Thursday
Read Luke 23:1-49
23 The whole group rose up and took Jesus before
Pilate, 2where they began to accuse him: “We caught this man
misleading our people, telling them not to pay taxes to the Emperor and
claiming that he himself is the Messiah, a king.”
3 Pilate asked him, “Are you the
king of the Jews?”
“So you say,” answered Jesus.
4 Then Pilate said to the chief
priests and the crowds, “I find no reason to condemn this man.”
5 But they insisted even more
strongly, “With his teaching he is starting a riot among the people all through
Judea. He began in Galilee and now has come here.”
6 When Pilate heard this, he asked,
“Is this man a Galilean?” 7When he learnt that Jesus was from the
region ruled by Herod, he sent him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem at that
time. 8Herod was very pleased when he saw Jesus, because he had
heard about him and had been wanting to see him for a long time. He was hoping
to see Jesus perform some miracle. 9So Herod asked Jesus many
questions, but Jesus made no answer. 10The chief priests and the
teachers of the Law stepped forward and made strong accusations against Jesus. 11Herod
and his soldiers mocked Jesus and treated him with contempt; then they put a
fine robe on him and sent him back to Pilate. 12On that very day
Herod and Pilate became friends; before this they had been enemies.
(Matt 27:15–26; Mark 15:6–15; John 18:39–19:16)
13 Pilate called together the chief
priests, the leaders, and the people, 14and said to them, “You
brought this man to me and said that he was misleading the people. Now, I have
examined him here in your presence, and I have not found him guilty of any of
the crimes you accuse him of. 15Nor did Herod find him guilty, for
he sent him back to us. There is nothing this man has done to deserve death. 16So
I will have him whipped and let him go.”c
18 The whole crowd cried out, “Kill
him! Set Barabbas free for us!” 19(Barabbas had been put in prison
for a riot that had taken place in the city, and for murder.)
20 Pilate wanted to set Jesus free,
so he appealed to the crowd again. 21But they shouted back, “Crucify
him! Crucify him!”
22
Pilate said to them the third time, “But
what crime has he committed? I cannot find anything he has done to deserve
death! I will have him whipped and set him free.” 23But they kept on
shouting at the top of their voices that Jesus should be crucified, and finally
their shouting succeeded. 24So Pilate passed the sentence on Jesus
that they were asking for. 25He set free the man they wanted, the
one who had been put in prison for riot and murder, and he handed Jesus over
for them to do as they wished.
(Matt 27:32–44; Mark 15:21–32; John 19:17–27)
26 The soldiers led Jesus away, and
as they were going, they met a man from Cyrene named Simon who was coming into
the city from the country. They seized him, put the cross on him, and made him
carry it behind Jesus.
27 A large crowd of people followed
him; among them were some women who were weeping and wailing for him. 28Jesus
turned to them and said, “Women of Jerusalem! Don’t cry for me, but for
yourselves and your children. 29For the days are coming when people
will say, ‘How lucky are the women who never had children, who never bore
babies, who never nursed them!’ 30That will be the time when people
will say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us!’ and to the hills, ‘Hide us!’ 31For
if such things as these are done when the wood is green, what will happen when
it is dry?”
32 Two other men, both of them
criminals, were also led out to be put to death with Jesus. 33When
they came to the place called “The Skull”, they crucified Jesus there, and the
two criminals, one on his right and the other on his left. 34Jesus
said, “Forgive them, Father! They don’t know what they are doing.”d
They divided his clothes among themselves
by throwing dice. 35The people stood there watching while the Jewish
leaders jeered at him: “He saved others; let him save himself if he is the
Messiah whom God has chosen!”
36 The soldiers also mocked him:
they came up to him and offered him cheap wine, 37and said, “Save
yourself if you are the king of the Jews!”
38 Above him were written these
words: “This is the King of the Jews.”
39 One of the criminals hanging
there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”
40 The other one, however, rebuked
him, saying, “Don’t you fear God? You received the same sentence he did. 41Ours,
however, is only right, because we are getting what we deserve for what we did;
but he has done no wrong.” 42And he said to Jesus, “Remember me,
Jesus, when you come as King!”
43 Jesus said to him, “I promise you
that today you will be in Paradise with me.”
(Matt 27:45–56; Mark 15:33–41; John 19:28–30)
44–45 It was about twelve o’clock
when the sun stopped shining and darkness covered the whole country until three
o’clock; and the curtain hanging in the Temple was torn in two. 46Jesus
cried out in a loud voice, “Father! In your hands I place my spirit!” He said
this and died.
47 The army officer saw what had
happened, and he praised God, saying, “Certainly he was a good man!”
48 When the people who had gathered
there to watch the spectacle saw what happened, they all went back home,
beating their breasts in sorrow. 49All those who knew Jesus
personally, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a
distance to watch.
Think
In verses 42-43 a criminal responds to Jesus and Jesus promises him life
in Paradise.
Pray
Remember me, Jesus, when you come as King.
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