned him to be guilty of death;" therefore, he was not part of them.

4. "And he was a good man" = upright; honorable; pure in motive.

5. "And a just" man = righteous before God and man; approved by God as a righteous man, and discharging faithfully his duty to man.

6. Mat. 27:52 called this Joseph, a rich man.

 

V. 51

1. "The same" = Joseph of Arimathaea; he "had not consented with the counsel" = means he did not agree with them to crucify Jesus--he was not one of them. (Mark 14:64)

2. "Who also himself waited for the kingdom of God" = means to expect; to await with confidence or patience; the phrase implies that he believed Jesus to be the Messiah, and that he had waited for Him to establish His kingdom.

3. John 19:38 states Joseph was "a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for the fear of the Jews;" the Greek construction means a past completed action with existing results--which means for a period of time, how long we know not, Joseph had been following the teaching of Jesus but he did not make a public to-do about that "for fear of the Jews" = he did not know what they would do to him and his family if they knew he was a disciple of Jesus--when time came he did not openly deny Jesus but claimed His body.

 

V. 52

1. "This man" = Joseph of Arimathaea.

2. "Went unto Pilate" = Mark 15:42 gives the time of this as "when even was come" = sometime after 3:00 PM; it was already the afternoon of the day before the Sabbath--not an ordinary Sabbath but a high Sabbath as John 19:31 brings out; this Sabbath was the 15th of Nissan set aside as a memorial of the Passover in Egypt, which fell upon a Thursday this particular year--first day of the feast of unleavened bread. (Exo. 12:14-16)

3. "Pilate" = the governor who was responsible for turning Jesus over to be crucified.

4. "And begged the body of Jesus" = "begged" means to ask, call for, desire, require, crave--so translated in Mark 15:43;

note: Joseph went boldly to speak to Pilate--now he is no longer a secret disciple.

5. See notes on Mark 15:44-45:

 

Mark 15:44

1. "Marvelled" = wondered; it was not common for those crucified to die before two or three days and sometimes not before six or seven.

2. Pilate asked the centurion, "Is He actually dead after so short a time?"

 

Mark 15:45

1. The centurion informed Pilate of the fact that Jesus was dead.

2. "Gave the body to Joseph" = granted the corpse; Mat. 27:58 states Pilate "commanded the body to be delivered;" to freely give because he would be rid of this inconvenient and troublesome affair.

 

V. 53

1 "He" = Joseph of Arimathaea; John 19:39-40a gives additional information to what Luke gave:

 

John 19:39

1. "And there came also" = John is the only writer who records that Nicodemus joined Joseph of Arimathaea in burying the body of the Lord Jesus.

2. "Nicodemus" = a ruler and a Pharisee (John 3:1); one who spoke in behalf of the Lord at the gathering of the Council or Sanhedrin. (John 7:50-52)

3. "Which" = who; Nicodemus is a person not a thing; masculine gender not neuter.

4. "At the first came to Jesus by night" = refers to Nicodemus' first encounter with Jesus which was at night due to his fear of being cast out of the Sanhedrin (John 3:1-15); now he comes openly to help bury Jesus' body; this indicates that he had been saved probably while observing Jesus' reaction while on the cross.

5. "Brought" = to bring as he came to help in Jesus' burial.

6. "Mixture" = that which has been produced by mixing.

7. "Myrrh" = a bitter gum and costly perfume which comes from a certain tree or shrub in Arabia and Ethiopia obtained by making incisions in the bark; as an antiseptic it was used for embalming.

8. "Aloes" = derived from the pulp in the leaves of a plant that belongs to the lily family;  used with myrrh, it acts as a drying agent and the fragrance would counteract the odor of decaying flesh.

9. "About" = an estimation, for the exact weight was not known.

10. "Hundred pound weight" = the word for pound here is equal to 12 ounces; we do not know the value of this mixture but it would have been very costly; Nicodemus was a rich man and was willing to give all for his Lord--when he heard the gospel with understanding he brought forth fruit. (Col. 1:6)

11. "Jesus" = the virgin born Son of God.

John 19:40a

1. "Then" = these things being so.

2. "They" = Joseph of Arimathaea and Nicodemus.

3. "Took" = to take up in order to carry away.

4. "Body" = a dead body or corpse.

5. "Jesus" = the virgin born Son of God.

 

Back to verse 53, Luke 23

2. "And he took it (body of Jesus) down" = along with Nicodemus; hours before Nicodemus had agreed with the counsel to crucify Jesus because he was lost at that time. (Mark 14:64; note all of counsel)

3. "Wrapped it in linen" = along with spices, "as the manner of the Jews is to bury" (John 19:40); John said they used linen clothes but it was strips of linen cloth not yet sewn into clothes--fresh and unused pieces of material; Mark 15:46 states Joseph bought the linen, probably on the way back to Golgotha after getting Pilate's permission to take Jesus' body.

4. "And laid it (body of Jesus) in a sepulchre that was hewn in stone" = this was a rock tomb hewn out of the mountain side; John 19:41 stated it was new, which means it was recently carved out of a stone hill and unused because it is further described as "wherein never man before was laid" = "laid" refers to a corpse being placed within; being a rich man, as the custom was of the rich, hewed out this tomb for himself, but he placed Jesus' body in his own tomb thus fulfilling the prophecy of Isa. 53:9--died with criminals but was buried in a rich man's tomb.

5. This tomb was in a garden (a piece of ground set aside to the cultivation of herbs, or plants, fruits, and flowers) joining Calvary where Jesus was crucified. (John 19:41)

6. Mark 15:46 states they "rolled a stone unto the door of the sepulchre" = the "door" was the opening or entrance into the tomb--a hollowed out place big enough to lay two bodies in; the "stone" was like a large wheel (could have been five feet tall) rolled in a trough over the entrance thus closing the tomb.

 

V. 54

1. "And that day was the preparation" = the day on which the Jews made necessary preparation to celebrate a feast--in this case the Passover which was the 14th day of Nissan = Wednesday of that year.

2. "And the sabbath drew on" = this was a high sabbath (John 19:31) not a regular sabbath; this sabbath was the first day of the feast of unleavened bread--a day of holy convocation (Lev. 23:6-8); this is put here to let us know that time was nearing 6:00 PM which was the beginning of the high sabbath; therefore, Joseph and Nicodemus were hurrying to finish this task by that time.

 

V. 55

1. "And the women also, which came with him (Jesus) from Galilee, followed after" = they had gone to Calvary and now observed Joseph and Nicodemus as they entombed the body of Jesus.

2. They "beheld the sepulchre" = "beheld" means to be a spectator of; to look at with interest and purpose; this also refers to "how his body was laid;" Mat. 27:61 records two women sitting by the sepulchre even after Joseph had departed. (Mat. 27:60)

 

V. 56

1. "And they returned and prepared spices and ointments" = this seems to refer to part of the women leaving the tomb while the two mentioned in Mat. 17:61 stayed at the tomb; "prepared" seems to involve their buying the spices and getting everything ready before the high sabbath began; spices of various kinds were used to preserve the body, and were also a tribute of love and of respect of the dead--these women may have thought that Joseph, due to the shortage of time to get the body buried before 6:00 PM, may not have done a thorough job in preparing Jesus' body for burial.

2. "And they rested the sabbath day according to the commandment" = according to the fourth commandment Exo. 20:8-11 and according to the command concerning the feast of unleavened bread in Lev. 23:6-8.

3. Luke does not record Pilate sealing the tomb and setting a guard but Mat. 27:62-66 does:

 

Mat. 27:62: "Now the next day, that followed the day of preparation" = this would have been the high sabbath or the first day of the feast of unleaven bread--Thursday 15th of Nissan; "the chief priests and Pharisees came together unto Pilate" = they were allowed to travel a short distance on a sabbath day--tradition not law; "Pilate" is the Roman governor who turned Jesus over to the will of the crowd to be crucified.

Mat. 27:63: They said, "Sir, we remember that that deceiver (Jesus) said, while he was yet alive"--before He was crucified--"After three days I will rise again" = Mat. 16:21; 17:23; 20:19; it is interesting to note that the chief priests, who were Sadducees, did not believe in the resurrection (Mat. 22:23)

 

Mat. 27:64: "Command" = to order; "therefore" = in view of the fact Jesus said He would rise again; "made sure" = to be made secure; "until the third day" = till the time Jesus said He would rise; "lest his disciples come by night and steal him away, and say to the people, He is risen from the dead" = refers to the Jews thinking that Jesus' disciples would roll the stone away from the tomb, take His body, and tell that He is risen--how the religious crowd learned of Christ's private prediction is not explained (from Judas, perhaps); the disciples, by failing to grasp its meaning, had largely forgotten the predicttion; but these enemies were taking no chance; "so the last error shall be worse than the first" = means the last deception, or taking Him from the tomb, pretending that he rose, will have a wider influence among the people than the first--His pretending to be the Messiah, according to their thinking.

 

Mat. 27:65: "Pilate" = the Roman governor who thought he was in charge, but really the Lord was; "Ye have a watch" = may refer to the group of Roman soldiers who had been assigned to watch over the crucifixion who had not been released from their orders; a watch was a guard, used of Roman soldiers guarding the sepulchre of Christ--it was made up of four to 16 soldiers; "go your way" = spoken to the chief priests and Pharisees = go do what you ask and carry the soldiers to make it official; "make it as sure as you can" = there is a certain irony in these words--irony means a mode of speech expressing a sense contrary to that which the speaker says; I do not know what Pilate thought of Jesus' resurrection but he was saying do the best you can--almost seems he knew they could not do it.

 

Mat. 27:66: "So they went" = the religious crowd with the soldiers; "and made the sepulchre sure, (secure they thought); sealing the stone" = they may have put wax or clay over the crack where the stone lay against the mount and used Pilate's seal of office to make an imprint in the wax--this may have been done with Pilate's ring or signet so that tampering could be detected (Example: Dan. 6:17); "and setting a watch"--at least four Roman soldiers standing guard at a time.

 

       LIST OF BOOKS AVAILABLE

Notes on I & II Thessalonians; Mark-Volume I, II, & III; Acts-Volume I, II, III, & IV; Romans-Volume I, II, III, IV, & V; I, II, & III John & Jude; Colossians-Volume I & II (Includes Philemon); Titus; John-Volume I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, & IX; Philippians-Volume I & II; Proverbs-Volume I & II; Ruth;  I Peter-Volume I & II; Galatians-Volume I & II; Haggai; Psalms-Volume I, II, III,& IV; II Timothy; Revelation-Volume I, II, & III; Genesis-Volume I, II, & III; Jonah-Nahum; Isaiah-Volume I; II Corinthians-Volume I; I Timothy-Volume I & II; II Peter; Ephesians-Volume I, II, & III; James; Luke-Volume I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, & VIII; Compiled by Edgar Lee Paschall (These books are a verse by verse study we use in our Sunday School)

STUDY GUIDE FOR DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH;  SPIRITUAL CRUTCHES; ARTICLES FROM THE PERSUADER VOLUME I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, & VIII; LADDER OF HAPPINESS; DOCTRINE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT; INOCULATED WITH THE GOSPEL (English & Spanish); JUST WHAT IS?  THE INTER-TESTAMENT PERIOD; THE DOCTRINE OF SOTERIOLOGY (SALVATION) VOLUME 1 & 2; By Edgar Lee Paschall

A NEW CREATURE IN CHRIST Testimony of Wilma Collins

FROM RELIGION TO REGENERATION Testimony of D. Timothy Rutherford

SAVED AFTER PREACHING FIFTEEN YEARS Testimony of Charles Shipman

VICTORY IN JESUS Testimony of Wanda Sheppard