Luke 23:2

They ¹  began to accuse ²  him, saying, “We found this man subverting ³  our nation, forbidding ⁴  us to pay the tribute tax ⁵  to Caesar ⁶  and claiming that he himself is Christ, ⁷  a king.”

1Ki 18:17; 1Ki 21:10-13; Ps 35:11; Ps 62:4; Ps 64:3-6; Jer 20:10; Jer 37:13-15; Jer 38:4; Am 7:10; Zec 11:8; Mt 17:27; Mt 22:21; Mt 26:59,60; Mr 12:17; Mr 14:55,56; Mr 14:61,62; Mr 15:3-5; Lu 20:20-25; Lu 22:69,70; Lu 23:5; Joh 18:30; Joh 18:36; Joh 19:12; Ac 16:20,21; Ac 17:6,7; Ac 24:5; Ac 24:13; 1Pe 3:16-18

¹ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

² 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.

³ tn On the use of the term διαστρέφω (diastrefw) here, see L&N 31.71 and 88.264.

sn Subverting our nation was a summary charge, as Jesus “subverted” the nation by making false claims of a political nature, as the next two detailed charges show.

⁴ 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.

⁵ 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.’”

⁶ tn Or “to the emperor” (“Caesar” is a title for the Roman emperor).

⁷ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

sn See the note on Christ in 2:11.