Luke 23:14 - Printer Friendly

ESV: and said to them, "You brought me this man as one who was misleading the people. And after examining him before you, behold, I did not find this man guilty of any of your charges against him.

NIV: and said to them, "You brought me this man as one who was inciting the people to rebellion. I have examined him in your presence and have found no basis for your charges against him.

NASB: and he said to them, 'You brought this man to me on the ground that he is inciting the people to revolt; and behold, after examining Him before you, I have found no basis at all in the case of this man for the charges which you are bringing against Him.

CSB: and said to them, "You have brought me this man as one who misleads the people. But in fact, after examining him in your presence, I have found no grounds to charge this man with those things you accuse him of.

NLT: and he announced his verdict. 'You brought this man to me, accusing him of leading a revolt. I have examined him thoroughly on this point in your presence and find him innocent.

KJV: 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:

NKJV: said to them, “You have brought this Man to me, as one who misleads the people. And indeed, having examined Him in your presence, I have found no fault in this Man concerning those things of which you accuse Him;

Pilate is telling Jewish religious leaders and the crowd they've gathered that he still can't find any law which Jesus has broken. He questioned Jesus and he had Herod Antipas question Him, and both think Jesus is innocent.

Earlier that morning, chief priests, scribes, and elders had taken Jesus to Pilate claiming, "We found this man misleading our nation and forbidding us to give tribute to Caesar, and saying that he himself is Christ, a king" (Luke 23:2). They also say, "He stirs up the people, teaching throughout all Judea, from Galilee even to this place" (Luke 23:5).

The great irony is that Jesus is Christ and He is a king. He is not misleading people. It is the religious leaders who are deceptive, as they insist Jesus does not fit the Old Testament prophecies of the Messiah. They know He does, but they are envious of His popularity (John 11:45–53). Pilate is savvy enough to realize this (Matthew 27:18).

This is the second of three times Pilate declares Jesus' innocence (Luke 23:4, 22). In fact, this seems to be Luke's theme of the chapter: everyone knows Jesus is innocent but the Jewish leaders and crowd continue to insist He be crucified. It's unclear what Pilate thinks about Jesus. Jesus tells him "My kingdom is not of this world" (John 18:36). Pilate may think Jesus is slightly delusional. But he knows Jesus is not a threat to the peace of Jerusalem and doesn't deserve crucifixion.

Luke 23:13–19 contains Pilate's next attempt to convince the Sanhedrin that Jesus has done nothing worthy of death. He even offers to scourge Jesus before releasing Him. The Sanhedrin won't listen. Instead of Jesus, they'd rather Pilate release the insurrectionist Barabbas. Matthew 27:15–21 and Mark 15:6–11 roughly follow the same timeline, but John 18:39—19:5 includes details about what Jesus endures at the hands of Pilate's guards.

Luke 23 records the remaining trials, death, and burial of Jesus Christ. He is examined by the Roman governor and the local appointed King, neither of whom are interested in passing a death sentence. Local religious leaders incite the crowd, pressuring the governor, Pilate, to authorize crucifixion. Jesus accepts the faith of another condemned man and dies. Joseph of Arimathea asks for Jesus body and buries it in a tomb cut from rock.

Luke 23 records Jesus' civil trials, crucifixion, and burial. The members of the Sanhedrin have put Jesus through three trials in their attempt to convince Pilate He's a threat (Luke 22:47–71). Their case is weak, but their political influence is powerful enough to force Pilate's hand. Jesus is executed. Three days after Joseph of Arimathea buries Jesus, Jesus reappears on the road to Emmaus where He explains Messianic prophecies in Jewish Scriptures. After spending time with His followers, Jesus ascends into heaven (Luke 24) and the disciples build the church (Acts).

Luke was a traveling companion of Paul (Acts 16:10) and a physician (Colossians 4:14). Unlike Matthew, Mark, and John, Luke writes his gospel as an historian, rather than as a first-hand eyewitness. His extensive writings also include the book of Acts (Acts 1:1–3). These are deliberately organized, carefully researched accounts of those events. The gospel of Luke focuses on the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ. Luke's Gentile perspective presents Christ as a Savior for all people, offering both forgiveness and direction to those who follow Him.