Charles Ellicott Commentary Luke 23
Charles Ellicott Commentary
Luke 23
Charles Ellicott Commentary
Luke 23
"And the whole company of them rose up, and brought him before Pilate." — Luke 23:1 (ASV)
And the whole multitude of them arose.—See Notes on Matthew 27:11-14; Mark 15:2–5.
"And they began to accuse him, saying, We found this man perverting our nation, and forbidding to give tribute to Caesar, and saying that he himself is Christ a king." — Luke 23:2 (ASV)
Perverting the nation, and forbidding to give tribute . . .—Saint Luke’s report of the accusation is more definite than that in the other Gospels. The question asked in Luke 20:20-26 was obviously intended to lead up to this; and though then baffled by our Lord’s answer, the priests now brought, backed by false witnesses, the charge for which they had hoped to find evidence in His own words.
It seems probable that these facts came to the writer’s knowledge in the same way as those that immediately follow (see Note on Luke 23:6).
It may be noted that the charge in the Greek is slightly enlarged. The question had referred, as reported by Saint Matthew and Saint Mark, to one form of tribute—the census, or poll-tax. The charge speaks of “taxes” in the plural and uses the most general words.
In Luke 20:22, the same word is used as in this verse, but in the singular. Saint Paul, in a passage which may well have been based upon Saint Luke’s report of our Lord’s words, uses the same term as Saint Luke (Romans 13:6–7), first generically in the plural, and then in the singular, as contrasted with customs duties.
"And Pilate asked him, saying, Art thou the King of the Jews? And he answered him and said, Thou sayest." — Luke 23:3 (ASV)
Thou sayest it.—Here, as in Luke 22:70 and Matthew 26:64, the formula is one of confession. The fuller narrative of St. John should be compared throughout.
"And Pilate said unto the chief priests and the multitudes, I find no fault in this man." — Luke 23:4 (ASV)
I find no fault in this man.—The Greek term for “fault” is somewhat more technical than the English, and is almost equivalent to what we call the “count” of an indictment. It may be noted that, as far as the New Testament is concerned, it is peculiar to St. Luke, in this chapter and in Luke 20:40.
"But they were the more urgent, saying, He stirreth up the people, teaching throughout all Judaea, and beginning from Galilee even unto this place." — Luke 23:5 (ASV)
Teaching throughout all Judea.—This is one of the few passages in which the old English equivalent for Judea retains its place in the Authorised Version (Daniel 5:13); in the Prayer Book version of the Psalms, from the Great Bible (see Introduction), we find it in Psalm 76:1. Traces of the general use of the word remain in Shakespeare's way of speaking of “Herod of Jewry,” and in the Old Jewry as the name of the Jews’ quarter in ancient London. The charge of “beginning from Galilee” probably rested upon the crowds that had followed Him on His last journey to Jerusalem.
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