And the whole multitude of them arose, and led him unto Pilate.[5]
"The whole multitude of them" (Greek: ἅπαν τὸ πλῆθος, hapan to plēthos) may also be translated as "the whole assembly",[6] or "the whole Council".[7] Luke uses τὸ πλῆθος (rather than το ὄχλος, to ochlos) to signify a multitude in number.[8] They led Jesus to Pontius Pilate, the provincial governor (prefect) of Judaea.
Irish archbishop John McEvilly notes that Luke provides more specific details of the charges against Jesus than either MattheworMark, who refer to "many charges" brought against him.[9] There are three specific charges:
We found this man subverting our nation, opposing payment of taxes to Caesar, and saying that He Himself is the Messiah, a King.[10]
McEvilly refers to a fourth charge mentioned in Pilate's letter to Tiberius, "that He practised magic, in virtue of which, He performed some miraculous wonders".[9] For F. W. Farrar, the first charge, translated in the King James Versionasperverting the nation,[11] "had the advantage of being perfectly vague".[8]
But they were the more fierce, saying, “He stirs up the people, teaching throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee to this place.”[13]
Traditionally, "throughout all Judea" has been rendered as "throughout all Jewry".[14] Farrar suggests that these words imply a "Judean ministry" which the synoptic gospels do not narrate,[8] as the only journey of Jesus in Judea which is recorded is that from Jericho to Jerusalem, and William Robertson Nicoll also suggests that there might have been "more work done by Jesus in the south than is recorded in the Synoptists", although he counsels against basing any picture of Jesus' ministry on the inadequate testimony of his accusers.[15] On the other hand, Judea has "sometimes been the name of the whole land, including apparently parts beyond the Jordan", see Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, XII, 4.11,[16] which term would therefore include the area of Perea east of the Jordan River. Matthew, Mark and John all refer to Jesus' stay in Perea, and Lucan scholars generally assume that the route Jesus followed from Galilee to Jerusalem passed through this region.[17] The reference to Jesus' ministry "beginning from Galilee" relates back to Luke 4:14, where Jesus begins to teach in the synagogues there.
Responsibility for the interrogation of Jesus is transferred from Pilate to Herod Antipas. This section is unique to Luke's Gospel.[15] The editors of the Jerusalem Bible suggest that Luke may have obtained this information from Manaen, who according to Acts 13:1, "had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch".[18]
[Pilate] said to them, "You have brought this Man to me, as one who misleads the people. And indeed, having examined Him in your presence, I have found no fault in this Man concerning those things of which you accuse Him."[19]
Luke's version of the trial scene "emphasizes Pilate's reluctance to act against Jesus".[20]
Then he said to them the third time, "Why, what evil has He done? I have found no reason for death in Him. I will therefore chastise Him and let Him go."[21]
This "third time" of declaring Jesus' innocence follows the previous declarations in verses 4 and 14-15.[20]
So Pilate gave sentence that it should be as they requested.[22]
This verse reads ο δε πιλατος επεκρινεν γενεσθαι το αιτημα αυτων in the Textus Receptus, matching the opening words of Mark 15:15, ο δε πιλατος ("so Pilate ..."), but the sentence begins καὶ Πιλᾶτος ... ("and Pilate ...") in critical texts such as Westcott-Hort.[23] Pilate's "official decision" [24] was to comply with the request of the crowd. The word ἐπέκρινεν (epekrinen, "pronounced sentence") is specific to Luke,[25] although it also appears in the apocryphal2 Maccabees 4:47, where innocent men are condemned to death.[26][8]
And there followed him a great company of people, and of women, which also bewailed and lamented him.[27]
Matthew's parallel passage, Matthew 27:34, notes that Jesus was offered wine mixed with gall to drink. Luke does not include this, a reference to Proverbs 31:6-7, Give strong drink to him that is perishing ..., but his reference to women in attendance may include their role in fulfilling this observance.[8]Lutheran writer Johann Bengel suggests that the "bewailing" denotes their gestures and the "lamenting" reflects their vocal tones.[28]
Verse 29
[edit]The Latin text of Luke 23:47-24:1 on Codex Bezae (Cambridge University Library MS. Nn.2.41;~ AD 400).
Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bore and the breasts which never gave suck.[29]
The prophet Hosea spoke in similar language, when recognising that the disobedience of the Israelites required God's punishment, but calling for some mitigation:
And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, “Father, ‘into Your hands I commit My spirit.’ ” Having said this, He breathed His last.[33]
Jesus' crying "with a loud voice" is not, as in Mark 15:34, one of desolation (why have you forsaken me?), but of "secure confidence". Jesus quotes Psalm 31:5, rather than Psalm 22:1 which appears in Mark's gospel.[20]
And the whole crowd who came together to that sight, seeing what had been done, beat their breasts and returned.[34]
Nicoll understands the phrase "the things that had happened" (Greek: τὰ γενόμενα, tà genómena) "comprehensively, including the crucifixion and all its accompaniments".[15]Albert Barnes refers to "the earthquake, the darkness, and the sufferings of Jesus" as the "things which were done".[35] The earthquake is only recorded in Matthew's Gospel, but the third century historian Sextus Julius Africanus also refers to an earthquake on or around the day of the crucifixion.[36]
