The trial and the cross

Imagine you're on the jury. The prosecution brings three charges against Jesus (Luke 23:2): he's stirring up trouble in the nation, he tells people not to pay taxes to Caesar, and he claims to be the Christ, a king. Do any of them stick? (Hint: in Luke 20:25 Jesus had actually told people to give Caesar what belongs to Caesar.)

Luke wrote his Gospel so that his readers could be certain about Jesus (Luke 1:4). In chapter 23 he puts Jesus on trial in front of us, and then takes us to the cross. As you read, keep count: how many people reach a verdict about Jesus, and what do they say?

What you'll learn

• The main events of Jesus' trials and crucifixion in Luke 23
• Why Luke keeps telling us Jesus was innocent, and what Barabbas going free pictures
• What Jesus' words from the cross show about him

On trial

Jesus was passed between the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate, and the Jewish king, Herod Antipas. Again and again, the verdict was the same:

Later in the chapter, two more unexpected people reach the same verdict. See if you can find them in verses 41 and 47.

"A third time he said to them, ‘What evil has this man done? I have found in Him no offense worthy of death. So after I punish Him, I will release Him.’" (Luke 23:22)

So why did Pilate hand Jesus over anyway? Luke tells us the crowd's shouting won (23:23). Pilate feared a riot, and probably for his career, more than he loved justice. Herod, meanwhile, just wanted Jesus to do a trick (23:8), and Jesus stayed silent. Herod and Pilate had been enemies, but they became friends that day (23:12). People who agreed on nothing else agreed about getting rid of Jesus.

By the end of the chapter, you start to wonder who is really on trial: Jesus, or everyone who meets him?

Barabbas goes free

Pilate offered to release a prisoner, and the crowd chose Barabbas, a man in prison for rebellion and murder.

"As they had requested, he released the one imprisoned for insurrection and murder, and he handed Jesus over to their will." (Luke 23:25)

Picture Barabbas's morning. He wakes in a cell, guilty, expecting to be executed. By lunchtime he's walking free, and an innocent man is dying on the cross that was meant for him.

The guilty man goes free. The innocent man is condemned in his place. Luke doesn't stop to explain what that means, but the picture is hard to miss, and it leads straight to the big question of the next lesson: did Jesus die in our place? (A fun fact: "Bar-abbas" means "son of the father" in Aramaic. You can decide whether that's just a coincidence.)

The cross

Luke doesn't dwell on the physical horror. He simply tells us that they crucified him (23:33). What he does record carefully is what people said.

Three groups mocked Jesus: the rulers (23:35), the soldiers (23:36–37) and one of the criminals (23:39). They all said the same thing: if you're the king, save yourself. The irony is that Jesus stayed on the cross precisely because he was saving others.

Luke records three things Jesus said from the cross:

The second one is this lesson's key verse:

"Then he said, ‘Jesus, remember me when You come into Your kingdom!’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Truly I tell you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.’" (Luke 23:42–43)

That criminal had no time to be baptised, do good deeds or go to church. He had nothing to offer. He simply asked, and Jesus welcomed him.

Then came the signs. Darkness covered the land for three hours. The curtain in the temple, which closed off the Most Holy Place where God's presence was, was torn in two (23:45). Hebrews 10:19–20 says Jesus' death opened the way for people to come to God. And the Roman officer in charge of the execution gave the last "innocent" verdict of the chapter.

Did it really happen?

This isn't just a story Christians tell. The Roman historian Tacitus (writing about AD 116) records that "Christus" was executed by Pontius Pilate during the reign of the emperor Tiberius. The Jewish historian Josephus (about AD 93) also mentions Pilate condemning Jesus to the cross. Almost all historians, Christian or not, accept that Jesus was crucified under Pilate. The real debate isn't whether he died, but why, and what happened next.

One more important point. People have sometimes said "the Jews killed Jesus", and that lie was used for centuries to justify cruelty to Jewish people. Luke shows Jewish leaders, a Roman governor, a Jewish king, Roman soldiers and a crowd all involved. Jesus and all his first followers were Jewish. Christians believe that everyone's sin put Jesus on the cross, and that he gave his life willingly.

Key words

• Pontius Pilate: the Roman governor of Judea who sentenced Jesus to death.
• Barabbas: a prisoner guilty of rebellion and murder, released instead of Jesus.
• Crucifixion: a Roman method of execution, used for slaves and rebels, designed to be slow and shameful.
• Paradise: a word for the place where God's people are with him after death.
• Temple curtain: the heavy curtain separating the Most Holy Place, a sign that people couldn't just walk into God's presence.

How this points to Jesus

Luke 23 shows Jesus as the innocent one who takes the place of the guilty. Barabbas walks free because Jesus is condemned. A dying criminal is welcomed into paradise because Jesus is dying beside him. The people around him kept shouting "save yourself", but he refused, because he had come to save others.

Think about it

Take it further

Read Luke 23:42–43 slowly, then sit quietly for a minute with this question: if you had been the criminal next to Jesus, what would you have said to him? Luke also asks every reader for a verdict. Whatever you believe right now, what verdict would you give on Jesus, and why?

Your worksheet helps you track every verdict in Luke 23, write Barabbas's diary for the night he was released, and look closely at Jesus' words from the cross.