Discovery BoxLuke 23:4 
Context23:4 Then 1 Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, “I find no basis for an accusation 2 against this man.”
Luke 23:14-15
Context23:14 and said to them, “You brought me this man as one who was misleading 3 the people. When I examined him before you, I 4 did not find this man guilty 5 of anything you accused him of doing. 23:15 Neither did Herod, for he sent him back to us. Look, he has done nothing 6 deserving death. 7
Luke 23:21
Context23:21 But they kept on shouting, 8 “Crucify, crucify 9 him!”
Luke 23:41
Context23:41 And we rightly so, for we are getting what we deserve for what we did, but this man has done nothing 10 wrong.”
Luke 23:47
Context23:47 Now when the centurion 11 saw what had happened, he praised God and said, “Certainly this man was innocent!” 12
1 tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
2 tn Grk “find no cause.”
sn Pilate’s statement “I find no reason for an accusation” is the first of several remarks in Luke 23 that Jesus is innocent or of efforts to release him (vv. 13, 14, 15, 16, 20, 22).
3 tn This term also appears in v. 2.
4 tn Grk “behold, I” A transitional use of ἰδού (idou) has not been translated here.
5 tn Grk “nothing did I find in this man by way of cause.” The reference to “nothing” is emphatic.
6 sn With the statement “he has done nothing,” Pilate makes another claim that Jesus is innocent of any crime worthy of death.
7 tn Grk “nothing deserving death has been done by him.” The passive construction has been translated as an active one in keeping with contemporary English style.
8 tn Grk “shouting, saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant and has not been translated here.
9 tn This double present imperative is emphatic.
sn Crucifixion was the cruelest form of punishment practiced by the Romans. Roman citizens could not normally undergo it. It was reserved for the worst crimes, like treason and evasion of due process in a capital case. The Roman historian Cicero called it “a cruel and disgusting penalty” (Against Verres 2.5.63-66 §§163-70); Josephus (J. W. 7.6.4 [7.203]) called it the worst of deaths.
10 sn This man has done nothing wrong is yet another declaration that Jesus was innocent of any crime.
11 sn See the note on the word centurion in 7:2.
12 tn Or “righteous.” It is hard to know whether “innocent” or “righteous” is intended, as the Greek term used can mean either, and both make good sense in this context. Luke has been emphasizing Jesus as innocent, so that is slightly more likely here. Of course, one idea entails the other.
sn Here is a fourth figure who said that Jesus was innocent in this chapter (Pilate, Herod, a criminal, and now a centurion).
