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Texts -- Luke 23:23-56 (NET)

Context
23:23 But they were insistent , demanding with loud shouts that he be crucified . And their shouts prevailed . 23:24 So Pilate decided that their demand should be granted . 23:25 He released the man they asked for, who had been thrown in prison for insurrection and murder . But he handed Jesus over to their will .
The Crucifixion
23:26 As they led him away , they seized Simon of Cyrene , who was coming in from the country . They placed the cross on his back and made him carry it behind Jesus . 23:27 A great number of the people followed him , among them women who were mourning and wailing for him . 23:28 But Jesus turned to them and said , “Daughters of Jerusalem , do not weep for me , but weep for yourselves and for your children . 23:29 For this is certain: The days are coming when they will say , ‘Blessed are the barren , the wombs that never bore children , and the breasts that never nursed !’ 23:30 Then they will begin to say to the mountains , ‘Fall on us !’ and to the hills , ‘Cover us !’ 23:31 For if such things are done when the wood is green , what will happen when it is dry ?” 23:32 Two other criminals were also led away to be executed with him . 23:33 So when they came to the place that is called “The Skull ,” they crucified him there , along with the criminals , one on his right and one on his left . 23:34 [But Jesus said , “Father , forgive them , for they don’t know what they are doing .”] Then they threw dice to divide his clothes . 23:35 The people also stood there watching , but the rulers ridiculed him, saying , “He saved others . Let him save himself if he is the Christ of God , his chosen one !” 23:36 The soldiers also mocked him , coming up and offering him sour wine , 23:37 and saying , “If you are the king of the Jews , save yourself !” 23:38 There was also an inscription over him , “This is the king of the Jews .” 23:39 One of the criminals who was hanging there railed at him , saying, “Aren’t you the Christ ? Save yourself and us !” 23:40 But the other rebuked him , saying , “Don’t you fear God , since you are under the same sentence of condemnation ? 23:41 And we rightly so , for we are getting what we deserve for what we did , but this man has done nothing wrong .” 23:42 Then he said , “Jesus , remember me when you come in your kingdom .” 23:43 And Jesus said to him , “I tell you the truth , today you will be with me in paradise .” 23:44 It was now about noon , and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon , 23:45 because the sun’s light failed . The temple curtain was torn in two . 23:46 Then Jesus , calling out with a loud voice , said , “Father , into your hands I commit my spirit !” And after he said this he breathed his last . 23:47 Now when the centurion saw what had happened , he praised God and said , “Certainly this man was innocent !” 23:48 And all the crowds that had assembled for this spectacle , when they saw what had taken place , returned home beating their breasts . 23:49 And all those who knew Jesus stood at a distance , and the women who had followed him from Galilee saw these things .
Jesus’ Burial
23:50 Now there was a man named Joseph who was a member of the council , a good and righteous man . 23:51 (He had not consented to their plan and action .) He was from the Judean town of Arimathea , and was looking forward to the kingdom of God . 23:52 He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus . 23:53 Then he took it down , wrapped it in a linen cloth , and placed it in a tomb cut out of the rock , where no one had yet been buried . 23:54 It was the day of preparation and the Sabbath was beginning . 23:55 The women who had accompanied Jesus from Galilee followed , and they saw the tomb and how his body was laid in it. 23:56 Then they returned and prepared aromatic spices and perfumes . On the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment .

Pericope

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Hymns

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  • Kita, Anak Adam [KJ.156]
  • Saat Sedih [KJ.186]
  • Tercurah Darah Tuhanku [KJ.35] ( There is a Fountain Filled with Blood )
  • Ya Yesus, Tolonglah [KJ.28] ( Lord Jesus, Think on Me / Mnooeo Khriste )
  • Yesus, Kau Kehidupanku [KJ.179]
  • Yesus, Tuhanku, Apakah Dosaku [KJ.167]
  • [Luk 23:32] O Thou From Whom All Goodness Flows
  • [Luk 23:33] All Because Of Calvary
  • [Luk 23:33] At Calvary
  • [Luk 23:33] Blessed Calvary
  • [Luk 23:33] Calvary
  • [Luk 23:33] Come To Calvary’s Holy Mountain
  • [Luk 23:33] I Remember Calvary
  • [Luk 23:33] Lead Me To Calvary
  • [Luk 23:33] Lord Jesus Christ, My Life, My Light
  • [Luk 23:33] My Lord, My Love, Was Crucified
  • [Luk 23:33] On The Cross Of Calvary
  • [Luk 23:33] That Man Of Calvary
  • [Luk 23:33] When I See My Savior
  • [Luk 23:34] Blessed Redeemer (christiansen)
  • [Luk 23:34] Father, Forgive, The Savior Said
  • [Luk 23:34] Forgive Them, O My Father
  • [Luk 23:34] Jesus, In Thy Dying Woes
  • [Luk 23:34] O Word Of Pity, For Our Pardon Pleading
  • [Luk 23:38] On My Heart Imprint Thine Image
  • [Luk 23:42] Jesus, Thou Art The Sinner’s Friend
  • [Luk 23:42] Lord, When Thy Kingdom Comes
  • [Luk 23:43] Dying Robber Raised His Aching Brow, The
  • [Luk 23:43] Father Of Spirits, Whose Divine Control
  • [Luk 23:43] Hand That Was Nailed To The Cross, The
  • [Luk 23:43] It Is Finished! Blessed Jesus
  • [Luk 23:43] Saints Of God! Their Conflict Past, The
  • [Luk 23:45] Behold The Savior Of Mankind
  • [Luk 23:45] Lord, Remove The Veil Away
  • [Luk 23:46] And Now, Beloved Lord, Thy Soul Resigning
  • [Luk 23:46] Into Thy Gracious Hands I Fall
  • [Luk 23:46] Wide Open Are Thy Hands

Questions

Sermon Illustrations

Sharing the Message of the Cross; Sharing the Message of the Cross; Wealthy People in the New Testament; The Romans Road to Heaven; Order of the Events of the Crucifixion; Who Is Jesus Christ?; Resurrection Events; Types in the Bible; Thieves Closely Involved with the Crucifixion; The Roman Army; Script Change; Romans 10:17; 1 Peter 3:18-20; Luke 23:45

Resources/Books

Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • The Jews called their first month Abib (v. 2). After the Babylonian captivity they renamed it Nisan (Neh. 2:1; Esth. 3:7). It corresponds to our March-April. Abib means "ear-month"referring to the month when the grain was in ...
  • The veil and curtains were alike in design and construction. The veil hung to act as a wall separating the holy and most holy places into two rooms.461The Book of Hebrews used the veil in the temple, which replaced this one i...
  • Saul again confessed that he had sinned, as he had done when he had sacrificed at Gilgal (v. 21; cf. 15:24, 30) and when David had spared his life in the cave (24:17). Nevertheless he seems to have failed again to follow thro...
  • The psalmist's confidence that the Lord would protect him was strong.31:3-4 David believed God would free him from his present entangling problems because the Lord had promised to help the righteous in their afflictions.31:5 ...
  • This section introduces judgment into the mood of hope that pervades this section describing Israel's glorious future (65:17-66:24). Oppressors of the godly remnant will not prosper nor will those who depend on externals for ...
  • Invasion and war had already overtaken Jerusalem when Jeremiah wrote this lament, but more destruction was to come (v. 9).15:5 The Lord said that no one would have pity on Jerusalem when she had experienced His judgment (cf. ...
  • 10:3 When the Lord brought destruction, the people would realize that their self-appointed king had failed them and that they did not respect the Lord. They would acknowledge that no human king could help them. Hoshea would b...
  • 5:43 Jesus quoted the Old Testament again (Lev. 19:18), but this time He added a corollary that the rabbis, not Moses, provided. Nowhere does the Old Testament advocate hating one's enemies. However this seemed to many of the...
  • 24:1 The connective "and"(NASB, Gr. kai) ties what follows to Jesus' preceding denunciation of the generation of Jews that rejected Him and the divine judgment that would follow (23:36-39). However the "apocalyptic"or "eschat...
  • Matthew omitted Jesus' hearing before Annas (John 18:12-14, 19-23). Quite possibly Annas lived in one wing of the same building in which the Sanhedrin met.102826:57 Josephus wrote that the building in which the Sanhedrin norm...
  • Matthew's emphasis in his account of Jesus' crucifixion was on the mocking of the onlookers.27:32 Jesus was able to carry the crosspiece of His cross until He passed through the city gate (cf. Mark 15:21 John 19:17). Normally...
  • 27:45 That "land"(Gr. ge) was abnormally dark from noon until 3:00 p.m. Matthew's use of geprobably indicates Israel. Darkness in Scripture often represents judgment and or tragedy (cf. Exod. 10:21-22; Amos 8:9-10). Matthew's...
  • Normally the Romans let the bodies of crucified criminals rot on their crosses without burial. If family members wanted to bury a crucified loved one, they had to apply for permission to do so. The Romans usually granted thes...
  • Jesus' sufferings until now had been anticipatory. Now He began to experience pain resulting from His trials and crucifixion. As the faithful Servant of the Lord who came to do His Father's will, His sufferings continued to i...
  • 15:21 Probably only Mark mentioned Simon's sons because the Christians in Rome knew them or knew of them (cf. Rom. 16:13). Evidently Simon became a believer in Jesus. Mark mentioned very few people by name other than the Twel...
  • Mark's account of Jesus' death included five climactic events: the darkness, two of Jesus' cries, the tearing of the temple veil, and the Roman centurion's confession. All of these events happened during the last three of the...
  • I. Introduction 1:1-4II. The birth and childhood of Jesus 1:5-2:52A. The announcement of John the Baptist's birth 1:5-251. The introduction of John's parents 1:5-72. The angel's announcement to Zechariah 1:8-233. The pregnanc...
  • There is great theological significance in this familiar passage. It comes through mainly in the angel's words and in the symbolism of what happened."In 2:8-14 we have a third annunciation scene, which follows the same patter...
  • Luke's account of this significant event is shorter than the parallel passages. At His baptism, Jesus received the anointing of the Holy Spirit for His ministry. It was also the occasion for the Father to authenticate Jesus a...
  • In contrast to most people, the inhabitants of Jesus' hometown did not praise Him. When Jesus began to speak of God extending salvation to the Gentiles, a particular interest of Luke's, the Jews there opposed Him violently. P...
  • Jesus' explanation of the importance of true righteousness was the heart of the Sermon on the Mount as Matthew narrated it (Matt. 5:17-7:12). He reported that Jesus spoke of true righteousness in relation to three things: the...
  • This miracle raised the popular appreciation of Jesus' authority to new heights. Luke also continued to stress Jesus' compassion for people, in this case a widow whose son had died, by including this incident in his Gospel. T...
  • Luke's account stresses that concern for the multitudes motivated Jesus' mission. Mark, on the other hand, presented opposition from the Jewish religious leaders as a reason for His activities. Matthew stressed Jesus' desire ...
  • Luke's record of Jesus' teaching the Lord's Prayer differs significantly enough from Matthew's account that we can safely conclude that Jesus gave similar teaching on separate occasions. This repetition illustrates the import...
  • There are several thematic connections that tie this pericope with what has preceded and show its role in the development of Luke's argument. Jesus had just called the nation to repentance (vv. 3, 5). Now He showed that chang...
  • Another comment triggered teaching of a similar nature. The continuing theme is the messianic kingdom.13:31 This incident followed the former one chronologically. Therefore it is probable that Jesus' words about Jews not ente...
  • The overall impression that Luke presented with this part of his narrative is that Jesus' condemnation was a terrible travesty of justice. Pilate condemned an innocent man. This decision comes across as specially heinous sinc...
  • Luke's account of the crucifixion includes a prophecy of the fate of Jerusalem (vv. 29-31), more emphasis on the men who experienced crucifixion with Jesus (vv. 39-43), and less stress on the crowd that mocked Jesus. It clima...
  • Luke is the only evangelist who recorded this incident. He apparently did so because the fate of Jerusalem was one of his special interests. He had already recorded several warnings that Jesus had given to the people of Jerus...
  • This verse constitutes a narrative bridge connecting Jesus' journey to the Cross with His crucifixion. One of its functions seems to be to introduce the two criminals who feature later in the story (vv. 33, 39-43). More impor...
  • The only parts of this section of Luke's Gospel that are unique are Jesus' prayer for His enemies (v. 34), the dialogue with the criminals (vv. 39-43), and Jesus' prayer of self-sacrifice to the Father (v. 46). Thus Luke pres...
  • 23:33 Luke alone called the site of Jesus' crucifixion "the place called the skull"(Gr. kranion) rather than referring to it by its Aramaic name, Golgotha, and then translating it. This was undoubtedly an accommodation to his...
  • This is another incident that only Luke recorded. It reflects his interest in needy people receiving salvation from Jesus. This is such a dominent theme in Luke's Gospel that one commentator concluded that this incident is th...
  • Luke included three things in this heart of the death scene. He gave two evidences of God's displeasure with people for rejecting His Son. He recorded Jesus' prayer of trust in the Father, and he noted three immediate reactio...
  • This pericope is primarily transitional bridging the stories of Jesus' death and resurrection. It confirms the reality of Jesus' death. However, Luke included more information about Joseph of Arimathea (location unknown) than...
  • Luke's account of the events following Jesus' resurrection stresses the reality of that event and the reactions of the witnesses to it. All these people felt depressed because of Jesus' death, but when they learned of His res...
  • Jesus now returned to develop a theme that He had introduced previously, namely the Father's testimony to the Son (vv. 19-20). Jesus proceeded to cite five witnesses to His identity, all of which came from the Father, since t...
  • There is quite a bit of unique material in this pericope. This includes the details of the Roman soldiers' abuse of Jesus (vv. 1-5) and the situation that Pilate's learning that Jesus claimed to be the Son of God instigated (...
  • John omitted the detail that Simon carried Jesus' cross (Matt. 27:32; Mark 15:21; Luke 23:26), which might have detracted from John's presentation of Jesus as the divine Savior. He also made no reference to Jesus' sufferings ...
  • The horrors and shame of crucifixion are difficult for people who have grown up hearing pleas against "cruel and unusual punishment"to appreciate. It was a deliberately long and painful form of death that humiliated the suffe...
  • John did not mention the darkness that came over the land as the other evangelists did (cf. Matt. 27:45; Mark 15:33; Luke 23:44-45). This is noteworthy in view of John's interest in the light and darkness motif. Perhaps he di...
  • This pericope is unique to the fourth Gospel.19:31 The "day of preparation"was Friday, the day before the Sabbath (Saturday, cf. v. 14; Mark 15:42). The Jews considered sundown the beginning of a new day. In this case the new...
  • 19:38 All four evangelists mentioned Joseph of Arimathea but only with Jesus' burial. The Synoptics tell us that he was a godfearing rich member of the Sanhedrin who was a follower of Jesus and who had not voted to condemn Je...
  • 1:12-13 The disciples returned to Jerusalem to await the coming of the Holy Spirit. The short trip from where Jesus ascended on Mt. Olivet to the upper room was only a Sabbath day's journey away (about 2,000 cubits, two-third...
  • Stephen's speech caused a revolution in the Jews' attitude toward the disciples of Jesus, and his martyrdom began the first persecution of the Christians.Luke recorded the Sanhedrin's response to Stephen's message to document...
  • This short section sets the stage for Philip's ministry by giving us its cause.8:1b Stephen's execution ignited the first popular persecution of Christian Jews.348Since Stephen was a Hellenistic Jew, the Hellenistic Jewish Ch...
  • For a number of reasons Luke seems to have described this stage of the gospel expansion in detail. He evidently wanted to demonstrate God's protection of Paul, to illustrate the increasingly Gentile nature of gospel expansion...
  • Paul began by explaining the concept of justification.92"We now come to the unfolding of that word which Paul in Chapter One declares to be the very heart of the gospel . . ."933:21 The "righteousness of God"here refers to Go...
  • Paul's final argument in support of justification by faith was a development of his previous emphasis on the solidarity that the saved experience with their Savior (5:1-2, 9-10). In this section (5:12-21) he expanded that ide...
  • Paul's reference to the Holy Spirit's power (vv. 4-5) led him to elaborate on the Spirit's ministry in enlightening the minds of believers and unbelievers alike. The Corinthians needed to view ministry differently. The key to...
  • "With rhetoric full of sarcasm and irony he [Paul] goes for the jugular. His own apostleship, which he portrays in bold relief, contrasting his own shame' with their perceived high station,' is alone consonant with a theology...
  • The apostle next pointed out the qualities of love that make it so important. He described these in relationship to a person's character that love rules. We see them most clearly in God and in Christ but also in the life of a...
  • 1:23 Paul's use of an oath should not disturb us."Our Lord's prohibition of swearing in Matt. 5:33ff. is directed against the casuistry that was prevalent among the Jews of His time, in accordance with which not only was swea...
  • Paul had cited his freedom to minister without the Corinthians' financial support and his sufferings in ministry as grounds for boasting. He next mentioned the special visions and revelations that God had granted him. He refe...
  • Paul thanked God for changing him to enable Timothy to appreciate the fact that God can transform even the worst of sinners and enable His saints to accomplish supernatural feats. What precipitated Paul's testimony here was t...
  • Paul proceeded to undergird his appeal to suffer hardship with the examples of Jesus (v. 8) and Paul (vv. 9-10).2:8 The greatest example of suffering hardship for a worthy purpose, of course, is Jesus Christ. Paul urged Timot...
  • 4:16 It was customary under Roman law for accused prisoners to have a preliminary hearing before their trial. At this hearing, witnesses could speak on behalf of the accused. In Paul's case no one had come to his defense. Thi...
  • The writer began with a three-fold admonition, which is all one sentence in the Greek text. The long sentence intensifies the writer's appeal.306"In view of all that has been accomplished for us by Christ, he says, let us con...
  • Peter now reminded his readers of the consequences of Jesus' response to unjustified persecution. He did so to strengthen their resolve to rededicate themselves to follow God's will wholeheartedly and confidently. He also wan...
  • 4:15-16 However, we should not take comfort in suffering that we bring on ourselves for sinning, only suffering that we experience because we take a stand with Jesus Christ (cf. 2:20). Peter felt ashamed when he denied the Lo...
  • The scene now shifts back to earth."The entire passage in every clause utilizes well known prophetic anticipations of the day of the Lord, and by his use of these images John identifies the day for his readers. One may check ...
  • 16:10 The darkening of the (first) beast's throne appears to be literal; light will diminish (cf. Exod. 10:21-23; Isa. 60:2; Joel 2:1-2, 31; Mark 13:24). Another possibility is that this may be a figurative darkening in which...
  • Essentially what John saw next was Paradise regained (cf. 2:7; Gen. 2; Luke 23:43; 2 Cor. 12:2). Having viewed the splendor of the New Jerusalem he now saw what will nourish and enrich the lives of God's people there."Up to t...

Expositions Of Holy Scripture (Maclaren)

  • "And Pilate, when he had called together the chief priests and the rulers and the people, 14. Said unto them, Ye have brought this man unto me, as one that perverteth the people: and, behold, I having examined Him before you,...
  • And when they were come to the place which is called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left. 34. Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what ...
  • It is very significantly set in the centre of the paragraph (Luke 23:33-38) which recounts the heartless cruelty and mockery of soldiers and rulers. Surrounded by that whirlwind of abuse, contempt and ferocious glee at His su...
  • And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when Thou comest into Thy kingdom.'--Luke 23:42.THERE is an old and true division of the work of Christ into three parts--prophet, priest, and king. Such a distinction manifestly exis...
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