23:1-5 Pilate’s first trial
23:1-5 Pilate’s First Declaration of Jesus’ Innocence
The Sanhedrin brings false changes.
You say, “We found this man perverting our people.” Tell us in what this perversion consisted? Christ taught repentance. Where did he forbid giving tribute to Caesar? He said, “Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s.” Where then did he forbid giving tribute to Caesar? Their only purpose was to bring down to death the One who was raising them to life. This was the goal of their strategy, the shameful deeds they planned, of the falsehood they invented, and the bitter words running from their wicked tongues. The law still loudly proclaims to you, “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor”, and “The holy and the just you shall not kill.”
Pilate declares Jesus innocent.
They had no respect whatsoever for the law. Led by an uncontrolled recklessness into whatever pleased only themselves without examination of the case, they invented numerous charges heaping up against Christ accusations that were neither true nor capable of being proved. They were convicted of being even more wicked than an idolater is. Acquitting Jesus of all blame, Pilate not only once but three times openly said, “I find no crime in this man.
23:13-25 Pilate’s second trial and verdict
The prophet Isaiah foretold the cry of the crucifixion.
They brought the holy and just One to Pilate. They spoke violent and unrestrained words against him and poured out falsely invented accusations. They persisted in the ferocity with which they accused him. Pilate then ruled that it should be as they desired, although he had publicly said, “I find no wickedness in this man It says. “They cried out, ‘Away with him, crucify him!” The Lord had rebuked this unmerciful and unlawful cry by the voice of the prophet Isaiah. It is written, “The vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are his pleasant planting: and he looked for justice, but behold, bloodshed; for righteous ness, but behold, a cry!”. In another place, he said of them, “Woe to them, for they have strayed from me! Destruction to them, for they have rebelled against me! I would redeem them, but they speak lies against me.” It is written again, “Their princes shall fall by the sword, because of the rudeness of their tongue.”
23:26-32 the journey to the cross
23:26-27 Participants on the journey
Like Isaac, Jesus carries wood to the place of sacrifice.
When blessed Abraham went up the mountain that God showed him so that he might sacrifice Isaac according to God’s command, he laid the wood on the boy. Isaac was a type of Christ carrying his own cross on his shoulders and going up to the glory of his passion. Christ taught us that his passion was his glory. He said, “Now is the Son of man glorified, and in him God is glorified; if God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and glorify him at once.”
23:28-32 Four warnings by Jesus to the daughters of Jerusalem
The women will wail when Jerusalem is destroyed.
He was going to the place of crucifixion. Weeping women, as well as many others, followed him. The female sex tends to weep often. They have a disposition that is ready to sink at the approach of anything that is sorrowful. “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. For behold, the days are coming when they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bore, and the breasts that never gave suck!” How did this happen? When the war came on the country of the Jews, they all totally perished, small and great. Infants with their mothers and sons with their fathers were destroyed without distinction. He then says, “Then they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us’; and to the hills ‘Cover us.” In extreme miseries, those less severe misfortunes become, so to speak, desirable.
23:33-43 Jesus’ crucifixion
23:33 The Crucifixion
Reckoned with transgressors.
When he hung on the precious cross, two thieves were hung with him. What comes from this? It was truly a mockery as far as the plan of the Jews, but it was also the commemoration of prophecy. It is written, “He was also numbered with the transgressors.” For our sakes. he became a curse. That is, he became accursed. It is written again, “Cursed is every one that hangs on a tree.” His act did away with the curse that was on us. We are blessed with him and because of him. Knowing this, blessed David says, “Blessed are we of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.” Blessings descend to us by his sufferings. He paid our debts in our place. He bore our sins. He was stricken in our place, as it is written. He took our sins in his own body on the tree, because it is true that his bruises heal us. He also was sick because of our sins, and we are delivered from the sicknesses of the soul.
The mystery of Christ’s death.
By becoming like us and bearing our sufferings for our sakes, Christ restores hu man nature to how it was in the beginning. The first man was certainly in the Paradise of delight in the beginning. The absence of suffering and of corruption exalted him. He despised the commandment given to him and fell under a curse, condemnation and the snare of death by eating the fruit of the forbidden tree. By the very same thing, Christ restores him to his original condition. He became the fruit of the tree by enduring the precious cross for our sakes, that he might destroy death, which by means of the tree [of Adam] had invaded the bodies of humankind.
23:40-42 the second thief publicly confesses Jesus
The confession of the penitent thief.
“This man,” he says, “has done nothing that is hateful.” O how beautiful is this confession! How wise the reasoning and how excellent the thoughts! He became the confessor of the Savior’s glory and the accuser of the pride of those who crucified him…
Let us look at his most beautiful confession of faith. He says, “Jesus, remember me when you come in your kingdom. You see him crucified and call him a king. You expect the One who bears scorn and suffering to come in godlike glory. You see him surrounded by a Jewish crowd, the wicked gang of the Pharisees, and Pilate’s band of soldiers. All of these were mocking him, and no one confessed him.
23: 44-49 Jesus’ death and the responses
23:44-46 Jesus’ Death
Creation mourns for its Lord.
When they fastened to the cross the Lord of all, the sun over their heads withdrew and the light at midday was wrapped in darkness, as the divine Amos had foretold. “There was darkness from the sixth hour until the ninth hour.” This was a plain sign to the Jews that the minds of those who crucified him were wrapped in spiritual darkness, for blindness in part has happened to Israel. In his love for God, David even curses them, saying, ‘Let their eyes be darkened, that they may not see.”
Creation itself mourned its Lord. The sun was darkened, and the rocks were split, and the temple put on the mourners’ clothes. Its veil was split from the top to the bottom. This is what God signified to us by the voice of Isaiah, saying.” clothe the heavens with blackness, and make sackcloth their covering.”
Jesus draws the centurion to Himself
When the centurion saw what happened, he glorified God. He said, “Truly this man was righteous.” Please observe that immediately after Christ endured the passion on the cross for us, he began to win many to the knowledge of the truth. It says, “When he saw what happened, the centurion glorified God saying, “Truly this man was righteous. Certain Jews also beat their chests, because their consciences doubtlessly pricked them. Their mind’s eye looked up to the Lord. Perhaps they tried to clear themselves of their impious conduct against Christ by shouting against those who crucified him, although they dared not do this openly because of their rulers’ impiety. Our Lord spoke the truth, saying, “When I have been lifted up from the earth, I will draw men to myself”.
23:50-56 Jesus’ burial
23:54-56 The preparations of the women
The women come to anoint his body.
Wise women followed our common Savior Christ, gathering whatever was both useful and necessary for faith in him. When he gave his flesh as a ransom for the life of us all, they wisely committed themselves to care for his body. They supposed that the corpse would continue to remain in the grave.
Source
Oden, T.C. & Just Jr., A. (2003). Luke (The Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, New Testament part III). Illinois (U.S.A): InterVarsity Press. Pages 352-373.