Luke 23:1-4

Jesus Brought Before Pilate

23:1 Then ¹  the whole group of them rose up and brought Jesus ²  before Pilate. ³  23:2 They ⁴  began to accuse ⁵  him, saying, “We found this man subverting ⁶  our nation, forbidding ⁷  us to pay the tribute tax ⁸  to Caesar ⁹  and claiming that he himself is Christ, ¹⁰  a king.” 23:3 So ¹¹  Pilate asked Jesus, ¹²  “Are you the king ¹³  of the Jews?” He replied, “You say so.” ¹⁴  23:4 Then ¹⁵  Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, “I find no basis for an accusation ¹⁶  against this man.”

Luke 23:24

23:24 So ¹⁷  Pilate ¹⁸  decided ¹⁹  that their demand should be granted.

Genesis 49:10

49:10 The scepter will not depart from Judah,

nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, ²⁰ 

until he comes to whom it belongs; ²¹ 

the nations will obey him. ²² 

Acts 4:27

4:27 “For indeed both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, assembled together in this city against ²³  your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, ²⁴ 

Acts 23:26

23:26 Claudius Lysias to His Excellency Governor ²⁵  Felix, ²⁶  greetings.

Acts 24:27

24:27 After two years ²⁷  had passed, Porcius Festus ²⁸  succeeded Felix, ²⁹  and because he wanted to do the Jews a favor, Felix left Paul in prison. ³⁰ 

Acts 26:30

26:30 So the king got up, and with him the governor and Bernice and those sitting with them,

[23:1]  ¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[23:1]  ² tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[23:1]  ³ sn Pilate was the Roman prefect (procurator) in charge of collecting taxes and keeping the peace. His immediate superior was the Roman governor (proconsul) of Syria, although the exact nature of this administrative relationship is unknown. Pilate’s relations with the Jews had been rocky (v. 12). Here he is especially sensitive to them.

[23:2]  ⁴ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[23:2]  ⁵ sn They began to accuse him. There were three charges: (1) disturbing Jewish peace; (2) fomenting rebellion through advocating not paying taxes (a lie – 20:20-26); and (3) claiming to be a political threat to Rome, by claiming to be a king, an allusion to Jesus’ messianic claims. The second and third charges were a direct challenge to Roman authority. Pilate would be forced to do something about them.

[23:2]  ⁶ tn On the use of the term διαστρέφω (diastrefw) here, see L&N 31.71 and 88.264.

[23:2]  ⁷ tn Grk “and forbidding.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated to suggest to the English reader that this and the following charge are specifics, while the previous charge was a summary one. See the note on the word “misleading” earlier in this verse.

[23:2]  ⁸ tn This was a “poll tax.” L&N 57.182 states this was “a payment made by the people of one nation to another, with the implication that this is a symbol of submission and dependence – ‘tribute tax.’”

[23:2]  ⁹ tn Or “to the emperor” (“Caesar” is a title for the Roman emperor).

[23:2]  ¹⁰ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[23:3]  ¹¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the charges brought in the previous verse.

[23:3]  ¹² tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[23:3]  ¹³ sn “Are you the king of the Jews?” Pilate was interested only in the third charge, because of its political implications of sedition against Rome.

[23:3]  ¹⁴ sn The reply “You say so” is somewhat enigmatic, like Jesus’ earlier reply to the Jewish leadership in 22:70.

[23:4]  ¹⁵ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[23:4]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “find no cause.”

[23:24]  ¹⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the crowd’s cries prevailing.

[23:24]  ¹⁸ sn Finally Pilate gave in. He decided crucifying one Galilean teacher was better than facing a riot. Justice lost out in the process, because he did not follow his own verdict.

[23:24]  ¹⁹ tn Although some translations render ἐπέκρινεν (epekrinen) here as “passed sentence” or “gave his verdict,” the point in context is not that Pilate sentenced Jesus to death here, but that finally, although convinced of Jesus’ innocence, he gave in to the crowd’s incessant demand to crucify an innocent man.

[49:10]  ²⁰ tn Or perhaps “from his descendants,” taking the expression “from between his feet” as a euphemism referring to the genitals. In this case the phrase refers by metonymy to those who come forth from his genitals, i.e., his descendants.

[49:10]  ²¹ tn The Hebrew form שִׁילֹה (shiloh) is a major interpretive problem. There are at least four major options (with many variations and less likely alternatives): (1) Some prefer to leave the text as it is, reading “Shiloh” and understanding it as the place where the ark rested for a while in the time of the Judges. (2) By repointing the text others arrive at the translation “until the [or “his”] ruler comes,” a reference to a Davidic ruler or the Messiah. (3) Another possibility that does not require emendation of the consonantal text, but only repointing, is “until tribute is brought to him” (so NEB, JPS, NRSV), which has the advantage of providing good parallelism with the following line, “the nations will obey him.” (4) The interpretation followed in the present translation, “to whom it [belongs]” (so RSV, NIV, REB), is based on the ancient versions. Again, this would refer to the Davidic dynasty or, ultimately, to the Messiah.

[49:10]  ²² tn “and to him [will be] the obedience of the nations.” For discussion of this verse see J. Blenkinsopp, “The Oracle of Judah and the Messianic Entry,” JBL 80 (1961): 55-64; and E. M. Good, “The ‘Blessing’ on Judah,” JBL 82 (1963): 427-32.

[4:27]  ²³ sn The application of Ps 2:1-2 is that Jews and Gentiles are opposing Jesus. The surprise of the application is that Jews are now found among the enemies of God’s plan.

[4:27]  ²⁴ sn A wordplay on “Christ,” v. 26, which means “one who has been anointed.”

[23:26]  ²⁵ tn Grk “Procurator.” The official Roman title has been translated as “governor” (BDAG 433 s.v. ἡγεμών 2).

[23:26]  ²⁶ sn Governor Felix. See the note on Felix in v. 24.

[24:27]  ²⁷ tn Grk “After a two-year period.”

[24:27]  ²⁸ sn Porcius Festus was the procurator of Palestine who succeeded Felix; neither the beginning nor the end of his rule (at his death) can be determined with certainty, although he appears to have died in office after about two years. Nero recalled Felix in a.d. 57 or 58, and Festus was appointed to his vacant office in a.d. 57, 58, or 59. According to Josephus (Ant. 20.8.9-10 [20.182-188]; J. W. 2.14.1 [2.271-272]), his administration was better than that of his predecessor Felix or his successor Albinus, but Luke in Acts portrays him in a less favorable light: He was willing to sacrifice Paul to court Jewish favor by taking him to Jerusalem for trial (v. 9), regardless of Paul’s guilt or innocence. The one characteristic for which Festus was noted is that he dealt harshly with those who disturbed the peace.

[24:27]  ²⁹ tn Grk “Felix received as successor Porcius Festus.”

[24:27]  ³⁰ tn Grk “left Paul imprisoned.”