Discovery BoxLuke 23:8-24 
Context23:8 When 1 Herod saw Jesus, he was very glad, for he had long desired to see him, because he had heard about him and was hoping to see him perform 2 some miraculous sign. 3 23:9 So 4 Herod 5 questioned him at considerable length; Jesus 6 gave him no answer. 23:10 The chief priests and the experts in the law 7 were there, vehemently accusing him. 8 23:11 Even Herod with his soldiers treated him with contempt and mocked him. Then, 9 dressing him in elegant clothes, 10 Herod 11 sent him back to Pilate. 23:12 That very day Herod and Pilate became friends with each other, 12 for prior to this they had been enemies. 13
23:13 Then 14 Pilate called together the chief priests, the 15 rulers, and the people, 23:14 and said to them, “You brought me this man as one who was misleading 16 the people. When I examined him before you, I 17 did not find this man guilty 18 of anything you accused him of doing. 23:15 Neither did Herod, for he sent him back to us. Look, he has done nothing 19 deserving death. 20 23:16 I will therefore have him flogged 21 and release him.”
23:17 [[EMPTY]] 2223:18 But they all shouted out together, 23 “Take this man 24 away! Release Barabbas for us!” 23:19 (This 25 was a man who had been thrown into prison for an insurrection 26 started in the city, and for murder.) 27 23:20 Pilate addressed them once again because he wanted 28 to release Jesus. 23:21 But they kept on shouting, 29 “Crucify, crucify 30 him!” 23:22 A third time he said to them, “Why? What wrong has he done? I have found him guilty 31 of no crime deserving death. 32 I will therefore flog 33 him and release him.” 23:23 But they were insistent, 34 demanding with loud shouts that he be crucified. And their shouts prevailed. 23:24 So 35 Pilate 36 decided 37 that their demand should be granted.
1 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
2 tn Grk “to see some sign performed by him.” Here the passive construction has been translated as an active one in keeping with contemporary English style.
3 sn Herod, hoping to see him perform some miraculous sign, seems to have treated Jesus as a curiosity (cf. 9:7-9).
4 tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the previous statements in the narrative about Herod’s desire to see Jesus.
5 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Herod) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
6 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
7 tn Or “and the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 5:21.
8 sn Luke portrays the Jewish leadership as driving events toward the cross by vehemently accusing Jesus.
9 tn This is a continuation of the previous Greek sentence, but because of its length and complexity, a new sentence was started here in the translation by supplying “then” to indicate the sequence of events.
10 sn This mockery involved putting elegant royal clothes on Jesus, either white or purple (the colors of royalty). This was no doubt a mockery of Jesus’ claim to be a king.
11 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Herod) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
12 sn Herod and Pilate became friends with each other. It may be that Pilate’s change of heart was related to the death of his superior, Sejanus, who had a reputation for being anti-Jewish. To please his superior, Pilate may have ruled the Jews with insensitivity. Concerning Sejanus, see Philo, Embassy 24 (160-61) and Flaccus 1 (1).
13 tn Grk “at enmity with each other.”
14 tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
15 tn Grk “and the,” but καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.
16 tn This term also appears in v. 2.
17 tn Grk “behold, I” A transitional use of ἰδού (idou) has not been translated here.
18 tn Grk “nothing did I find in this man by way of cause.” The reference to “nothing” is emphatic.
19 sn With the statement “he has done nothing,” Pilate makes another claim that Jesus is innocent of any crime worthy of death.
20 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.
21 tn Or “scourged” (BDAG 749 s.v. παιδεύω 2.b.γ). This refers to a whipping Pilate ordered in an attempt to convince Jesus not to disturb the peace. It has been translated “flogged” to distinguish it from the more severe verberatio.
22 tc Many of the best
23 tn Grk “together, saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant and has not been translated here.
24 tn Grk “this one.” The reference to Jesus as “this man” is pejorative in this context.
25 tn Grk “who” (a continuation of the previous sentence).
26 sn Ironically, what Jesus was alleged to have done, started an insurrection, this man really did.
27 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.
28 sn The account pictures a battle of wills – the people versus Pilate. Pilate is consistently portrayed in Luke’s account as wanting to release Jesus because he believed him to be innocent.
29 tn Grk “shouting, saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant and has not been translated here.
30 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.
31 tn Grk “no cause of death I found in him.”
32 sn The refrain of innocence comes once again. Pilate tried to bring some sense of justice, believing Jesus had committed no crime deserving death.
33 tn Or “scourge” (BDAG 749 s.v. παιδεύω 2.b.γ). See the note on “flogged” in v. 16.
34 tn Though a different Greek term is used here (BDAG 373 s.v. ἐπίκειμαι), this remark is like 23:5.
35 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the crowd’s cries prevailing.
36 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.
37 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.
