Luke CH 23

Luke ch 23

So we see in Chapter 22 Many things that Jesus did and said with his disciples

Jesus was preparing Himself and His disciples for His imminent death on the cross

We see in chapter 22 satan infiltrating the disciples through Judas Iscariot

He agreed with the chief priests and scribes and made a deal to turn in and betray Jesus

Judas was a man who sat at the same table as Jesus, a man that was closest to him

The disciples argued about who amongst them was the Greatest

Peter would deny Jesus

Jesus would Go into the Garden and pray knowing that He had to fulfill His destiny in order to Further the Kingdom of God

Again Jesus would be betrayed setting the tone for this next chapter that we will be going through

Chapter 23

Luke 23:1 “1 Then the whole multitude of them arose and led Him to Pilate.”

Who is Pontius Pilate ? He was the Roman Governor of Judea, it is believed that he was already on His way to Jerusalem

and since Jesus died on the cross with two others, it is believed that Pilate was there for them and took the opportunity to throw Jesus into the Mix

In this verse we See that the Whole Multitude again is referring to the chief priests, scribes

they weren’t playing games, they wanted Jesus dead

so they took Him to the Governor

that is like instead of dealing with someone directly, you take them to the Boss

Luke 23:2 “2 And they began to accuse Him, saying, “We found this fellow perverting the nation, and forbidding to pay taxes to Caesar, saying that He Himself is Christ, a King.””

This group of people Lead by Pontius pilate wanted Jesus tried for things He didn’t do, they were fabricated stories

They said he was perverting the nation , not paying taxes to caesar, and claiming to be Christ A King

Jesus drew huge crowds to His teachings and they were never aimed at misleading Israel they were always meant to build up and to further Gods kingdom

In Luke Chapter 20 it says

Keep in Mind He’s speaking to the Chief Priests and the scribes again

Luke 20:22–26 “22 Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” 23 But He perceived their craftiness, and said to them, “Why do you test Me? 24 Show Me a denarius. Whose image and inscription does it have?” They answered and said, “Caesar’s.” 25 And He said to them, “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” 26 But they could not catch Him in His words in the presence of the people. And they marveled at His answer and kept silent.”

These verses in CH 20 is what the people were trying to accuse Jesus of when it came to paying taxes to caesar

But Jesus had the perfect response, He didn’t bite the bait, He responded thoughtfully and with wisdom

They wanted to see if He said yes to the question in vs 22 because they believed that it was Lawful to pay tax to Caesar, so if they did say yes than the Jewish people would turn against Him

But then if He said no to the question , then they could catch Him and charge Him with Treason

Thats why His response was perfect, Ill re read it again in Vs 25

Then In verse 26 they realized Jesus was blameless, they Had nothing on Him

So now when we go back to verse 2 and we read that They were accusing Him of forbidding to pay taxes we see that its a flat out Lie

And we see the enemy at work Here

We’ve all heard this saying i’m sure but its never the people that are the enemy, its the enemy using the people

thats heavy because when you look back at all that Jesus did in His time here on earth, the people were blinded by the enemy they did everything in their power to find fault in Jesus

Jesus again though was blameless

Luke 23:3 “3 Then Pilate asked Him, saying, “Are You the King of the Jews?” He answered him and said, “It is as you say.””

So again Jesus sitting back not saying much while people are throwing His name around is finally asked a question

Are you the King of the Jews,

His response again was perfect, He didn’t directly say yes or no,

He was being careful, he didn’t want to give the impression that he was there to take over

so he put it On Pilate by saying if thats what you say

Jesus is a master at response in times of trouble

Luke 23:4 “4 So Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowd, “I find no fault in this Man.””

Luke 23:5 “5 But they were the more fierce, saying, “He stirs up the people, teaching throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee to this place.”

These people were savages and they didn’t Care for Pilates response

so they went on the offensive again trying to paint a Picture of how much damage Jesus had done

They said He stirs up people teaching all throughout Judea beginning in Galilee

so again they tried to continue Lying about Jesus and His Teachings

Why did these people hate Him so much ?

They Hated Him because through Him he would eliminate their Religion

They would rather follow the traditions rather than the Gospel that Jesus was teaching/ living out

Jesus Faces Herod

Luke 23:6 “6 When Pilate heard of Galilee, he asked if the Man were a Galilean.”

Luke 23:7 “7 And as soon as he knew that He belonged to Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent Him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem at that time.”

So we see some issues starting to develop within Pilates Heart

He’s found no evidence of Jesus doing anything unlawful or immoral

Jesus was Blameless

This put Pilate in a bind, Pilate didn’t know how to handle the situation

He knew Jesus and heard of Him and saw right through the confusion the people were trying to stir up

So what does he do, he finds out Jesus is a Galilean and instead of Holding firm to His word and sticking up for Jesus

He turns Him over to Herod because Galilee was in the Jurisdiction of Herod, so Herod had rule over those people

what a cop out

Luke 23:8 “8 Now when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceedingly glad; for he had desired for a long time to see Him, because he had heard many things about Him, and he hoped to see some miracle done by Him.”

Herod was excited that Pilate handed Jesus over to Him

He wanted to see Him perform miracles, he had heard all about it but wanted to see it first hand

and now that Jesus is there with Him, he’s expecting it

When we Look back into chapter 9 if you guys want to turn there we see the evidence of Herod desiring to meet Jesus

Luke 9:7–9 “7 Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was done by Him; and he was perplexed, because it was said by some that John had risen from the dead, 8 and by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the old prophets had risen again. 9 Herod said, “John I have beheaded, but who is this of whom I hear such things?” So he sought to see Him.”

Herod on one hand was excited to see Jesus but His motives were wrong, it says he wanted to see Jesus perform miracles

Jesus wasn’ t about it and you see that in the next two verses

Luke 23:9 “9 Then he questioned Him with many words, but He answered him nothing.”

Luke 23:10 “10 And the chief priests and scribes stood and vehemently accused Him.”

Herod questioned Jesus it says with many words

I could imagine He was probably grilling Him about the things he heard about Him

but Jesus response was nothing, again Jesus is sitting there just listening

His silence brought anger to the chief priests and scribes, it says they Vehemently accused Him

Some Believe that in is Ch 53 a prophecy about Jesus and his silence Leading up to his death was fulfilled

It says in vs 7-8

Isaiah 53:7–8 “7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth. 8 He was taken from prison and from judgment, And who will declare His generation? For He was cut off from the land of the living; For the transgressions of My people He was stricken.”

Jesus was the ultimate example of Suffering well

the persecution He was dealing with along with knowing that He was going to be Killed on the cross is something that I couldn’t fathom

Luke 23:11 “11 Then Herod, with his men of war, treated Him with contempt and mocked Him, arrayed Him in a gorgeous robe, and sent Him back to Pilate.”

Here we see that though Jesus did nothing to deserve the treatment he was being given

he maintained the right mindset, the right attitude , and he kept it together

He Showed great restraint

The thing i want to point out here in verse 11 is the fact that they decided to dress up Jesus

back in those days Kings dressed like Kings

so because Jesus was the “so called “ king of the Jews,

pilate and Herod decided to Mock him, dress Him up, make fun of Him and ridicule Him

then in verse 12 it says

Luke 23:12 “12 That very day Pilate and Herod became friends with each other, for previously they had been at enmity with each other.”

Pilate and Herod for what ever reason didn’t like each-other

The common thing they had going for them was they didn’t like Jesus

this reminds me, the world today still doesn’t like Jesus and there are many evil forces out there that team up against Him. Just like Herod and Pilot

So with that being said with these 12 verses id Like to Kinda camp out on something we can all see in The character of Jesus .

I mentioned it a little before and ill mention it again.

Jesus had self control/ self restraint

He didn’t allow his circumstance being persecuted to get to Him in a way that would of compromised who He truly was

We see that in these first twelve verses of the chapter

He was humble in the fact that He had everything going against Him,

Not once did Jesus speak out to defend himself

Not once did He get angry

Not once did He use His power to change what He was suppose to do on the cross

It says in

Luke 22:39–42 “39 Coming out, He went to the Mount of Olives, as He was accustomed, and His disciples also followed Him. 40 When He came to the place, He said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.” 41 And He was withdrawn from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and prayed, 42 saying, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.””

He knew that His time was coming

He sought after God getting down on His Knees and praying

He even pleaded with God in these verses but realized it didn’t matter, He said in His prayer ‘not my will but yours be done”

How often do we as Gods children step out in disobedience to try and take control of a situation thats not in our control?

Unless you are perfect it probably Happens a- lot

I know i’m not Much older than you guys but the Lord recently has been showing me and teaching me to have restraint and to be in tune with Him and allow Him to have control of situations and circumstance in my Life

His example of it is a blessing to us as believers and its encouraging

Jesus himself went through trials over and over

and again he showed restraint

He showed us not only through restraint but through prayer

the beauty of it is when we give what ever it is that we are struggling with to Him , he helps us

There might be times in this life when we don’t truly want to do what God has for us

but at the end of the day its not our will that is to be done but Gods will in our Life

Proverbs 3:5–6 “5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.”

When we allow Gods will to be done in our Life it looks different than what we want

we don’t always fully understand what it is that He has for us, but like these two verses say in proverbs, acknowledge the Lord in all your ways and he will direct your paths

surrender to Him and His blessings will come upon you

some other things Id like to Point out are His humility and Patience

When He did answer he answered thoughtfully and with wisdom

Again because of His ability to have restraint in his responses to Herod and Pilot he was blameless

He was so blameless that they realized He didn’t do anything

At times our actions can speak louder than our words and for Jesus thats exactly what happened

He didn’t even say anything and when he did it was wisdom

Jesus reputation Spoke for itself as well

Let that be an example as to how we are to act in times of trials

theres been times in my life and i still struggle with this that if i kept my mouth shut like Jesus, the outcome would be much different

Proverbs four 23 says

Proverbs 4:23 “23 Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life.”

its not what goes into someones mouth necessarily that defiles him but what comes out

out of the heart comes the issues of life ,

Matthew 15:11 “11 Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man.”

so again here in Matthew we see that what matters is what we say

what comes out of our mouth is what truly determines our heart and where it is

So just like the example Jesus gave us of His restraint

what are you doing in your life that is an example to others during hard times ?

How we respond is everything and thats the point here

- How many of us have acted out in situations that are not in our control ?

Take the example of Jesus into consideration

Jesus Had nothing but self control

Jesus knew that if He did anything wrong, these people would prove that he was not who he said He was

when we do act out and speak out when we are not suppose to or have the wrong attitude when we do what do we think happens ?

especially as christians and believers, people eat that up

they cant wait for us to mess up, give them a reason to discredit your walk and they will run with it.

Lets move on to Verse 13

Luke 23:13–17 “13 Then Pilate, when he had called together the chief priests, the rulers, and the people, 14 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; 15 no, neither did Herod, for I sent you back to him; and indeed nothing deserving of death has been done by Him. 16 I will therefore chastise Him and release Him” 17 (for it was necessary for him to release one to them at the feast).”

So Herod realizing that he had no case against Jesus sends Him back to Pilate

so Jesus is going back and forth from pilate and Herod, neither of them want to deal with the situation at hand because they know that there is no case at hand

Pilate again in verse 13 gathered all the haters together to tell them what they already know

He tells them all that Neither him or Herod have found Jesus to be guilty of anything including death

so instead of Killing Jesus Pilate is just like ya Ima just punish Him real quick and maybe that’ll please everyone

Now vs 18

Luke 23:18 “18 And they all cried out at once, saying, “Away with this Man, and release to us Barabbas”—”

Luke 23:19 “19 who had been thrown into prison for a certain rebellion made in the city, and for murder.”

Barabbas ; he was not a good man

when you see Him mentioned in the other Gospels its easy to see that he doesn’t have a good reputation

Hes a punk, and a murderer

during passover which is the time frame that this is all going down

it was a tradition to release a prisoner

Jesus was hated so much by these people that they would rather of had a murderer released

The whole Barabbas deal was just a scape goat as well for Pilate ,

He was then able to blame the death of Jesus on the crowd and not Himself

Pretty shady

vs 20 now

Luke 23:20 “20 Pilate, therefore, wishing to release Jesus, again called out to them.”

Luke 23:21 “21 But they shouted, saying, “Crucify Him, crucify Him!””

So again Pilate tries to reason with this angry mob and before he can even get anything out

they just shout over Him yelling crucify Him

Luke 23:22 “22 Then he said to them the third time, “Why, what evil has He done? I have found no reason for death in Him. I will therefore chastise Him and let Him go.””

Pilate tries again to say Look he’s innocent ill just give Him some form of punishment and let Him go

Luke 23:23 “23 But they were insistent, demanding with loud voices that He be crucified. And the voices of these men and of the chief priests prevailed.”

Luke 23:24 “24 So Pilate gave sentence that it should be as they requested.”

Luke 23:25 “25 And he released to them the one they requested, who for rebellion and murder had been thrown into prison; but he delivered Jesus to their will.”

we will end here at verse 25 , but before we do i want to talk a little more

earlier we said that Jesus showed great restraint/ self control and Humility

and again in these last few verses he does the same

but id like to point out and use pilate as an example of what not to be like

How many of us cave into peer pressure ?

How many of us struggle with Pleasing others ?

Probably most of us

Share an example ?

Pilate had the opportunity to stand strong and do what was right and he didn’t

So did Herod honestly but both men didn’t want to be men about the situation

He allowed the voice of the world to be greater than the voice of the man standing right in-front of him

How far gone must someone be to not have the ability to hear the voice of God in their Life ?

At what point in our walk to we say, Im not going to side with the world but i’m going to side with God and his righteousness

we all in todays society have the voices of the world tugging at us

through social media, the news , video games , friends , family

you name it, the world is screaming at us for our attention

they don’t want us to see what we have in christ

My prayer for everyone of us in this room is that God gives us the ability to navigate through the voices of the world

May we all see the importance of having a firm relationship with God

and may we all have the ability to do what right even when it’s not the popular thing to do

As high-schoolers many of you are going to be put in situations where you might be looked down on for doing the right thing

but guess what God sees that , he sees the heart behind the Person

“i’d rather be popular in the eyes of God who is in control of my eternity than the eyes of the world which is temporary “

so we see obviously that pilate bowed down to the crowd and he sets Jesus on his path to dying on the cross which is what we will be getting into the next couple of Sunday's