Luke 23-24

Amplified Bible

Jesus before Pilate

23 Then the whole assembly got up and brought Him before Pilate. ² They began to accuse Jesus, asserting, “We found this Man misleading and perverting our nation and forbidding us to pay taxes to Caesar, and claiming that He Himself is Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed), a King.”^{(A) 3} So Pilate asked Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?” And He answered him, “It is just as you say.” ⁴ Then Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, “I find no guilt in this Man.” ⁵ But they were insistent and said, “He stirs up the people [to rebel], teaching throughout Judea, starting from Galilee even as far as here [in Jerusalem].”

⁶ When Pilate heard it, he asked whether the man was a Galilean. ⁷ And when he learned that He belonged to the jurisdiction of ^[a]Herod [Antipas, the tetrarch of Galilee], he sent Him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem at that time.

Jesus before Herod

⁸ When Herod saw Jesus, he was exceedingly pleased. He had wanted to see Him for a long time because of what he had heard about Him, and was hoping to see some [miraculous] sign [even something spectacular] done by Him. ⁹ And he questioned Him at some length, but Jesus made no reply.^{(B) 10} The chief priests and the scribes were standing there, continually accusing Him heatedly. ¹¹ And Herod with his soldiers, after treating Him with contempt and mocking and ridiculing Him, dressed Him in a gorgeous robe and sent Him back to Pilate.^{(C) 12} Now that very day Herod and Pilate became friends with each other—before this they had been enemies.

Pilate Seeks Jesus’ Release

¹³ Pilate summoned the chief priests and the rulers and the people, ¹⁴ and said to them, “You brought this man before me as one who corrupts and incites the people to rebellion. After examining 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 indeed, He has done nothing to deserve death. ¹⁶ Therefore I will punish Him [to teach Him a lesson] and release Him.” ^17 [b][Now he was obligated to release to them one prisoner at the Feast.]

¹⁸ But they [loudly] shouted out all together, saying, “Away with this Man, and release Barabbas to us!”^{(D) 19} (He was one who had been thrown into prison for an insurrection that happened in the city, and for murder.) ²⁰ Pilate addressed them again, wanting to release Jesus, ²¹ but they kept shouting out, “Crucify, crucify Him!” ²² A third time he said to them, “Why, what wrong has He done? I have found no guilt [no crime, no offense] in Him demanding death; therefore I will punish Him [to teach Him a lesson] and release Him.” ²³ But they were insistent and unrelenting, demanding with loud voices that Jesus be crucified. And their voices began to prevail and accomplish their purpose. ²⁴ Pilate pronounced sentence that their demand be granted. ²⁵ And he released the man they were asking for who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, but he handed over Jesus to their will.

Simon Bears the Cross

²⁶ When they led Him away, they seized a man, ^[c]Simon of ^[d]Cyrene, who was coming in [to the city] from the country, and ^[e]placed on him the cross to carry behind Jesus.^(E)

²⁷ Following Him was a large crowd of the people, including women who were mourning and wailing for Him. ²⁸ But Jesus, turning toward them, said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. ²⁹ For behold, the days are coming when they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that have not given birth, and the breasts that have never nursed.’ ³⁰ Then they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us!’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us!’^{(F) 31 [f]}For if they do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?”

³² Two others also, who were criminals, were being led away to be executed with Him.^(G)

The Crucifixion

³³ When they came to the place called ^[g]The Skull, there they crucified Him and the criminals, one on the right and one on the left.^{(H) 34 [h]}And Jesus was saying, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” And they cast lots, dividing His clothes among themselves.^{(I) 35} Now the people stood by, watching; but even the rulers ridiculed and sneered at Him, saying, “He saved others [from death]; let Him save Himself if He is the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed) of God, His Chosen One.” ³⁶ The soldiers also mocked Him, coming up to Him and [cruelly] offering Him sour wine,^{(J) 37} and sarcastically saying, “If you are [really] the King of the Jews, save Yourself [from death]!” ³⁸ Now there was also an inscription above Him: “THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.”

³⁹ One of the criminals who had been hanged [on a cross beside Him] kept hurling abuse at Him, saying, “Are You not the Christ? Save Yourself and us [from death]!” ⁴⁰ But the other one rebuked him, saying, “Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? ⁴¹ We are suffering justly, because we are getting what we deserve for what we have done; but this Man has done nothing wrong.” ⁴² And he was saying, “Jesus, [please] remember me when You come into Your kingdom!” ⁴³ Jesus said to him, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, today you will be with Me in ^[i]Paradise.”^(K)

⁴⁴ It was now about the sixth hour (noon), and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour (3:00 p.m.),^{(L) 45} because the sun was ^[j]obscured; and the veil [of the Holy of Holies] of the temple was ^[k]torn in two [from top to bottom].^{(M) 46} And Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit!” Having said this, He breathed His last.^{(N) 47} Now when the centurion saw what had taken place, he began praising and honoring God, saying, “Certainly this Man was innocent.” ⁴⁸ All the crowds who had gathered for this spectacle, when they saw what had happened, began to return [to their homes], beating their breasts [as a sign of mourning or repentance]. ⁴⁹ And all His acquaintances and the women who had accompanied Him from Galilee were standing at a distance, watching these things.

Jesus Is Buried

⁵⁰ A man named Joseph, who was a member of the Council (Sanhedrin, Jewish High Court), a good and honorable man^{(O) 51} (he had not consented to the Council’s plan and action) a man from Arimathea, a city of the Jews, who was waiting for and expecting the kingdom of God; ⁵² this man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. ⁵³ And [after receiving permission] he took it down and wrapped it in a linen [burial] cloth and laid Him in a tomb cut into the rock, where no one had yet been laid. ⁵⁴ It was the day of preparation [for the Sabbath], and the Sabbath was dawning. ⁵⁵ Now the women who had come with Him from Galilee followed [closely], and saw the tomb and how His body was laid. ⁵⁶ Then they went back and prepared spices and ointments and sweet-smelling herbs.

And on the Sabbath they rested in accordance with the commandment [forbidding work].^(P)

The Resurrection

24 But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, the women went to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared [to finish anointing the body].^{(Q) 2} And they found the [large, circular] stone rolled back from the tomb, ³ but when they went inside, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. ⁴ While they were perplexed and wondering about this, suddenly, two men in dazzling clothing stood near them; ⁵ and as the women were terrified and were bowing their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why are you looking for the living One among the dead? ⁶ He is not here, but has risen. Remember how He told you, while He was still in Galilee, ⁷ saying that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinful men, and be crucified, and on the third day rise [from death to life].”^{(R) 8} And they remembered His words, ⁹ and after returning from the tomb, they reported all these things to the eleven [apostles] and to all the rest. ¹⁰ Now they were Mary Magdalene and Joanna [the wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward] and Mary the mother of James; also the other women with them were telling these things to the apostles. ¹¹ But their report seemed to them like idle talk and nonsense, and they would not believe them. ¹² But Peter got up and ran to the tomb. Stooping [at the small entrance] and looking in, he saw only the linen ^[l]wrappings; and he went away, wondering about what had happened.^(S)

The Road to Emmaus

¹³ And then, that very day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, which was about ^[m]seven miles from Jerusalem.^{(T) 14} And they were talking with each other about all these things which had taken place. ¹⁵ While they were talking and discussing it, Jesus Himself came up and began walking with them. ¹⁶ But their eyes were [miraculously] prevented from recognizing Him. ¹⁷ Then Jesus asked them, “What are you discussing with one another as you walk along?” And they stood still, looking brokenhearted. ¹⁸ One of them, named Cleopas, answered Him, “Are you the only stranger visiting Jerusalem who is unaware of the things which have happened here in these [recent] days?” ¹⁹ He asked, “What things?” And they replied, “The things about Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet powerful in deed and word in the sight of God and all the people, ²⁰ and how the chief priests and our rulers handed Him over to be sentenced to death, and crucified Him. ²¹ But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel and set our nation free. Indeed, besides all this, it is the third day since these things happened. ²² And also some of the women among us shocked us. They were at the tomb early in the morning, ²³ and they did not find His body. Then they came back, saying that they had even seen a vision of angels who said that He was alive! ²⁴ Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just exactly as the women had said, but they did not see Him.” ²⁵ Then Jesus said to them, “O foolish men, and slow of heart to trust and believe in everything that the prophets have spoken! ²⁶ Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and [only then to] enter His glory?” ²⁷ Then beginning with Moses and [throughout] all the [writings of the] prophets, He explained and interpreted for them the things referring to Himself [found] in all the Scriptures.

²⁸ Then they approached the village where they were going, and He acted as if He were going farther. ²⁹ But they urged Him [not to go on], saying, “Stay with us, because it is almost evening, and the day has just about ended.” So He went inside to stay with them. ³⁰ And it happened that as He reclined at the table with them, He took the bread and blessed it, and breaking it, He began giving it to them. ³¹ Then their eyes were [suddenly] opened [by God] and they [clearly] recognized Him; and He vanished from their sight. ³² They said to one another, “Were not our hearts burning within us while He was talking with us on the road and opening the Scriptures to us?” ³³ They got up that very hour and went back to Jerusalem, and found the eleven [apostles] gathered together and those who were with them, ³⁴ saying, “The Lord has really risen and has appeared to Simon [Peter]!” ³⁵ They began describing in detail what had happened on the road, and how Jesus was recognized by them when He broke the bread.

Other Appearances

³⁶ While they were talking about this, Jesus Himself [suddenly] stood among them and said to them, “Peace be to you.” ³⁷ But they were startled and terrified and thought that they were seeing a spirit. ³⁸ And He said, “Why are you troubled, and why are doubts rising in your hearts? ³⁹ Look at [the marks in] My hands and My feet, [and see] that it is I Myself. Touch Me and see; a spirit does not have flesh and bones, as you see that I have.”^{(U) 40} After saying this, He showed them His hands and His feet. ⁴¹ While they still did not believe it because of their joy and amazement, He asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?” ⁴² They gave Him a piece of broiled fish, ⁴³ and He took it and ate it in front of them.^(V)

⁴⁴ Then He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you, everything which has been written about Me in the ^[n]Law of Moses and the [writings of the] Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” ⁴⁵ Then He opened their minds to [help them] understand the Scriptures, ⁴⁶ and said, “And so it is written, that the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed) would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day,^{(W) 47} and that repentance [necessary] for forgiveness of sins would be preached in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. ⁴⁸ You are witnesses of these things. ⁴⁹ Listen carefully: I am sending the Promise of My Father [the Holy Spirit] upon you; but you are to remain in the city [of Jerusalem] until you are clothed (fully equipped) with power from on high.”^(X)

The Ascension

⁵⁰ Then He led them out as far as Bethany, and lifted up His hands and blessed them.^{(Y) 51} While He was blessing them, He left them and was taken up into heaven. ⁵² And they worshiped Him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy [fully understanding that He lives and that He is the Son of God]; ⁵³ and they were continually in the temple blessing and praising God.