Called together (). First aorist middle participle (to himself). Pilate included “the people” in the hope that Jesus might have some friends among them.

Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament

JESUS RETURNED TO PILATE; BARABBAS SET FREE, JESUS CONDEMNED V. 13-26

1) “And Pilate, when he had called together,” (Pilatos de sugkalesamenos) “Then Pilate called together,” in close council, for the purpose of announcing his verdict regarding their charges against, Jesus, after Herod had returned Jesus to him, at the hands’ of Jewish rulers.

2) ‘The chief priests and the rulers and the people.” (tous archieireis kau tous archontas kai ton laon) “The administrative priests and the leading rulers of the people,” of the Jewish people, after they had held another entrapment-delivery council against Jesus, Mar 15:1.

It was a golden opportunity for Pilate to set Jesus free, but he blew it, fearing the wrath of the ruling Jewish elders, and not willing to jeopardize his political future over them.

Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary

Appleburys Comments

The Second Trial Before Pilate
Scripture

Luk. 23:13-25 And Pilate called together the Chief Priest and the rulers, and the people, 14 and said unto them, Ye brought unto me this man, as one that perverteth the people: and behold, I, having examined him before you, found no fault in this man touching those things whereof ye accuse him: 15 no, nor yet Herod: for he sent him back unto us; and behold, nothing worthy of death hath been done by him. 16 I will therefore chastise him, and release him. 18 But they cried out all together, saying, Away with this man, and release unto us Barabbas:19 one who for a certain insurrection made in the city, and for murder, was cast into prison. 20 And Pilate spake unto them again, desiring to release Jesus; 21 but they shouted, saying, Crucify, crucify him. 22 And he said unto them the third time, Why, what evil hath this man done? I have found no cause of death in him: I will therefore chastise him and release him. 23 But they were urgent with loud voices, asking that he might be crucified. And their voices prevailed. 24 And Pilate gave sentence that what they asked for should be done. 25 And he released him that for insurrection and murder had been cast into prison, whom they asked for; but Jesus he delivered up to their will.

Comments

I will therefore chastise him and release him.Pilate may have believed that this cruel and inhuman beating would satisfy the Jews desire for vengeance. But they noisily demanded that He be crucified.

and release unto us Barabbas.Barabbas was a notable prisoner who had been guilty of all the things that had been charged against Jesus and more, for he was actually a murderer. But the misguided mob chose Barabbas and demanded the death penalty for Jesus.

On the day of Pentecost, the 3,000 reversed that decisionrepentedand accepted Jesus as Lord and Christ. (Act. 2:36-38). See also Act. 3:15-18.

Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series

(13-23) And Pilate, when he had called together . . .-See Notes on Mat. 27:15-23; Mar. 15:6-14. The first summons to the members of the Council, and the reference to Herods examination of the Prisoner are, as the sequel of the previous incident, peculiar to St. Luke.

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

137. PILATE SEEKS TO RELEASE JESUS, Luk 23:13-23 .

See notes on Mat 27:15-23; Mar 15:6-14; Joh 18:39-40.

13. Pilate It was no doubt a sad embarrassment to Pilate to see the returning Jesus. But he had now the sanction of Herod in pronouncing him innocent; and he proceeds to use the advantage.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

‘And Pilate called together the chief priests and the rulers and the people, and said unto them, “You brought to me this man, as one who perverts the people, and behold, I, having examined him before you, found no fault in this man touching those things of which you accuse him, no, nor yet Herod. For he sent him back to us, and behold, nothing worthy of death has been done by him. I will therefore chastise him, and release him.” ’

Jesus having been returned to him by Herod, Pilate again made his appeal to the chief priests (who would also have returned), the lay rulers and gathered crowds. He pointed out that Jesus had been thoroughly examined, both by himself and Herod, and had been found innocent on all charges. There were in fact no grounds for putting Him to death. His verdict therefore was that Jesus be lashed as a matter of course, a reminder that He should behave whether guilty of not, and then set free. Act 23:9; Act 26:31 ff may point to the fact that legal language is being used here.

He in fact probably based more faith in their willingness to take notice of Herod than was justified. To him Herod was a Jewish king. To the chief priests and Scribes he was an outsider thrusting himself on the Jews.

The lashing of a prisoner after trial, even when found innocent, was a regular occurrence. It was intended to make him think twice about being brought before the court again, and a warning to avoid the attention of the authorities.

‘And the people.’ The continuing reference to the people is intending to bring out the guilt of the whole unbelieving Jewish people with regard to Jesus’ death. Judaism had rejected Jesus. It was, of course, here only a small section of the people, and not at all representative, certainly excluding the many who believed on Him. But in Acts the division between those who believed and those who did not will be made clear, and in Luke’s eyes this crowd represented those who finally refused to believe, a position exemplified in Acts 12.

‘I, having examined him before you, found no fault in this man.’ Compare Luk 23:4; Luk 23:22 ’ Joh 18:38 ; Joh 19:4; Joh 19:6. The continual repetition of Jesus’ faultlessness suggests that Luke wants us to see a comparison with the Servant in Isa 53:9. It would also indicate to his readers that although He had been crucified, it was not because of any crime that He had committed.

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

Pilate’s Second Attempt To Clear Jesus And His Final Abject Surrender (23:13-25).

Having received the prisoner back with the confirmation from Herod that he found no fault in Jesus (Herod was not about to admit that the prisoner had refused to speak to him) Pilate made a further attempt to argue his way out of his position. He should, of course, have simply declared Jesus innocent and let Him go, and his very prevarication would thus have encourage Jesus’ accusers. They knew now that if they continued in what they were doing they would get their way, for Pilate had revealed that he was not willing to simply put their accusations to one side. Thus they pressed on to achieve the verdict that they required.

Analysis.

a Pilate called together the chief priests and the rulers and the people, and said unto them, “You brought to me this man, as one who perverts the people, and behold, I, having examined Him before you, have found no fault in this man touching those things of which you accuse Him, no, nor yet Herod. For he sent Him back to us, and behold, nothing worthy of death has been done by Him. I will therefore severely beat Him, and release Him” (Luk 23:13-17).

b But they cried out all together, saying, “Away with this man, and release to us Barabbas (one who for a certain insurrection made in the city, and for murder, was cast into prison) (Luk 23:18-19). Luk 23:20

c And Pilate spoke to them again, desiring to release Jesus (Luk 23:20).

d But they shouted, saying, “Crucify, crucify Him” (Luk 23:21).

e And he said to them the third time, “Why, what evil has this man done? I have found no cause of death in Him. I will therefore flog Him and release Him” (Luk 23:22).

d But they were urgent with loud voices, asking that He might be crucified. And their voices prevailed (Luk 23:23).

c And Pilate gave sentence that what they asked for should be done (Luk 23:24).

b And he released him who for insurrection and murder had been cast into prison, whom they asked for (Luk 23:25 a).

a But Jesus he delivered up to their will (Luk 23:25 b).

Note that in ‘a’ Pilate declares Jesus doubly cleared, and yet in the parallel he hands Him over to His accusers. In ‘b’ they call for one guilty of insurrection and murder to be released, and in the parallel the one guilty of insurrection and murder is released. In ‘c’ Pilate desires to release Jesus (because he is innocent) and in the parallel he gives sentence that what the Jewish leaders asked for should be done. (Note how, as in ‘a’, the blame is laid squarely on the Jewish leaders). In ‘d’ the call comes for Him to be crucified, and in the parallel the call is repeated. And centrally in ‘e’ Pilate declares Jesus innocent. This can be compared with the central point in the previous analysis.

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

Another subterfuge of Pilate’s:

v. 13. And Pilate, when he had called together the chief priests and the rulers and the people,

v. 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, have found no fault in this Man touching those things whereof ye accuse Him;

v. 15. no, nor yet Herod; for I sent you to him; and, lo, nothing worthy of death is done unto Him.

v. 16. I will therefore chastise Him, and release him.

v. 17. (For of necessity he must release one unto them at the feast.)

v. 18. And they cried out all at once, saying, Away with this Man, and release unto us Barabbas

v. 19 (who for a certain sedition made in the city, and for murder, was cast into prison).

One scheme of Pilate’s, to place the responsibility on someone else, having failed, he hoped to have success along another line. The prisoner was once more before the court of Pilate, and so he formally called together the accusers, the chief priests and the leaders and also the people, whose number was growing with every minute. He assembled them in order to communicate to them the finding of Herod and also his own mind and will. He sums up his points. Their charge had been that Jesus was turning the people away from their allegiance to the Roman Emperor. Now he had made a careful inquiry into the matter, not only in a private hearing, Joh 18:33, but also in their presence. And not a single charge had been found to be substantiated by any reliable testimony or by the confession of the prisoner. Nor had the finding of Herod differed from his own. Jesus had been sent to the ruler of Galilee, and nothing worthy of death had been laid to His charge. But now Pilate made his first grievous public mistake in telling the people that he would scourge Jesus before giving Him His liberty. If Jesus was innocent, as the governor repeatedly affirmed, it was a crying injustice to cause Him to be whipped in the cruel manner which was then customary. He showed his weakness before the people by making this proposition, for he neither wanted to burden his conscience too heavily, nor did he want the Jews to go wholly unsatisfied. The illegal chastisement thus announced simultaneously with the intention to release the prisoner prepared the way for the violent opposition of the people, who were now lusting for blood and felt that the governor was in their power. His weak, futile policy results in a terrible crime. “Fanaticism grows by concession. ” It was Pilate’s custom to release some prisoner at the time of the Passover, and this former favor had grown into an expected duty. The necessity had devolved upon him to release one prisoner to them in connection with the feast. But before Pilate could so much as bring out his suggestion fully, with all the reasons why the people should prefer the release of Jesus to that of Barabbas, the mob began to clamor, not with single voices raised here and there, but in one immense shout rising from all those throats at once, with overpowering volume. They did not plead or beg, but they demanded with a threatening attitude: Take this One away: to punishment, to death with Him! But release to us Barabbas. That was the people’s choice: a low and hideous criminal, a rebel and a murderer, who had been thrown into jail to await the sentence of death. It was a case of blindness and hardness of heart without parallel in history. And to think that many of these same people had probably been in the number of those that had called out in loud hosannas five days before, that for fear of them the chief priests had not dared to lay their hands on Jesus a scant three days ago! Note: If anyone is willing to honor Jesus as a great prophet, but refuses to repent and to believe in the Savior, to give Him his whole heart, he is in reality far from His grace and from true discipleship. With such people it takes very little to be drawn over into the ranks of the enemies.

Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann

Luk 23:13-16 . .] and in general the members of the Sanhedrim. Comp. Luk 24:20 .

Luk 23:14 . ] I, for my part , to which afterwards corresponds .

] having examined Him in your presence , according to Luk 23:3 ; but there is a variation in Joh 18:33 f.

. . .] I have found nothing in this man which could be charged upon him, of that which ye ( = , ) complain of against him . On , guilty, punishable , comp. Luk 23:4 ; Luk 23:22 ; on . , very rare in the Greek writers, see Xen. Hell . i. 7. 6 : . Wolf, ad Dem. Lept . p. 213.

Luk 23:15 . ] scil . . . ., nor has even Herod (who yet knows the Jewish circumstances so accurately), etc. Comp. C. F. A. Fritzsche, in Fritzschior. Opusc . p. 178.

. . .] Result of what was done in presence of Herod, which now appears; hence , which does not mean: has been done by Him; but: is done by Him.

Luk 23:16 . The chastisement (what kind of chastisement is left indefinite) is here merely thrown out as a satisfaction; hence there is no essential variation from Joh 18:39 , and no confusion with Joh 19:1-4 . Comp. also on Mat 27:26 . Bengel rightly says: “Hic coepit nimium concedere Pilatus;” and thereby he had placed the attainment of his purpose beyond his power. , , Theophylact.

Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary

c. FRUITLESS ENDEAVORS OF PILATE TO LIBERATE JESUS (Luk 23:13-25)

(Parallel with Mat 27:15-26; Mar 15:6-15; Joh 18:39-40.)

13And Pilate, when he had called together the chief priests and the rulers and the people, 14Said unto them, Ye have brought this man unto me, as one that perverteth [turneth away] the people [i.e., from Cesar]; and, behold, I, having examined him before you, have found no fault in this man touching those things whereof ye accuse him: 15No, nor yet [even4] Herod: for I sent you to him; and, lo, nothing worthy of death is [has been] done unto [by] him. 16I will therefore chastise him, and release 17him. (For of necessity he must release one unto them at the feast.5) 18And they cried out all at once [], saying, Away6 with this man, and release unto us 19Barabbas: (Who7 for a certain sedition made in the city, and for murder, was [hadbeen] cast into prison.) 20Pilate therefore, willing [wishing] to release Jesus, spake again to them. 21But they cried [against it, ], saying, Crucify him, crucify him. 22And he said unto them the third time, Why, what evil hath he done? I have found no cause of death in him: I will therefore chastise him. and let him go. 23And they were instant [urgent, ] with loud voices, requiring [demanding] that he might be crucified: and the voices of them and of the chief priests prevailed. 24And Pilate gave sentence that it should be as they required [their demand should go into effect]. 25And he released unto them [om., unto them8] him [the one] that for sedition and murder was [had been] cast into prison, whom they had desired; but he delivered Jesus to their will.

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL

Luk 23:13. And Pilate, when he had called together the people.It is not enough for Pilate to communicate his peculiar views merely to the Sanhedrists. He calls also the people together, the number of whom has considerably increased during the sending of our Lord back and forth, and who take a lively interest in the matter. He assembles them in order to communicate to them also his mind and will, which he wished to be regarded as definitive. He introduces his communication now by a more or less official address, in which the motives of the sentence to be uttered are stated. The judge sums up the acta before he declares them concluded. He comes back to the first charge (Luk 23:2), that this man perverts the people (). On this charge he had heard Him in their presence. See Luk 23:3; comp. Mat 27:12-14; Mar 15:3-5, which is not in conflict with Joh 18:38 seq. (De Wette, Meyer), if only we distinguish between the private interview and the public audience, of which latter Pilate here speaks. They see, therefore, that he has taken up the matter in earnest, but in direct opposition to their , Luk 23:2, he is obliged to declare himself, for his part, to have found nothing which could be maintained before the secular judge, as legal ground of an accusation. Respecting the peculiar construction of this passage, see Meyer. Nay, not even Herod, who, as Tetrarch of Galilee, would yet undoubtedly have known if there had existed ground for a serious accusation, not even he has been able to discover anything tenable in their charge. On the contrary, they are both convinced that, whatever reports may have been circulated abroad, this man has, in fact, neither committed anything () nor brought about anything that could be called criminal. After this introduction, there appears to be scarcely any other final judgment possible than a simple release, buthic cpit nimium concedere Pilatus. Bengel.

Luk 23:16. Chastise Him and release Him.Chastise. Although the word scourge is not yet uttered, Pilate can scarcely have had any other chastisement in mind. He makes this proposition that he may not, on the one hand, too heavily load his own conscience, on the other hand, because he must not let the Jews go wholly unsatisfied. A light punishment of the kind, at all events, the enthusiast probably deserves in his eyes, who, harmless as He is for the Roman authority, has yet given Himself out for a King. The alleged confusion with Joh 19:1-4 (De Wette) is by no means real, but Luke in his summary notices, relates only a plan of the scourging, the execution of which the three other Evangelists relate. It is remarkable, moreover, how in the connection of the two words: Chastise and Release, Pilate begins already evidently to show either that he is disposed to do too much or too little. Hitherto he has done three good things: he began a careful investigation, he has made a solemn declaration of Jesus innocence, he has taken an admissible way to gain more particular information. The word release would set the crown on all this, if it were not that the illegal chastisement announced simultaneously with this prepared the way for three opposite measures, by which his weakness passes over into crime. A dishonoring comparison, a painful scourging, a mournful spectacle (Mat 27:24) are the steps which make way for that most unrighteous judgment. Luke has only described the first.

Luk 23:17.For of necessity he must release one.Although it is unquestionably possible that this verse was omitted quite early, because it appeared to be placed with more or less incorrectness, and interrupted the course of the narrative (De Wette), it is, however, more probable that it is not genuine. It is wanting in A., B., K., L., [retained by Cod. Sin., see notes on the text.C. C. S.] Copt., Sahid., Vers., and is placed after Luk 23:19, by D., th., Cant., while, besides this, many variations appear in the details. It appears, therefore, after having seemed suspicious to Griesbach and Lachmann, to have been omitted with reason by Tischendorf, although the clause must be tolerably old, since it has found its way into by far the greatest number of manuscripts and versions. But, however this may be, the fact itself, namely, that the governor at the Passover was under obligation to release a prisoner, cannot be doubted, although the origin of this usage is veiled in obscurity. To us everything appears to favor the opinion that this had grown up rather on Jewish than on heathen soil. Even the expression of Pilate, , Joh 18:39, appears to point to the former; the connection of this custom with the Passover was far more likely to be a Jewish than a heathen idea. The coincidence with the Roman Lectisternia and [the Greek] Thesmophoria, which are referred to, is exceedingly slight, and it was much more in the spirit of the Roman policy to leave the inhabitants of a province in possession of a national privilege than to press on them a foreign benefit, especially when they had such an aversion to foreign manners as the Jews. They could the more easily assume to themselves the jus gladii if they still at least one day of the year, did not bestow, but left yet with the nation, a seemingly free disposal over life and death. And although the Scripture, no more than the Talmud, brings this usage into connection with the signification of the Passover, yet with a people who, like the Jewish, were accustomed to symbolical actions, this connection struck the eye at once. In this manner it is, at the same time, intelligible why the people attached so great a value to this their prerogative, Mar 15:6-8, that it was from them first that the demand proceeded, which gave Pilate occasion to the most dreadful comparison. Finally, this voice of the people furnishes one convincing proof the more, that to-day was really already the first day of the Passover, since the prayer would have come very much out of season if the feast had not yet had a beginning.

Luk 23:18. Away with this man.Here, also, we first gain a clear conception of the fact, when we complement Luke from the other gospels. The wild cry presupposes that our Lord already stands before the eyes of the multitude, together with the hideous Barabbas. But how matters had gone so far is described especially by Mark, while Matthew, by the narrative of the dream of Pilates wife, solves for the reader the difficulty how it had been possible that the people in so short a time could have been filled with so fanatical a fury. The short absence of the Procurator is used by the priests most energetically to work the people over to their mind, and very soon does the clue to this labyrinth slip out of Pilates hands.

Luk 23:19. Who for a certain sedition.Respecting the character of Barabbas, see Lange on the parallel in Matthew. In all the gospels, but especially in Luke, Luk 23:19; Luk 23:25, there is expressed the deepest displeasure at the blindness and hardened temper of the Jews, who could make such a choice. An echo of this tone of righteous resentment we still hear in the declaration of Peter, Act 3:14.

Luk 23:20. Spake again to them, , which is used, Act 21:40, of a longer address, here, however, probably consisted only of a few words, and those not essentially different from the ones which are communicated to us a little before and a little later. In all this the good intention of Pilate cannot possibly be entirely lost sight of. His proposal had sprung from a laudable principle, had a laudable end in view, and appeared, at the same time, to offer for its accomplishment an exceedingly fitting means. In the persuasion that personal hatred impelled the chief priests, he seeks to win the voice of the people in favor of Jesus, and believes that he may expect nothing else than that the result will fully correspond to his wishes. But still his conduct remains worthy of reprobation, not only before the judgment-seat of strict righteousness, but even before that of wise considerateness. All the words with which he now, after this, seeks to conjure down the rising storm, signify little or nothing, because he does not yet come to the one act which he has already indicated as his purpose!

Luk 23:21. Crucify Him, Crucify Him.For the first time the terrible cry is here heard, which, as the secret wish and thought of the chief priests, is now by these placed upon the peoples lips, and with fanatical rage raised by these. According to John, Luk 18:40, they cry again, : Not this man but Barabbas must be released, although the Evangelist has not mentioned a previous cry,a new proof how admissible and necessary it is to complement the statements of the fourth Evangelist from the narratives of the Synoptics, which were familiar to him. This cry was the direct answer to the question which Mat 27:22, and Mar 15:12, communicate.

Luk 23:22.The third time.To Luke alone we owe the remarkable, and of itself probable, account, that the governor at this point of the trial raises for the third time his voice in favor of our Lord. No wonder, he feels that if he here gives way, the death of Jesus is as good as decided, and that all further endeavors which he might, perhaps, yet make for the discharge of his official duty, would, after this great concession, be fruitless. He repeats, therefore, essentially what he has already said, Luk 23:14; Luk 23:16, and assumes outwardly a demeanor so much the firmer the more he is inwardly beginning to waver.

Luk 23:23. And they.It is as if the one word, Release, which he has once more ventured to utter, filled them with all the more furious rage. Now the chief priests also join in the impetuous cry of the raging people for blood. Etiam decori immemores cum plebe clamabant. Bengel. These voices obtain the upper hand, . The same word which, Mat 16:18, is used of the gates of hell over against the church.

Luk 23:24. And Pilate gave sentence, , 2Ma 4:47. In contrast with the provisional judgment which the Sanhedrim had already passed, the final judgment is here spoken of, without our, however, being required by Luke to understand a formally uttered sentence. On the contrary, the distinction in the demeanor of Pilate in reference to Barabbas and Jesus is not to be mistaken. The formerLuke, in righteous displeasure, does not even mention his name, but only discloses to us a view into the disgraceful history of Barabbashe expressly releases: apparently the murderer is unfettered before his eyes, so that he after a few moments hastens free through the streets of Jerusalem. The other he delivers up, , not by a solemn ibis ad crucem, but by simply letting go the weak hand with which he had hitherto vainly sought to protect the victim of priestly hate. Not to the will of the judge or the requirement of the law, but to the judgment of the people, , is the Prisoner surrendered. On this account, also, it is not even necessary to inquire into the genuineness of the old record of the sentence: Jesum Nazarenum, subversorem gentis, &c., which Adrichomius, Theatr. terr sanct, Colon.1593, p. 163, has, it is said, taken from old annals, and which Friedlieb, ad loc., communicates in a note entire.

Since we here have to do, not with the history of the Passion in general, but with the narrative which Luke has given us of the same, we also pass over the particulars which he does not communicate expressly. As respects, however, the sequence of the different scenes in the trial before Pilate, we believe that a correct harmony requires the following arrangement: 1. The Leading Away to Pilate, which Luke relates with its particulars; 2. The First Public (Synoptics), and immediately after that the First Private (John), Examination of our Lord by the Procurator; 3. More Vehement Accusation by the Jews after Pilates first declaration of innocence, followed then by the sending to Herod; 4. First Decision of Pilate, in which his wavering first becomes visible (Luk 23:13-16); 5. His proposal to select Barabbas or Jesus (all the Evangelists); 6 Delay by the communication of the dream of Pilates wife (Matthew), during which the people are persuaded over; 7. Decision of the question, Barabbas or Jesus, in favor of the former (all the Evangelists); 8. The Scourging, as the customary, yet not indispensably necessary, preliminary of crucifixion, which, however, according to Luke, is used as a measure of compromise, as well as in order, by presentation of the pitiably maltreated Prisoner, to dispose the people to compassion (John); 9. In consequence of this, the Crucifixion decidedly refused, and a new accusation brought up by the disappointed priests (Joh 19:6-7); 10. Further, but fruitless, endeavors even yet to deliver Jesus (Joh 19:6-12); 11. The Washing of Pilates hands (Mat 27:24-25), which Matthew, in view of his objective representation of the Scourging as the preparation for Crucifixion (which it, considered a posteriori, in fact became), places before this maltreatment, but which, as evidently appears, has only sense and significance if we conceive it as a concluding act; finally, 12. The scene described in Joh 19:13-16, for which we may with more right assume a place after than before the washing of the hands (as is proposed by Sturm). Immediately after this, the Leading Away to Calvary, which Luke communicates most in detail.It appears, therefore, that Luk 23:24-25 cannot be attached immediately to the choice of Barabbas, but is to be regarded as the concluding act of the trial before Pilate, some intervening scenes of which Luke has passed over. As to the actual point of time of our Lords Delivery to Crucifixion, which Luke also leaves unmentioned, comp. also Lange on Matt., ad loc., and on Mar 15:25. It is noticeable that Luke, with the exception of Luk 23:44, refrains in his account of the Passion from almost any attempt to give any particular notes of time.

DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL

1. By the unequivocal declaration of Pilate after our Lords return from Herod, not only did His innocence appear in the most brilliant manner, but it thereby, at the same time, became evident also how unreasonable the opinion of Christians and theologians was, who, like the older Deists and Rationalists, ventured to invent for our Lord political views. Pilate and Herod do not yet know anything of that which in the last century was hatched out by the Wolfenbttel Fragmentist concerning this. Even the Jews are not able to destroy Him by political charges. They must immediately, Joh 19:7, proceed further to an accusation founded on religious grounds.

2. The sad observation how Pilate with every moment sinks deeper and deeper, gives us a powerful contribution to Anthropology and Hamartology; but at the same time, there is implied therein, not less than in the direct testimonies borne to the innocence of our Lord, a striking argument for the immaculate purity of Jesus. Soon, also, does it appear that weakness, as well as hatred, may mislead man to the most terrible crime. Pilate, who first only becomes Herods friend, will at last also remain Tiberius friend, and becomes therewith a confederate of the chief priests and of the people, nay, the accomplice of Caiaphas. Then how is the truth of the saying here proved: He that is not with Me is against Me.
3. In the transaction respecting the choice between Jesus and Barabbas, it appears very plainly how dangerous it is to let the popular voice decide upon the highest questions of life, upon truth and right. The history of the Passion raises a terrible protest against the familiar maxim: Vox populi, vox Dei; while, on the other hand, it powerfully confirms the truth of the poets sentence:

Was ist Mehrheit? Mehrheit ist ein Unsinn,
Verstand ist stets bei Wengen nur gewesen;
Der Staat muss untergehn, frh oder spt,
Wo Mehrheit siegt und Unverstand entscheidet.

[What is majority? Majority is absurdity. Understanding has ever been with few only; the state must perish early or late, where majority prevails and folly decides.] In church history, also, we see how often ecclesiastical and political democracy have led to genuine Parabbas-choices. Compare the admirable dissertation by Ullmann, Die Geltung der Majoritten in der Kirche, Hamburg, 1850.9

4. For the typical significance of that which here took place with Barabbas, the Mosaic law, Lev 16:6-10, must, in particular, be compared. The importance of this part of the history of the Passion is only comprehended perfectly when we find represented to the very sight therein, in historical symbols, the idea of representation, and behold in the released Barabbas the image of the sinner, who, in consequence of the death of this immaculately Holy One , is acquitted of the guilt and punishment of sin. [The release of a murderer, without the slightest sign that he was changed for the better, is a rather equivocal type of the justification of the sinner.C. C. S.] In this way, moreover, we learn also to understand the significance of the unshaken silence which our Lord in these awful moments of decision, during which He remains so entirely passive, maintains. It is here, in the full sense of the word, the silence of the Lamb of God, on whom the sins of the world were laid, Isa 53:6.

5. The choice between Jesus and Barabbas is the striking type of the choice which, through all the centuries, is proposed to mankind, the choice, namely, between life and death, between blessing and cursing, Gen 2:16-17; Deu 30:18-19; Jos 24:16, &c. The motives which here misled the people to so perverted a choice are the same as those which now, as ever, induce most of men to choose the appearance instead of the reality, and the curse instead of the blessing.

6. The moment of the popular choice between Jesus and Barabbas is the decisive moment, not only in the history of the Passion, but also in the history of Israel and the world, Rom 9:30-33.

7. It is something yet other and worse to reject the Lord after He was there rejected, and first became the foundation of our salvation. These Jews had, at all events, at that time not yet rejected Him who in infinite love had ascended the cross for our redemption. Woe to the betrayers of the Crucified!

HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL

In the mouth of two or three witnesses every word shall be established, 2Co 13:1, even where our Lords innocence is declared.Whoever complains that Christ and the gospel pervert the world in a political respect, stands in principle even below Pilate and Herod.Pilate the man who wishes to serve two masters.The false lust of compromise condemned in the person of Pilate.The mournful triumph of persistent wickedness over hesitating weakness.Jesus over against Barabbas a picture of universal history.The fatal choice of the Jews a primitive and yet eternally new history.Whoever prefers sin to Christ, he chooses like them: 1. A robber instead of the wealthiest Distributor of grace; 2. a rebel instead of the King of peace; 3. a murderer instead of the Prince of life.The choice of the service of the world instead of the service of Christ, how it: 1. Bears the same character; 2. betrays the same origin; 3. deserves the same judgment; 4. needs the same atonement, as the fatal choice of the Jews.The fatal choice even yet, as then, a fruit: 1. Of heedlessness; 2. of misleading influence; 3. of weakness; 4. of the enmity of the flesh.The inconstancy of popular favor and of human honor [There is no certainty that the masses who hung on Jesus lips as He taught were the same that here demanded His blood. There were surely men enough in Jerusalem to furnish crowds for this purpose, without of necessity involving one of those who had so recently heard Him with delight.C. C. S.].The cry of Crucify Him ! over against the Hosannas of the throngs.The first cry for murder considered in reference: 1. To the judge who elicits it; 2. to the people that utter it; 3. to the Saviour who hears it; 4. to the Father who accepts it; 5. to the world which yet in all manner of forms repeats it.O, My people, what have I done unto thee? and wherein have I wearied thee? Mic 6:3.The highest activity of the love of Christ in the midst of seemingly complete passivity.The murder of Messiah the suicide of Israel.Whither concessions and compromises may at last lead.The blind policy of Pilate, who will: 1. Deliver our Lord by evil means; 2. give up our Lord to save himself.Jesus: 1. Reckoned with the transgressors, Isa 53:12; Isaiah 2. humbled among the transgressors; 3. by that very means given up for transgressors, 2Co 5:21.Jesus most deeply humiliated: 1. By comparison with a malefactor; 2. with a malefactor like Barabbas; 3. with a malefactor that, moreover, is preferred to Him.The diverse departure of the Prince of life and of the murderer from Gabbatha.The fearful defeat of wickedness even in a seeming victory.For every man there appears, as once for Pilate, an hour when he must decide for or against Christ.

Starke:Brentius:Christ had to pass from one unrighteous judge to another; be content, my brother, if without cause the like of this befalleth thee, 1Pe 2:21.Cramer:The gospel of Christ must be true, for the heathen, His enemies, testify of His innocence.Christs innocence has given to the whole Passion the just weight before the judgment of God, Heb 7:26.Nova Bibl. Tub.:Innocence at last breaks through all imputations.Sinful and evil usages must not be furthered by the magistrate, but disregarded, especially when they take place on Sundays and feast days.A malefactor who, according to Gods law, has deserved death, must be allowed right and judgment.Unrighteous judgment of the world: the murderer shall live, the Prince of life die.Canstein:The world loveth her own, it is a den of murderers.Human wisdom goes with the tide and is partial.Nova Bibl. Tub.:Hatred and envy is something utterly devilish.Of evil things, too, there are wont to be three, Luk 23:22 [an allusion to the German proverb, Aller guten dinge sind drei, All good things go in threes.C. C S.]I will, I will, is indeed the speech of godless people too, but woe to them if they rest satisfied therewith.Where the people have more power than the government, there is a dish spoiled and a most unhappy state.The world judges not according to right, but according to favor.Osiander:It is natures view of the world for the vicious to escape punishment and the innocent to be punished, Psa 73:12.Brentius:The issue demonstrates ever how far human wisdom reaches, and what we can promise ourselves therefrom.Arndt:The choice between Jesus and Barabbas; 1. What determines Pilate to this choice; 2. on what rock it splits; 3. how it turns out for the salvation of the world.Krummacher:Pilate our advocate, who frees us from the threefold imputation of seditious tendencies, of senseless teachings, and exaggerated consolations.Jesus and Barabbas, the great picture.The release of Barabbas: 1. How this was effected; 2. how the joyful tidings was received on the part of Barabbas.The conclusion of the process.Tholuck:The dreadful illusion which unbelieving Israel is under, inasmuch as it, instead of Jesus the Son of God chooses Jesus Barabbas; 2. which the unbelieving world is under, inasmuch as it, instead of Jesus the Son of God and man, chooses Jesus the child of man (Predigten, i. p. 127 seq., together with an appendix very well worth reading, p. 156). [Calmet has this statement: Origen says that in many copies Barabbas is called Jesus likewise. The Armenian has the same reading: Whom will ye that I deliver unto you: Jesus Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ? This gives additional spirit to the history, and well deserves notice.C. C. S.]In Barabbas Pilate released the murderer of his soul; in the Lord Jesus he rejected the deliverer of his soul.

[4]Luk 23:15.The implies that if even Herod, though well acquainted with the Jewish law, and, as the sovereign of the accused, especially solicitous that he might not be allowed to stir up the people against the Romans, Herods patrons, if even he could find no matter of complaint, the case might be looked upon as decided. Herod, it is true, does not appear to have instituted any formal inquiry, but Pilate is willing so to represent it, to support his intended release of the prisoner by Herods authority.C. C. S.]

[5]Luk 23:17.Respecting the grounds on which the genuineness of this verse is doubtful, see Exegetical and Critical remarks. [Omitted by A., B., K., L.; retained by Cod. Sin. Omitted by Tischendorf, Meyer, Tregelles; bracketed by Lachmann; approved by Bleek; retained by Alford.C. C. S.]

[6]Luk 23:18. Make away with, E medio tolle.C. C. S.]

[7]Luk 23:19. , …,quippe qui as Meyer remarks, not equivalent to the simple qui, but, as always denotes category, a man of such a sort as to have been, &c.; the form of the relative reflecting unconsciously the indignation of the Evangelist at so hideous a preference.C. C. S.

[8]Luk 23:25.The , which Griesbach adds to the , is from Matthew and Mark.

[9][A crime which was forced on a populace that, left to itself, would not have committed it, by a corrupt and implacable aristocracy, is a curious text for this diatribe against popular government. However, this, like all similar expressions of our author, must be judged in view of the dislike which he has to a democracy so deeply infected with infidelity as the European democracy, even though that infidelity is in no small measure owing to the tyrannies and frauds of priests and Most Christian kings. Dr. Van Oosterzee, however, has expressed his most unqualified sympathy with our national cause.C. C. S.]

Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange

DISCOURSE: 1583
BARABBAS SPARED, AND CHRIST CONDEMNED

Luk 23:13-25. And Pilate, when he had called together the chief-priests and the rulers and the people, said unto them, Ye have brought this man unto me, as one that perverteth the people: and, behold, I, having examined him before you, have found no fault in this man touching those things whereof ye accuse him: no, nor yet Herod: for I sent you to him; and, lo, nothing worthy of death is done unto [Note: The marginal translation by him, is far preferable.] him. I will therefore chastise him, and release him. (For of necessity he must release one unto them at the feast.) And they cried out all at once, saying, Away with this man, and release unto us Barabbas: (who for a certain sedition made in the city, and for murder, was cast into prison.) Pilate therefore, willing to release Jesus, spake again to them. But they cried, saying, Crucify him, crucify him. And he said unto them the third time, Why, what evil hath he done? I have found no cause of death in him: I will therefore chastise him, and let him go. And they were instant with loud voices, requiring that he might be crucified. And the voices of them and of the chief-priests prevailed. And Pilate gave sentence that it should be as they required. And he released unto them him. that for sedition and murder was cast into prison, whom they had desired; but he delivered Jesus to their will.

THE prophets enter very minutely into the subject of Christs sufferings, in order that, instead of being led by them to doubt the truth of his Messiahship, we might see in them a demonstration that he was the very person to whom the prophecies referred. But it is not in this view only that we should dwell upon this mysterious subject: many other, and most important, ends are to be answered by the contemplation of his sufferings. We see in them his unparalleled love to us: we see also the desert of sin: and the trials which all his followers must, in a greater or less degree, be called to endure. That part of them which we are now to consider is, his condemnation at the bar of Pilate. Let us notice,

I.

The circumstances of his condemnation

There are three mentioned in our text; and to these we will confine our attention:

1.

Pilates testimony respecting him

[God so ordered it, that every person who was active in putting our Lord to death, should either directly or indirectly attest his innocence. We forbear to adduce other instances; such as that of Judas, or the Dying Thief, or the Centurion; because in the passage before us we have ample scope for illustrating the observation. Pilate here tells the whole assembly of the Jews, that he had examined Jesus, that he had examined him in their presence, and had inquired into all their allegations against him; and that, after the most careful investigation, he could not find that Jesus had been guilty of any one of those things laid to his charge. He then tells them, that he had sent both the prisoner and his accusers to Herod, who being governor of Galilee, where the crimes were said to have been committed, had the greater right to take cognizance of them; and, being a Jew, must be supposed to be more competent to judge of them, as being more conversant with the Jewish laws and customs than he could pretend to be: but that neither could Herod find in him any crime worthy of death. When he found that these united attestations did not satisfy them, he repeated a second and a third time his declarations, that Jesus was innocent: and he appealed to the whole multitude of his accusers, whether any of them could substantiate so much as one single charge against him. This they answered only by clamours: and thus unwittingly confessed, that they were unable in any single instance to prove their point Thus all, both accusers and judges, confessed, that though he was to be cut off, it was not for himself; or, in other words, that he was the true Messiah [Note: Dan 9:26.].]

2.

His ineffectual attempts to save him

[Pilate, being convinced of the innocence of Jesus, was very averse to condemn him: yet, being afraid of offending the Jews, he did not dare to acquit him. Upon the mention of Galilee therefore, he was glad to get rid of the matter altogether, and to send the parties to Herod, to be judged by him. When this expedient failed, he tried to pacify the people, by offering to inflict on Jesus the milder punishment of scourging; (though he had no right to punish in that manner a person whom he knew to be innocent;) but this would not satisfy them: they thirsted for his blood; and would be satisfied with nothing less. Perceiving that the chief priests and elders were the chief instigators of the people, he tried to secure his object by putting the matter entirely into the hands of the people; amongst whom he supposed Jesus must have many friends. Accordingly he reminded them of a privilege, which by the courtesy of the Roman government they enjoyed, of having one criminal liberated at their request; and, that there might he no comparison at all between the persons presented to their choice, he gave them the option of liberating Jesus, or a noted robber, rebel, and murderer, named Barabbas. This, however, through the influence of the priests, succeeded no better than the former devices. He therefore resorted to one more contrivance. He thought that the people would feel themselves highly honoured if they might on this occasion have their privilege extended to the liberating of two instead of one; and therefore, without expressing it in plain terms, he intimates to them, that if they chose to ask it, he would readily grant their request in favour of Jesus too: What shall I do then with Jesus, which is called Christ [Note: Mat 27:22.]? But all was to no purpose: they were bent upon destroying Jesus, and would listen to no proposal in his favour In their pertinacity however, we see, that though they were free agents, and criminal in the highest degree, they did only what was from eternity fixed in the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God [Note: Act 2:23; Act 4:28.].]

3.

His surrender of him to the will of his enemies

[In proportion as Pilate wavered, the people became more urgent: and they would at last take no denial. Seeing therefore his efforts of no avail, he set the murderer, Barabbas, at liberty, and gave up Jesus into their hands; first, to be scourged, (in hopes that their pity might be moved, when they should see great furrows ploughed upon his back,) and then to suffer death upon the cross.
Satan, methinks, exulted now in having accomplished the final destruction of Jesus: but little did he imagine, that, whilst he was thus bruising the heel of the Messiah, his own head should receive a deadly blow, which he should never to all eternity recover [Note: Gen 3:15.]: and that the Messiahs kingdom should be immoveably established, by the very means used to root it out from the earth [Note: Heb 2:14-15.].]

We now pass on to suggest,

II.

Some reflections suited to the occasion

Amongst the multitude of thoughts which such a subject must bring to the mind, we will fix on two or three of the most important:

1.

How awful is the depravity of the human heart!

[This we can see in reference to the Jews: but we make a very defective improvement of Scripture history, if we do not use it as a glass wherein to see human nature in general, and our own hearts in particular.
What was the principle by which the priests and elders were actuated on this occasion? It was envy: He knew that for envy they had delivered him. And is not that principle in our hearts? Are we not told that the spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy? Have Cain, and Ishmael, and Josephs brethren, none resembling them amongst us? It is true, that men are less conscious of that principle than perhaps of any other: but this arises from its so destroying the characters of those who are exposed to its malignant shafts, as to make them appear deserving of all the evil that it inflicts upon them. But though we see not this principle in ourselves, we discover it easily enough in others; and are constrained to confess its odiousness.

And, as the same principle exists in us, so, if Jesus Christ were now to come into the world again, and demean himself precisely in the same manner as he did before, he would excite the same inveterate hatred in us as he did in them. Suppose a poor man laying open the pride, the worldliness, the hypocrisy of all ranks of people, as well among the Clergy as the Laity, and drawing myriads after him from every quarter of the land; would this provoke no enmity: would it beget no murderous rancour in the hearts of those whose hypocrisy was detected, and whose influence was destroyed?
We may go further, and ask, whether the same impious choice be not made at this day as in the days of old? What is the preferring of the ungodly to the godly, and sin to holiness, but a preferring of Barabbas to Christ? Yes; and so common is this, that the generality of the world would rather be seen in public with a known rake or infidel, than with a man eminent for piety and godly zeal
Behold then, I say, the human heart in general, and your own in particular; and whilst you justly wonder at the impiety of the Jews, learn no less to wonder at, and deplore, your own.]

2.

How dangerous an evil is indecision!

[Had Pilate determined to execute justice without regard to consequences, he had never crucified the Lord of glory: but when he listened to the fear of man, and sought to please the Jews, he made a snare for his own feet: he encouraged the importunity which he should have silenced at first, and sacrificed his conscience to a desire of popularity. Unhappy man! what guilt did he contract, and what misery did he treasure up for himself by his want of resolution [Note: Act 3:13-15; Act 4:27. with Psa 2:2; Psa 2:9.]!

Thus it is also amongst us. We hear Christ and his religion vilified, and are afraid to defend them. We see wickedness practised, and are afraid to testify against it. To avoid the ridicule or displeasure of others, we are led into compliances which our conscience disapproves. In short, we are carried oftentimes from one sin to another, through a want of firmness to withstand the tide of fashion and custom. But, brethren, we shall have reason to deplore timidity infinitely more than any consequences which an adherence to duty can ever entail upon us. We all see what Pilate should have done. He should have said, I am a judge, and I must decide according to law. Thus should we say: I am a Christian, and I must act according to the Gospel: that is my directory; and nothing shall tempt me to depart from it: as for clamour, I regard it not: applause or censure are alike indifferent to me: if God call me to perform a duty, and all the world combine to make me swerve from it, my answer to them is, Whether it be right to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye: if I seek to please men, I cannot be the servant of Jesus Christ. I mean not that you are to be thus rigid in matters of indifference: but in matters of plain duty, you must resist unto blood, and embrace death rather than make shipwreck of a good conscience [Note: If a third reflection be wanted, it may stand thus: 3. How reasonable is it that we should submit to sufferings for Christs sake! and then, after representing his submission here manifested, such passages as 1Pe 2:19-24; 1Pe 4:12-16. may be cited to shew, that in suffering for him (provided it be wrongfully,) we have reason to rejoice, and to account it our highest honour. But this subject occurs elsewhere.].]

Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)

“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, have found no fault in this man touching those things whereof ye accuse him: (15) No, nor yet Herod: for I sent you to him; and, lo, nothing worthy of death is done unto him. (16) I will therefore chastise him, and release him. (17) (For of necessity he must release one unto them at the feast.) (18) And they cried out all at once, saying, Away with this man, and release unto us Barabbas: (19) (Who for a certain sedition made in the city, and for murder, was cast into prison.) (20) Pilate therefore, willing to release Jesus, spake again to them. (21) But they cried, saying, Crucify him, crucify him. (22) And he said unto them the third time, Why, what evil hath he done? I have found no cause of death in him: I will therefore chastise him, and let him go. (23) And they were instant with loud voices, requiring that he might be crucified. And the voices of them and of the chief priests prevailed. (24) And Pilate gave sentence that it should be as they required. (25) And he released unto them him that for sedition and murder was cast into prison, whom they had desired; but he delivered Jesus to their will.”

If I pause over those verses, it shall be only to detain the Reader with remarking what an awful character this time-serving judge Pilate must bare been. He declared Jesus guiltless, and yet proposed by way of a milder punishment, to scourge him. He pronounced sentence of death upon Christ in the same breath that he declared him innocent! With what horrors must the soul of Pilate behold Jesus at the last day, when his body shall arise at the voice of the archangel and the trump of God, to receive from the Lord his sentence of everlasting misery? Rev 1:7 .

Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

13 And Pilate, when he had called together the chief priests and the rulers and the people,

Ver. 13. See Mat 27:23 ; Joh 18:38 .

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

13 25. ] FURTHER HEARING BEFORE PILATE, WHO STRIVES TO RELEASE HIM, BUT ULTIMATELY YIELDS TO THE JEWS. Mat 27:15-26 . Mar 15:6-15 .Joh 18:39-40Joh 18:39-40 . Our account, while entirely distinct in form from the others, is in substance nearly allied to them. In a few points it approaches John very nearly, compare Luk 23:18 with Joh 18:40 , also Luk 23:17 , with Joh 18:39 .

The second declaration of our Lord’s innocence by Pilate is in John’s account united with the first, Luk 23:38 . In the three first Gospels, as asserted in our Luk 23:14 , the questioning takes place in the presence of the Jews: not so, however, in John (see Joh 18:28 ).

Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament

Luk 23:13-16 . Pilate proposes to release Jesus .

Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson

Luke

JESUS AND PILATE

Luk 23:13 – Luk 23:26 .

Luke here marks out three stages of the struggle between Pilate and the Jews. Thrice did he try to release Jesus; thrice did they yell their hatred and their demand for His blood. Then came the shameful surrender by Pilate, in which, from motives of policy, he prostituted Roman justice. Knowingly he sacrificed one poor Jew to please his turbulent subjects; unknowingly he slew the Christ of God.

I. The first weak attempt to be just.

Pilate invested it with a certain formality by convoking a representative gathering of all classes, ‘chief priests and the rulers and the people.’ The nation was summoned to decide solemnly whether they would or would not put their Messiah to death, and a Roman governor was their summoner. Surely the irony of fate or, rather, of Providence could go no further than that. Pilate’s rsum of the proceedings up to the moment of his speaking is not without a touch of sarcasm, in the contrast between ‘ye’ and ‘I’ and ‘Herod.’ It is almost as if he had said, ‘Why, herein is a marvellous thing, that you should have a quicker scent for rebellion than I or Herod!’ He was evidently suspicious of the motives which induced the ‘rulers’ to take the new role of eager defenders of Roman authority, and ready to suspect something below such an extraordinary transformation. Jews delivering up a Jew because he was an insurgent against Caesar,-there must be something under that! He lays stress on their having heard his examination of the accused, as showing that he had gone into the matter thoroughly, that the charges had broken down to their knowledge. He represents his sending Jesus to Herod as done from the high motive of securing the completest possible investigation, instead of its being a despicable attempt to shirk responsibility and to pay an empty compliment to an enemy. He reiterates his conviction of Jesus’ innocence, and then, after all this flourish about his own carefulness to bring judicial impartiality to bear on the case, he makes the lame and impotent conclusion of offering to ‘chastise Him.’

What for? The only course for a judge convinced of a prisoner’s innocence is to set him free. But this was a bribe to the accusers, offered in hope that the smaller punishment would content them. Pilate knew that he was perpetrating flagrant injustice in such a suggestion, and he tried to hide it by using a gentle word. ‘Chastise’ sounds almost beneficent, but it would not make the scourging less cruel, nor its infliction less lawless. Compromises are always ticklish to engineer, but a compromise between justice and injustice is least likely of all to answer. This one signally failed. The fierce accusers of Jesus were quick to see the sign of weakness, both in the proposal itself and in their being asked if it would be acceptable to them. Not so should a Roman governor have spoken. If pressure had made the iron wall yield so far, a little more and it would fall flat, and let them at their victim.

Pilate was weak, vacillating, did not know what he wished. He wished to do right, but he wished more to conciliate, for he knew that he was detested, and feared to be accused to Rome. The other side knew what they wanted, and were resolute. Encouraged by the hesitation of Pilate, they ‘cried out all together.’ One hears the strident yells from a thousand throats shrieking out the self-revealing and self-destroying choice of Barabbas. He was a popular hero for the very reason that he was a rebel. He had done what his admirers had accused Jesus of doing, and for which they pretended that they had submitted Him to Pilate’s judgment. The choice of Barabbas convicts the charges against Jesus of falsehood and unreality. The choice of Barabbas reveals the national ideal. They did not want a Messiah like Jesus, and had no eyes for the beauty of His character, nor ears for the words of grace poured into His lips. They had no horror of ‘a murderer,’ and great admiration for a rebel. Barabbas was the man after their own heart. A nation that can reject Jesus and choose Barabbas is only fit for destruction. A nation judges itself by its choice of heroes. The national ideal is potent to shape the national character. We to-day are sinking into an abyss because of our admiration for the military type of hero; and there is not such an immense difference between the mob that rejected Jesus and applauded Barabbas and the mobs that shout round a successful soldier, and scoff at the law of Christ if applied to politics.

II. The second, weaker attempt.

Pilate repeated his proposal of release, but it was all but lost in the roar of hatred. Note the contrast between ‘Pilate spoke’ Luk 23:20 and ‘they shouted.’ It suggests his feeble effort swept away by the rush of ferocity. And they have gathered boldness from his hesitation, and are now prescribing the mode of Christ’s punishment. Now first the terrible word ‘Crucify’ is heard. Both Matthew and Mark tell us that the priests and rulers had ‘stirred up’ the people to choose Barabbas, but apparently the mob, once roused, needed no further stimulant.

Crowds are always cruel, and they are as fickle as cruel. The very throats now hoarse with fiercely roaring ‘Crucify Him’ had been strained by shouting ‘Hosanna’ less than a week since. The branches strewed in His path had not had time to wither. ‘The voice of the people is the voice of God,’-sometimes. But sometimes it sounds very like the voice of the enemy of God, and one would have more confidence in it if it did not so often and so quickly speak, not only ‘in divers,’ but in diverse, ‘manners.’ To make it the arbiter of men’s merit, still more to trim one’s course so as to catch the breeze of the popular breath, is folly, or worse. Men admire what they resemble, or try to resemble, and Barabbas has more of his sort than has Jesus.

III. The final yielding.

It is to Pilate’s credit that he kept up his efforts so long. Luke wishes to impress us with his persistency, as well as with the fixed determination of the Jews, by his note of ‘the third time.’ Thrice was the choice offered to them, and thrice did they put away the possibility of averting their doom. But Pilate’s persistency had a weak place, for he was afraid of his subjects, and, while willing to save Jesus, was not willing to imperil himself in doing it. Self-interest takes the strength out of resolution to do right, like a crumbling stone in a sea wall, which lets in the wave that ruins the whole structure.

Pilate had come to the end of his shifts to escape pronouncing sentence. The rulers had refused to judge Jesus according to their law. Herod had sent Him back with thanks, but unsentenced. The Jews would not have Him, but Barabbas, released, nor would they accept scourging in lieu of crucifying. So he has to decide at last whether to be just and fear not, or basely to give way, and draw down on his head momentary applause at the price of everlasting horror. Luke notices in all three stages the loud cries of the Jews, and in this last one he gives special emphasis to them. ‘Their voices prevailed.’ What a condemnation for a judge! He ‘gave sentence that what they asked for should be done.’ Baseness in a judge could go no farther. The repetition of the characterisation of Barabbas brings up once more the hideousness of the people’s choice, and the tragic words ‘to their will’ sets in a ghastly light the flagrant injustice of the judge, and yet greater crime of the Jews. To deliver Jesus to their will was base; to entertain such a ‘will’ towards Jesus was more than base,-it was ‘the ruin of them, and of all Israel.’ Our whole lives here and hereafter turn on what is our ‘will’ to Him.

Fuente: Expositions Of Holy Scripture by Alexander MacLaren

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Luk 23:13-17

13Pilate summoned the chief priests and the rulers and the people, 14and said to them, “You brought this man to me as one who incites the people to rebellion, and behold, having examined Him before you, I have found no guilt in this man regarding the charges which you make against Him. 15″No, nor has Herod, for he sent Him back to us; and behold, nothing deserving death has been done by Him. 16Therefore I will punish Him and release Him.” 17 [Now he was obliged to release to them at the feast one prisoner.]

Luk 23:13 This is surprising since the Sanhedrin brought Jesus to Pilate (cf. Luk 23:1) and accompanied Him to Herod (cf. Luk 23:10). Possibly Pilate took some time to conduct other business before returning to the trial of Jesus.

Luk 23:15 “has been done by Him” This is a periphrastic perfect passive. Jesus had not done anything during His life worthy of crucifixion. Here Luke emphasizes that the highest Roman official rejects the Jewish charges against Jesus!

Luk 23:16 “Therefore I will punish Him and release Him” This was a common procedure in Roman law. This punishment was mild compared to the severe flogging that occurred before crucifixion. It is from the root pais (child) and was used of discipline in 2Co 11:32 and Heb 12:6-7; Heb 12:10, but has a harsher connotation in 2Co 6:9.

There are many factors involved in Pilate’s actions, but the most significant ones were

1. he acknowledged Jesus’ innocence

2. he understood the Sanhedrin’s manipulation and threats (cf. Joh 19:12)

3. his own wife had warned him (cf. Mat 27:19-20)

4. he was afraid of a riot during the Feast days (cf. Luk 23:18)

5. Pilate was very superstitious himself (cf. Joh 19:7-8)

Luk 23:17 Luk 23:17 is omitted from manuscripts P75, A, B, K, L, T, 070, or 0124, and the Old Latin, Vulgate, and Coptic versions, but is in the uncial manuscripts , D (after Luk 23:19), W, and 063. This information is included in Mat 27:15; Mar 15:6; and Joh 18:39. The NASB and NKJV include the text with brackets. The NRSV, TEV, and NJB omit the verse and put it in a footnote. The UBS4 rates its omission as “A” (certain).

Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley

together = with (Greek. meta. App-104.) one another.

between = with reference to. Greek. pros. App-104.

Verses 13-25. Compare Mat 27:15-26. Mar 15:6-13.

Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics

13-25.] FURTHER HEARING BEFORE PILATE, WHO STRIVES TO RELEASE HIM, BUT ULTIMATELY YIELDS TO THE JEWS. Mat 27:15-26. Mar 15:6-15. Joh 18:39-40. Our account, while entirely distinct in form from the others, is in substance nearly allied to them. In a few points it approaches John very nearly, compare Luk 23:18 with Joh 18:40, also Luk 23:17, with Joh 18:39.

The second declaration of our Lords innocence by Pilate is in Johns account united with the first, Luk 23:38. In the three first Gospels, as asserted in our Luk 23:14, the questioning takes place in the presence of the Jews: not so, however, in John (see Joh 18:28).

Fuente: The Greek Testament

Luk 23:13-15, And Pilate, when he had called together the chief priests and the rulers and the people, Said unto them, Ye have brought this man unto me, as one that perverteth the people: and, behold, I, having examined him before you, have found no fault in this man touching those things whereof ye accuse him: No, nor yet Herod: for I sent you to him: and, lo, nothing worthy of death is done unto him.

They were judges not at all inclined to favor him; but yet, though his accusers were mad again him, nothing could be brought before these two judgment-seats which would hold water for a single moment. Holy and harmless was Christ, and, therefore, his accusers knew not what to say against him.

Luk 23:16-23. I will therefore chastise him, and release him. (For of necessity he must release one unto them at the feast.) And they cried out all at once, saying, Away with this man, and release unto us Barabbas: (Who for certain sedition made in the city, and for murder, was cast into prison). Pilate therefore, willing to release Jesus, spake again to them. But they cried, saying, Crucify him, crucify him. And he said unto them the third time, Why, what evil hath he done? I have found no cause of death in him: I will therefore chastise him, and let him go. And they were instant with loud voices, requiring that he might be crucified.

Never did mans enmity to God become more clear than when God, in human flesh, descending upon an errand of mercy, must, nevertheless, be hunted down by these cruel cries of Crucify him, crucify him. Man would be a Decide if he could. The fool hath said in his heart, No God. To get rid of God to get rid of God, even in human form, is the enmity of mans heart. He will have it if he can.

Luk 23:23-26. And the voices of them and of the chief priests prevailed. And Pilate gave sentence that it should be as they required. And he released unto them him that for sedition, and murder was cast into prison, whom they had desired; but he delivered Jesus to their will. And as they led him away, they laid hold upon one Simon, a Cyrenian, coming out of the country, and on him they laid the cross, that he might bear it after Jesus.

Fit type of all Christs followers, who must expect to carry Christs cross, and who should be happy and honoured in carrying it after Jesus.

Luk 23:27-28. And there followed him a great company of people, and of women, which also bewailed and lamented him. But Jesus turning unto them said, Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children.

He had the siege of Jerusalem before his mind, and, therefore, in tender pity he bade them save their tears for other sorrows.

Fuente: Spurgeon’s Verse Expositions of the Bible

Barabbas or Christ?

Luk 23:13-25

Herods moral nature had become almost extinguished by a long course of immorality and cruelty. While the Baptist lived, he had done many things and heard John gladly; but when the beheading of this faithful witness on his own orders had taken place, the royal sinner went headlong to ruin. He treated this incident with flippant levity. The gorgeous raiment, being an imitation of the royal apparel of the Jewish kings, may have suggested the inscription affixed to the cross.

By giving the people the alternative of Christ or Barabbas, Pilate expected that they would certainly choose the former. To his dismay, this second effort to salve his conscience without endangering his reputation failed. So he drifted and sold his soul for power. Each of us has to choose between Christ and Barabbas, between the self-surrender of the Cross and brutal selfishness. Barabbas must have stolen to the Cross in the afternoon and said, as he stood there: He hangs where I should have been. I am saved by His death.

Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary

Mat 27:21-23, Mar 15:14, Joh 18:38, Joh 19:4

Reciprocal: Dan 6:14 – was sore Act 4:27 – Pontius Pilate

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

3

This group which Pilate called together was composed of all the persons who were interested in the case. The chief priests were the ones to get Jesus into the courts (Mar 15:10), and the people were those who had the voice about what prisoner was to be released under the custom (Mat 27:15), hence it was a representative audience to which Pilate was preparing to speak.

Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary

WE should observe, for one thing, in this passage, what striking testimony was borne to our Lord Jesus Christ’s perfect innocence by His judges.

We are told that Pilate said to the Jews, “Ye have brought this man unto me as one that perverteth the people: and behold I, having examined him before you, have found no fault in this man touching those things whereof ye accuse him: no, nor yet Herod.” The Roman and the Galilan governors were both of one mind. Both agreed in pronouncing our Lord not guilty of the things laid to His charge.

There was a peculiar fitness in this public declaration of Christ’s innocence. Our Lord, we must remember, was about to be offered up as a sacrifice for our sins. It was meet and right that those who examined Him should formally pronounce Him a guiltless and blameless person. It was meet and right that the Lamb of God should be found by those who slew Him “a Lamb without blemish and without spot.” (1Pe 1:19.) The over-ruling hand of God so ordered the events of His trial, that even when His enemies were judges, they could find no fault and prove nothing against Him.

The circumstance before us may seem of trifling moment to a careless Bible reader. It ought however to commend itself to the heart of every well-instructed Christian. We ought to be daily thankful that our great Substitute was in all respects perfect, and that our Surety was a complete and faultless Surety.-What child of man can count the number of his sins? We leave undone things we should do; and do things we ought not to do, every day we live. But this must be our comfort, that Christ the Righteous has undertaken to stand in our place, to pay the debt we all owe, and to fulfill the law we have all broken. He did fulfill that law completely. He satisfied all its demands. He accomplished all its requirements. He was the second Adam, who had “clean hands and a pure heart,” and could therefore enter with boldness into God’s holy hill. (Psa 24:4.) He is the righteousness of all sinners who believe in Him. (Rom 10:4.) In Him all believers are counted perfect fulfillers of the law. The eyes of a holy God behold them in Christ, clothed with Christ’s perfect righteousness. For Christ’s sake God can now say of the believer, “I find in him no fault at all.”

Let us learn for another thing, in this passage, how thoroughly the Jews took on themselves the whole responsibility of our Lord Jesus Christ’s death. We are told that when Pilate was “willing to release Jesus,” the Jews “cried, saying, crucify him, crucify him!” Again, we are told that “they were instant with loud voices, requiring that he might be crucified.”

This fact in the history of our Lord’s passion deserves particular notice. It shows the strict accuracy of the words of the apostles in after times, when speaking of Christ’s death. They speak of it as the act of the Jewish nation, and not of the Romans. “Ye killed the Prince of life,” says Peter to the Jews at Jerusalem. “Ye slew and hanged him on a tree.” (Act 3:15; Act 5:30.) “The Jews have both killed the Lord Jesus and their own prophets,” says Paul to the Thessalonians. (1Th 2:15.) So long as the world stands the fact before us is a memorial of man’s natural hatred against God. When the Son of God came down to earth and dwelt among His own chosen people, they despised Him, rejected Him, and slew Him.

The fearful responsibility which the Jews took on themselves in the matter of our Lord’s death was not forgotten by God. The righteous blood which they shed has been crying against them as a people for eighteen hundred years. Scattered all over the earth, wanderers among the nations, without a land, without a government, without a home, the Jews show to this day that their own words have been terribly fulfilled. The blood of their slain Messiah “is upon them and upon their children.” They are a standing warning to the world that it is a fearful thing to reject the Lord Christ, and that the nation which speaks stoutly against God, must not be surprised if God deals with it according to its words. Marvelous indeed is the thought that there is mercy in store for Israel, notwithstanding all its sins and unbelief! The nation which pierced and slew Him, shall yet look to Him by faith and be restored to favor. (Zec 12:10.)

We should observe, lastly, in this passage, the remarkable circumstances connected with the release of Barabbas. We are told that Pilate “released him that for sedition and murder was cast into prison, whom the Jews had desired; but delivered Jesus to their will.” Two persons were before him, and he must needs release one of the two. The one was a sinner against God and man, a malefactor stained with many crimes. The other was the holy, harmless, and undefiled Son of God, in whom there was no fault at all. And yet Pilate condemns the innocent prisoner and acquits the guilty! He orders Barabbas to be set free, and delivers Jesus to be crucified.

The circumstance before us is very instructive. It shows the bitter malice of the Jews against our Lord. To use the words of Peter, “They denied the holy one and the just, and desired a murderer to be granted to them.” (Act 3:14.) It shows the deep humiliation to which our Lord submitted, in order to procure our redemption. He allowed Himself to be reckoned lighter in the balance than a murderer, and to be counted more guilty than the chief of sinners!

But there is a deeper meaning yet beneath the circumstance before us, which we must not fail to observe. The whole transaction is a lively emblem of that wondrous exchange that takes place between Christ and the sinner, when a sinner is justified in the sight of God. Christ has been made “sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.” (2Co 5:21.) Christ the innocent has been reckoned guilty before God, that we the guilty might be reckoned innocent, and be set free from condemnation.

If we are true Christians, let us daily lean our souls on the comfortable thought that Christ has really been our Substitute, and has been punished in our stead. Let us freely confess that, like Barabbas, we deserve death, judgment, and hell. But let us cling firmly to the glorious truth that a sinless Savior has suffered in our stead, and that believing in Him the guilty may go free.

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Notes-

v13.-[He had called together.] This expression seems to denote a general gathering of the leading persons among the Jews, in order that the declaration of our Lord’s innocence might be as public and unmistakeable as possible. It made it impossible for the Jews afterwards to deny that the Roman governor found our Lord “not guilty.”

v14.-[Have found no fault.] Burgon remarks here, that we ought to notice, “how many and what various persons bear testimony to the innocence of the Holy One,-Pilate, Herod, Pilate’s wife, Judas Iscariot, the thief on the cross, and the centurion,” who superintended the crucifixion. We cannot doubt that this was specially overruled and ordered by the providence of God.

v15.-[Nothing worthy of death is done unto him.] There seems no doubt that these words would have been better rendered, “nothing worthy of death has been done by him.” This is the opinion of Scholefield, Major, and Alford. Compare Act 25:11, Act 25:25; Act 26:31.

v16.-[Chastise.] This means “chastise by scourging.” Doddridge paraphrases the verse, “When I have chastised Him by scourging, which will be an admonition to Him for the future not to use those wild and enthusiastical expressions, which have given so much umbrage and suspicion, I will let Him go.” Pilate appears to have hoped that by this comparatively slight punishment of one whom he regarded as a harmless fanatic, he should satisfy the Jews.

v17.-[Of necessity he must release one.] Major remarks, “By whom or at what time this practice originated, is not determined. The most probable opinion is that it was introduced by the Romans, and perhaps by Pilate, at the beginning of his government, in order to gratify the Jewish people.”

v18.-[Barabbas.] I am quite unable to receive the opinion held by some, that the scape-goat in the Jewish law was a type of Barabbas. I believe that the scape-goat was a type of Christ rising again, and not of Christ crucified. Barabbas was a type of the sinner deserving judgment and yet set free.

v20.-[Willing to release Jesus.] Pilate’s desire to acquit our Lord and set Him free, coupled with his great desire to please the Jews and get the praise of man. is a striking picture of the slavery to which a great man without principle may be reduced.

v21.-[Crucify him.] Crucifixion was not only the most painful, but the most ignominious and disgraceful death to which a person could be sentenced. Bishop Pearson remarks, “By the ignominy of this punishment, we are taught how far our Saviour descended for us, that while we were slaves, and in bondage unto sin, He might redeem us by a servile death.”

v22.-[The third time.] Pilate’s thrice repeated declaration of our Lord’s innocence is deserving of notice. Bishop Pearson remarks, “It was thought necessary to include the name of Pilate in the creed, as of one who gave a most powerful external testimony to the certainty of our Saviour’s death, and the innocency of his life. He did not only profess, to the condemnation of the Jews, that he found nothing worthy of death in Christ; but left the same written to the Gentiles of the Roman empire. Two ways he is related to have given most ample testimony to the truth, first by an express written to Tiberius and by him presented to the senate, and secondly by records written in tables of all things of moment which were acted in his government.” For this last statement Pearson gives the authority of Tertullian, Eusebius, and Justin Martyr.

v23.-[They were instant.] This is the same Greek word that is translated “pressed upon him” in Luk 5:1, and “lay upon us” in Act 27:20.

v24.-[That it should be as they required.] These words would have been rendered more literally “that their request should be.”

v25.-[To their will.] This means “the will of the Jews.” Let it be noted here, and throughout Luke’s account of our Lord’s passion, how much less he says of the things done by the Roman soldiers, than either Matthew, Mark, or John. The reason is simple. Luke wrote specially for the use of the Gentile Christians. He desired to keep before their minds prominently, that though our Lord was crucified under Pontius Pilate, the persons most to blame for His death were not Gentiles but Jews.

Fuente: Ryle’s Expository Thoughts on the Gospels

Luk 23:13. When he had called together, etc. After the return from Herod. Matthew (Mat 27:17) alludes to this.

And the people. The multitude, doubtless now more numerous, was called to hear a proposal in which their wish was concerned.

Luk 23:14. Said unto them. Luke, who gives the charge most fully (Luk 23:2), also states the reply of Pirate more formally.

Perverteth. Here the word (Pilates) is milder than that of Luk 23:2 (the Sanhedrins).

Before you. John tells of a private interview, which was the main reason of Pilates state of mind, but both Matthew and Mark speak of a public questioning in distinction from this.

Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament

Observe here, 1. How unwilling, how very unwilling, Pilate was to be an instrument of our Saviour’s death; one while he expostulates with the chief priests, saying, What evil hath he done? No, St. Luke here declares, Pilate came forth three several times, professing that he found no fault in him.

Where note, how much more justice and equity Christ me with from Pilate, an heathen, than from the chief priests and people of the Jews, professing the true religion! Oh how desperate is the hatred that grows upon the root of religion!

Learn hence, that hypocrites within the church, may be guilty of such tremendous acts of wickedness, as the consciences of infidels and pagans without the church may boggle at, and protest against. Pilate, a pagan, absolves Christ, while the hupocritical Jews, that heard his doctrine, and saw his miracles, do condemn him.

Observe, 2. How Pilate at last suffers himself to be overcome with the importunity of the Jews, and delivers the holy and innocent Jesus, contrary to his judgment and conscience, to the will of his murderers. It is a vain apology for sin when persons pretend, that they are not committed with their own consent, but at the instigation and importunity of others; for such is the frame and constitution of man’s soul, that none can make a person wicked without his own consent: it was no extenuation of Pilates’s sin, no alleviation of his punishment, that to please the people he delivered our Saviour, contrary to the directions of his own conscience, to be crucified.

Observe, 3. The person whose life the wicked Jews preferred before the life of the holy Jesus, Barabbas: We will that thou release Barabbas, and deliver Jesus. Mark these hypocritical high priests, who pretended such zeal for God and religion; they prefer the life of a person guilty of the highest immoralities and debaucheries, even murder and sedition, before the best man that ever lived in the world.

But whence sprang the malice and hatred of the high priests and of the Jews, against our Saviour?

Why plainly from hence, Christ interpreted the law of God more strictly than their lusts can bear; and he lived a more holy, useful, and excellent life, than they could endure.

Now nothing enrages the men of the world more against the professors, but especially the preachers of the gospel, than holiness of doctrine, and strictness of life and conversation. Such as preach and live well, let them expect such enmity and opposition, such malice and persecution, such sufferings and trials, as will shock an ordinary patience and constancy of mind. Our Master met with it, let his zealous ministers prepare for it.

Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament

Luk 23:13-16. And Pilate Having received an account of what had passed before Herod; called together the chief priests, the rulers, and the people Namely, such of them as had appeared against Jesus as his accusers; and said, Ye have brought this man unto me as one that perverteth the people As having taught doctrines injurious to your religion, and also to the civil peace and the Roman government; and behold I have examined him before you And heard all that could be alleged against him; and have found no fault in this man , no crime, or cause for accusation; touching the things whereof you accuse him None of which you have proved against him. No, nor yet Herod He has discovered no fault in him, though much better acquainted than I am with your customs and religion. Lo, nothing worthy of death is done unto him , hath been done by him: for, instead of sending him back, like one who deserves a capital sentence, he has treated him like an idiot rather than a traitor, so as plainly to show that he thinks him to be merely an object of ridicule. I will therefore chastise him Namely, by scourging; and release him And am persuaded he will give us no further trouble: nor would he have interest enough to do it, if he were so inclined. Thus Pilate solemnly protests that he believes Christ has done nothing worthy of death or of bonds; and therefore, surely he ought immediately to have discharged him, and not only so, but to have protected him from the fury of the priests and rabble, and to have bound his persecutors to their good behaviour, for their insolent conduct. But, being himself a wicked man, he had of course no respect for Christ. Having made himself otherwise obnoxious, he was afraid of displeasing either the emperor or the people, and therefore, for want of integrity, he yields to a set of miscreants, whom he ought to have dispersed as a riotous and seditious assembly, and have forbid to come near him; for he plainly saw what spirit influenced them. He declares Christ to be innocent, and therefore has a mind to release him; yet, to please the people, 1st, He will release him under the character of a malefactor, because of necessity he must release one, Luk 23:17; so that, whereas he ought to have released him as an act of justice, he will release him by an act of grace, and be beholden to the people for it. 2d, He will chastise him, and release him: But if no fault be chargeable upon him, why should he be chastised? There is as much injustice in scourging as in crucifying an innocent man; nor could it be justified by pretending that this would satisfy the clamours of the people, and make him the object of their pity; for we must not do evil that good may come.

Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

Vers. 13-19. Not having succeeded in this way, Pilate finds himself reduced to seek another expedient. Two present themselves to his mind: first, the offer to chastise Jesus,that is to say, to scourge Him; then the proposition to release Him as a pardoned malefactor, according to the custom of the feast. The penalty of scourging strictly formed part of the punishment of crucifixion; it was the imperative preliminary. Jerome says (in Matt. xxvii.): Sciendum est Pilatum romanis legibus ministrasse, quibus sancitum erat ut qui crucifigeretur, prius flagellis verberetur (Langen, p. 281). This previous punishment was often mortal. In this case Pilate offered it to the Jews in place of crucifixion, not as the first act of that punishment. He hoped that at the sight of this the more moderate would be satisfied, and that the last act would not be demanded of him. But to secure the certainty of this means, he combines it with the other. The time was come for releasing a state prisoner, as was common at the feast. He reckons on the numerous adherents of Jesus who had welcomed Him with acclamations on Palm Day, and whose voices, in spite of the rulers, would make themselves heard in demanding His release.

At Luk 23:15, Tischendorf prefers the Alex. reading: For he sent him to us, instead of, For I sent you to him. But this reading has arisen from an entire misunderstanding of the following phrase. It was translated, And, lo! nothing is done unto him (at Herod’s court) to show that he has been judged worthy of death; while the Greek expression signifies, according to a well-known construction, And, lo! he is found to have done nothing (He, Jesus) which was worthy of death [in Herod’s conviction as well as in mine]. The received reading is therefore indisputably the true one.

Pilate declares aloud that the result of this whole series of inquiries has been to establish the innocence of Jesus. But why in this case conclude, as he does (therefore, Luk 23:16), by offering to scourge Him, thereafter to release Him? It was already a denial of justice to send Jesus to Herod after having acknowledged His innocence; it is a more flagrant one still to decree against Him, without any alleged reason, the penalty of scourging. This first concession betrays his weakness, and gives him over beforehand to his adversaries, who are more decided than he.

If Luk 23:17 is authentic, and if it is to be put here (see the critical note), the most natural connection between Luk 23:16-17 is this: I will release him; for I am even under obligation to release unto you a prisoner. Pilate affects to have no doubt that, when the liberation of a prisoner is offered to the people, they will claim Jesus. But if this verse is rejected as unauthentic, we must recognise in the , I will release, Luk 23:16, a positive allusion to the custom of releasing a prisoner. At Luk 23:18, the Jews, understanding in a moment Pilate’s idea, would reply to him by putting themselves at his view-point. But this explanation is somewhat forced, and the omission of Luk 23:17 may have arisen in the Alex. from confounding the two AN…which begin the two Luk 23:17-18.

In John, Pilate, while reminding the people of this custom, directly offers them the deliverance of Jesus. This was probably the real course of events. In Matthew, he puts the alternative between Jesus and Barabbas, which is less natural. In Mark, it is the people who, interrupting the deliberation relative to Jesus, all at once claim the liberation of a prisoner, which is less natural still.

The origin of the custom here mentioned is not known. It is far from probable that it was introduced by the Romans. Langen justly quotes against this supposition the words of Pilate (Joh 18:39), Ye have a custom. Perhaps it was a memorial of the great national deliverance, of the escape from Egypt, which was celebrated at the feast of Passover. The Romans, who took a pride in respecting the usages of conquered peoples, had fallen in with this custom.

But before Pilate had carried out the scourging, the people had already made their choice. This choice is presented, Luk 23:18, as unanimous and spontaneous (), while Matthew and Mark, more accurate on the point, ascribe it to the pressure exercised by the rulers and their underlings, which harmonizes with Joh 19:6.

Mark and Luke characterize Barabbas as one who had been guilty of murder in an insurrection; he was therefore a representative of the same revolutionary spirit of which the Sanhedrim were accusing Jesus. To give up Jesus to the cross, and to demand Barabbas, was to do at the same moment two significant acts. It was to repudiate the spirit of submission and faith which had distinguished the whole work of Jesus, and which might have saved the people. It was at the same time to let loose the spirit of revolt which was to carry them to their destruction.

The name Barabbas comes from and (son of the father). This name signifies, according to most, son of Abba, of God. Keim understands son of the Rabbin, taken as spiritual father. The name Jesus, which is also given to this man in 4 Mnn. of Matthew, and which was found, according to the Fathers, in a considerable number of MSS., was probably added to the name of Barabbas, with the desire to render the parallelism the more striking.

The liberation of Barabbas was a judicial act; to carry it out, Pilate must ascend his judgment-seat. It was probably at this moment that the message of his wife, of which Matthew speaks (Luk 23:19, When he was set down on the judgmentseat), was transmitted to him.

Fuente: Godet Commentary (Luke, John, Romans and 1 Corinthians)

CXXXI.

THIRD STAGE OF THE ROMAN TRIAL. PILATE

RELUCTANTLY SENTENCES HIM TO CRUCIFIXION.

(Friday. Toward sunrise.)

aMATT. XXVII. 15-30; bMARK XV. 6-19; cLUKE XXIII. 13-25; dJOHN XVIII. 39-XIX 16.

a15 Now at the feast [the passover and unleavened bread] the governor was wont {bused to} release unto them athe multitude one prisoner, whom they would. {bwhom they asked of him.} [No one knows when or by whom this custom was introduced, but similar customs were not unknown elsewhere, both the Greeks and Romans being wont to bestow special honor upon certain occasions by releasing prisoners.] a16 And they had then b7 And there was aa notable prisoner, bone called Barabbas, lying bound with them that had made insurrection, men who in the insurrection had committed murder. [710] [Josephus tells us that there had been an insurrection against Pilate’s government about that time caused by his taking money from the temple treasury for the construction of an aqueduct. This may have been the affair here referred to, for in it many lost their lives.] 8 And the multitude went up and began to ask him to do as he was wont to do unto them. [It was still early in the morning, and the vast majority of the city of Jerusalem did not know what was transpiring at Pilate’s palace. But they came thither in throngs, demanding their annual gift of a prisoner. Pilate welcomed the demand as a possible escape from his difficulties.] c13 And Pilate called together the chief priests and the rulers and the people [He did not wish to seem to take advantage of our Lord’s accusers by releasing him during their absence. Possibly he knew of the triumphal entry the Sunday previous, and thought that the popularity of Jesus would be such that his release would be overwhelmingly demanded, and so called the rulers that they might see that he had released Jesus in answer to popular clamor. If he had such expectations, they were misplaced], b9 And a17 When therefore they were gathered together, bPilate answered them, saying, {c14 and said} unto them, bWill ye that I release unto you the King of the Jews? cYe brought unto me this man, as one that perverteth the people: and behold, I having examined him before you, found no fault in this man touching those things whereof ye accuse him: 15 no, nor yet Herod: for he sent him back unto us; and behold, nothing worthy of death hath been done by him. d39 But ye have a custom, that I should release unto you one at the passover: c16 I will therefore chastise him, and release him. dWill ye therefore that I release unto you the King of the Jews? aWhom will ye that I release unto you? Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ? 18 For he knew {bperceived} athat for envy they bthe chief priests had delivered him up. [Though Jesus had been declared innocent on the joint finding of himself and Herod, [711] Pilate did not have the courage to deliberately release him. He sought to please the rulers by scourging him, and the multitude by delivering him to them as a popular favorite, and himself by an adroit escape from an unpleasant situation. But he pleased nobody.] c18 But they cried out all together, saying, Away with this man, and release unto us Barabbas:– 19 one who for a certain insurrection made in the city, and for murder, was cast into prison. [We see from Matthew’s account that though the people had a right to name their prisoner, Pilate took upon himself the liberty of choosing which one of two it should be. By doing so he complicated matters for the Jewish rulers, asking them to choose between Jesus, who was held on an unfounded charge of insurrection, and Barabbas, who was notoriously an insurrectionist and a murderer and a robber as well. But the rulers were not to be caught in so flimsy a net. Without regard to consistency, they raised their voice in full chorus for the release of Barabbas and the crucifixion of Jesus.] a19 And while he was sitting on the judgment-seat, his wife sent unto him, saying, Have thou nothing to do with that righteous man; for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him. [This message of Pilate’s wife suggests that the name and face of Jesus were not unknown to Pilate’s household. Pilate would be much influenced by such a message. The Romans generally were influenced by all presages, and Suetonius tells us that both Julius and Augustus Csar attached much importance to dreams.] b11 But a20 Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded {bstirred up} the multitude, {amultitudes} bthat he should rather release Barabbas unto them. athat they should ask for Barabbas, and destroy Jesus. 21 But the governor answered and said unto them, Which of the two will ye that I release unto you? And they said, Barabbas. d40 They cried out therefore again, saying, Not this man, but Barabbas. Now Barabbas was a robber. c20 And Pilate spake unto them again, desiring to release Jesus; [712] b12 And Pilate again answered and said {asaith} unto them, What then shall I do unto Jesus who is called Christ? bhim whom ye call the King of the Jews? c21 but {b13 and} they cried out {cshouted} bagain, csaying, Crucify, crucify him. aThey all say, Let him be crucified. b14 And Pilate said unto them, cthe third time, Why, what evil hath this man {ahe} done? cI have found no cause of death in him: I will therefore chastise him and release him. aBut they cried out exceedingly, saying, bCrucify him. aLet him be be crucified. [Finding the mob cruelly persistent, Pilate boldly declines to do its will and turns back into the Prtorium declaring his intention to release Jesus. But he retires with the demands of the multitude ringing in his ears.] d1 Then Pilate therefore took Jesus, and scourged him. [Carrying out the program which he proposed, Pilate had Jesus removed from the Prtorium to the place of scourging, and inflicted that punishment upon him. We learn from Josephus and others that the law required that those about to be crucified should first be scourged. But Pilate hoped that scourging would suffice. He believed that the more moderate would take pity upon Jesus when they viewed his scourged body, for scourging was so cruel a punishment that the condemned person often died under its infliction. The scourge was made of thongs loaded at the extremity with pieces of bone or metal. The condemned person was stripped and fastened to a low post, this bending the back so as to stretch the skin. Blood spurted at the first blow.] 2 And the soldiers platted a crown of thorns, and put it on his head, and arrayed him in a purple garment; 3 and they came unto him, and said, Hail, King of the Jews! and they struck him with their hands. [The soldiers had no special malice against Jesus, but the Roman military system made men hard of heart. The occasion gave to these foreign legionaries a much-enjoyed opportunity to show their contempt for the Jews by mocking Jesus as their King. It is not known which one of the many thorny plants of Palestine [713] was used to form the Lord’s crown. See Act 22:24). If Pilate had found Jesus guilty, he would have condemned him at once. As it was, he sought to return Jesus to the Sanhedrin as having committed no crime of which the Roman law could take note.] 5 Jesus therefore came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple garment. And Pilate saith unto them, Behold, the man! [It was Pilate’s original proposition to scourge Jesus and let him go ( Luk 23:16). Having already scourged him, he now hoped to effect his release. Presenting our Lord in this state of abject humiliation, he feels that he has removed him from every suspicion of royalty. He speaks of Jesus as no longer a king, but a mere man. Pilate’s words, however, have a prophetic color, somewhat like those uttered by Caiaphas. All those of subsequent ages have looked and must continue to look to Jesus as the ideal of manhood. The “Ecce Homo” of Pilate is in some sense an echo of the words of the Father when he said, “This is my Son, my chosen: hear ye him.” In Jesus we behold the true man, the second Adam.] 6 When therefore the chief priests and the officers saw him, they cried out, saying, Crucify him, crucify him! [Thus Pilate’s expectation came to naught, for not one of the Jewish rulers ever wavered in their demand for crucifixion.] Pilate saith unto them, Take him yourselves, and crucify him: for I find no [714] crime in him. [In this sentence, “ye” and “I” are both emphatic; for Pilate wishes to draw a contrast between himself and the Jewish rulers. His words are not a permission to crucify, but a bit of taunting irony, as if he said: “I the judge have found him innocent, but ye seem to lack the wit to see that the case is ended. If ye are so much superior to the judge that ye can ignore his decision, proceed without him; crucify him yourselves.”] 7 The Jews answered him, We have a law, and by that law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God. [Perceiving that Pilate was taunting them, and practically accusing them of attempting to put an innocent man to death, they defended themselves by revealing the fact that in addition to the charges that they had preferred against Jesus, they had found him clearly guilty and worthy of death on another charge; viz.: that of blasphemy ( Lev 24:16). They had made no mention of this fact because Pilate was under no obligation to enforce their law; but they mentioned it now to justify their course. They probably felt sure that Jesus himself would convince Pilate of the truth of this latter accusation if Pilate questioned him.] 8 When Pilate therefore heard this saying, he was the more afraid [The words of Jesus at John xviii. 37 (see Joh 18:2, Joh 18:5 (the same word being translated both “betrayed” and “delivered”), but Judas did not deliver to Pilate, so Caiaphas as the representative of the Sanhedrin is here meant; and Pilate’s sin is contrasted with that of the rulers. Both of them sinned in abusing their office (the power derived from above– Psa 75:6, Psa 75:7, Isa 44:28, Rom 13:1); but Pilate’s sin stopped here. He had no acquaintance with Jesus to give him the possibility of other powers–those of love or hatred, worship or rejection. The members of the Sanhedrin had these powers which arose from a personal knowledge of Jesus, and they abused them by hating and rejecting him, thereby adding to their guilt. Pilate condemned the innocent when brought before him, but the Sanhedrin searched out and arrested the innocent that they might enjoy condemning him.] 12 Upon this Pilate sought to release him [As we have seen, Pilate had before this tried to win the consent of the rulers that Jesus be released, but that which John here indicates was probably an actual attempt to set Jesus free. He may have begun by unloosing the hands of Jesus, or some such demonstration]: but the Jews cried out, saying, If thou release this man, thou art not Caesar’s friend: every one that maketh himself a king speaketh against Caesar. [716] [Whatever Pilate’s demonstration was it was immediately met by a counter one on the part of the rulers. They raise a cry which the politic Pilate can not ignore. Taking up the political accusation (which they had never abandoned), they give it a new turn by prompting Pilate to view it from Csar’s standpoint. Knowing the unreasoning jealousy, suspicion and cruelty of the emperor, Pilate saw at once that these unscrupulous Jews could make out of the present occasion a charge against him which would cost him his position, if not his life.] 13 When Pilate therefore heard these words, he brought Jesus out, and sat down on the judgment-seat at a place called The Pavement, but in Hebrew, Gabbatha. [Pilate had already again and again declared Jesus innocent. He now mounts the judgment-seat that he may formally reverse himself and condemn him. The apostle as an eye-witness fixes by its two names the exact spot where this awful decision was rendered.] 14 Now it was the Preparation of the passover [see 1Sa 12:12), their faithful prophet, Samuel, warned them what the king of their choice would do, and what they should suffer under him. Thus Jesus also foretold what this Csar of their choice would do to them ( Luk 19:41-44, Luk 23:27-31). They committed themselves to the [717] tender mercies of Rome, and one generation later Rome trod them in the wine-press of her wrath.] c23 But they were urgent with loud voices, asking that he might be crucified. And their voices prevailed. [They overcame Pilate’s weak resistance by their clamor.] a24 So when Pilate saw that he prevailed nothing, but rather that a tumult was arising, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this righteous man; see ye to it. 25 And all the people answered and said, His blood be on us, and on our children. [Pilate’s act was symbolic, intended to show that he regarded the crucifixion of Jesus as a murder, and therefore meant to wash his hands of the guilt thereof. The Jewish law made the act perfectly familiar to the Jews ( Deu 21:1-9). Had the Jewish rulers not been frenzied by hatred, the sight of Pilate washing his hands would have checked them; but in their rage they take upon themselves and their children all the responsibility. At the siege of Jerusalem they answer in part for the blood of Christ, but God alone determines the extent of their responsibility, and he alone can say when their punishment shall end. But we know that it ends for all when they repentantly seek his forgiveness. The punishments of God are not vindictive, they are the awards of Justice meted out by a merciful hand.] b15 And Pilate, wishing to content the multitude, cgave sentence that what they asked for should be done. a26 Then released he unto them Barabbas; chim that for insurrection and murder had been cast into prison, whom they asked for; but Jesus he delivered up to their will. d16 Then therefore bJesus, when he had scourged him, to be crucified [Mark mentions the scourging to show that it preceded the crucifixion, but we see from John’s account that the scourging took place somewhat earlier in the proceeding], bhe delivered him unto them to be crucified. [Pilate delivered Jesus to their punishment, but not into their hands; he was led forth and crucified by Pilate’s soldiers, who first mocked him, as the next paragraph shows.] b16 And [718] a27 Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus, bled him away within {ainto} the court, which is the Praetorium; and they called together aand gathered unto him the whole band. 28 And they stripped him, and put on him a scarlet robe. b17 And they clothe him with purple, a29 And they platted {bplatting} a crown of thorns, [and] they put it on him; aupon his head, and a reed in his right hand; and they kneeled down before him, and mocked him, b18 and they began to salute him, asaying, Hail, King of the Jews! 30 And they spat upon him, and took the reed b19 And they smote his head {aand smote him on the head.} bwith a reed, and spat upon him, and bowing their knees worshipped him. [After the sentence of death the soldiers take Jesus back into the Prtorium, and renew the mockeries and indignities which had been interrupted that Pilate might exhibit Jesus to the people, as John shows us. Moreover, the whole band, or cohort, are now gathered, where at first but a few took part. It is likely that the mock robe and crown were removed when Jesus was brought before Pilate to be sentenced, for it is highly improbable that a Roman judge would pronounce the death sentence while the prisoner was clothed in such a manner.]

[FFG 710-719]

Fuente: McGarvey and Pendleton Commentaries (New Testament)

PILATE SEEKS TO RELEASE HIM IN LIEU OF BARABBAS

Mat 27:15-26; Mar 15:6-15; Joh 18:39-40; Luk 23:13-25. And Pilate, having called together the high priests, rulers, and the people, said to them, You have brought to me this Man as revolutionizing the people; and, behold, I, having judged Him in your presence, found nothing in this Man criminal of those things which you accuse against Him; neither did Herod; for I sent you to him, and, behold, nothing worthy of death has been done by Him. Therefore, having scourged Him, I will release Him. The cruelty of the Roman punishments actually beggars all description. This scourging which Pilate mentions was horrific in the extreme. Previously to the crucifixion of a man, they beat his naked body with thongs of rawhide, having in them steel points, which lacerated his flesh most excruciatingly, so that it was nothing uncommon for the poor victim to die during the scourging. Pilate, however, lights upon this as a dernier ressort to save the life of Jesus, thinking that a punishment so awful administered to an innocent man would certainly produce a reaction on the part of His enemies, constraining them to relax their apparently implacable animosity toward Him, so that they would consent to His release. Pilate, though a corrupt heathen ruler, in this matter underestimated the diabolical malice and hellish venom which was at that time the controlling principle of the big preachers and ruling elders, who were determined to have Him put to death. When the devil gets possession of religious people, they have in all ages proved more demoniacal than the wicked people of the world.

Mar 15:6-12. But during the feast he was accustomed to release unto them one prisoner, whom they demanded. There was one called Barabbas, having been bound along with the insurrectionists, who had committed murder in the insurrection. The rabble, roaring, began to ask as he was always accused to do unto them. Pilate responded to them, saying, Do you wish that I shall release unto you the King of the Jews? For he knew that the high priests had delivered Him through envy. It is said that Josephs brethren sold him to the Ishmaelites through envy. He was a beautiful type of Christ, sold for money, and suffered seven years in the loathsome State prison, thus vividly symbolizing Jesus, in His first coming, to suffer and to die. Finally, when promoted to the throne of Egypt, the ruling kingdom of the world, invested in royal robes, riding in a golden chariot, fifty couriers running before him, shouting, Bow the knee for the king cometh, how vividly does he emblematize our glorious King Jesus in His second advent, accompanied by the mighty angels, and crowned King of kings and Lord of Lords! Pilate is so anxious to release Jesus that he restricts their choice to the two Jesus and Barabbas. Then, coming before them, he seeks to forestall their verdict by shouting aloud, Shall I release unto you the King of the Jews?

Mat 27:19. He, sitting upon his tribunal, his wife sent to him, saying, Have thou nothing to do with that Righteous One; for I suffered many things this day in a dream on account of Him. In common parlance, the day includes the night. Of course, the woman had the dream during the night. Tradition has given us the character of this dream. It is said that when the courier arrived from their suburban home at Bethany, bringing a letter from Lucia Metella, the governors wife, in the midst of this momentously exciting trial, Pilate took it hurriedly, and aiming to read inaudibly, was so excited that his tremulous utterances were overheard. My Dear Husband, Be sure that you have nothing to do with that Righteous One; for this very day I saw Him, in a vision seated on high Olympus, and all the gods and goddesses hurling their crowns at His feet! I tell you, my husband, He is one of the gods. Of course, she and Pilate were Romans, believing in the many gods of the Roman Empire.

Luk 23:8-23. And the whole: multitude cried out saying, Take Him away; but release unto us Barabbas, who , on account of a certain insurrection and murder in the city, had been cast into prison, and Barabbas was a formidable robber chief, who had given them awful trouble, the Roman guards with difficulty having finally succeeded in arresting him, and thus breaking up his robber band. Then Pilate again called to them, wishing to release Jesus. And they continued to cry out, saying, Crucify Him! crucify Him! And the third time he said to them, For what evil has He done? I have found nothing worthy of death in Him; therefore, having scourged Him, I will release Him. You see Pilates plan was to move their sympathies and mitigate their cruel wrath by scourging Him, thinking they would then consent to His release.

And they continued to lie on, with great voices demanding that He should be crucified; and the voices of them and the high priests continued to wax stronger and stronger. As they were disappointed in their plan of killing Him in the night, and it is now eight oclock, the news flying on the wings of the wind, and all who hear of it rushing to the scene of action, crowding the streets and alleys and the flat roofs of the houses all around Pilates judgment-hall, the high priests, Sanhedrin, and ruling elders feel that the crisis is on them, and if some-thing is not done quickly, the mob will rise and take Him out of their hands. Hence they roar and roar as if they would split their throats, demanding of the governor His crucifixion.

Mat 27:24-26. And Pilate, seeing that he profits nothing, but the more is the uproar, taking water, washed his hands in presence of the multitude, saying, I am innocent, from the blood of this Just One; you shall see to it. And all the people, responding, said, His blood be upon us and our children. Then he released unto them Barabbas.

Luk 23:24-25. And Pilate decided that the request should be granted, and he released unto them the one who on account of sedition and murder had been cast into prison, and he delivered Jesus according to their choice. Contemporary history says that Pilate had but few soldiers in Jerusalem at that time comparatively with the ordinary force which he kept on hand, having recently been under the necessity of sending away a large detachment to quell an insurrection in Syria. He was therefore apprehensive of a bloody revolution, surging like the waves of the stormy sea, and every moment threatening to break out, deluge the judgment-hall in blood, blockade the streets with the slain, and wrap Jerusalem in a terrible civil war. Consequently, resorting to a principle long rulable, especially in Oriental despotisms, that one innocent man would better die than for many to lose their lives, and having repeatedly pronounced Jesus innocent, he signs His death-warrant as a mere peace measure, in order to prevent a bloody conflict, in which many would certainly perish.

Fuente: William Godbey’s Commentary on the New Testament

23:13 {4} And Pilate, when he had called together the chief priests and the {d} rulers and the people,

(4) Christ is acquitted the second time, even by him of whom he is condemned, so that it might appear in what way he who is just, redeemed us who were unjust.

(d) Those whom the Jews called the sanhedrin.

Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes

Pilate announced his verdict that he made after receiving Herod’s opinion. Pilate had found Jesus innocent of the charge of insurrection. He used standard legal terminology (cf. Act 23:9; Act 26:31-32). He doubtless intended to put the matter to rest.

Luke’s reference to the people (Gr. laos, Luk 23:13) is significant. Throughout his Gospel Luke referred to the people (laos) as distinct from the crowds (ochlos). The former word describes people who did not oppose Jesus as their leaders did (cf. Luk 23:27; Luk 23:35; Luk 24:19; Act 2:47). Many people from this group believed on Jesus. The crowds, on the other hand, sought Jesus for what they could get out of Him. In these verses the people who were sympathetic or at least neutral toward Jesus heard Pilate’s verdict along with the antagonistic Sanhedrin members. [Note: Liefeld, "Luke," p. 1040.]

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)