New Testament: Luke 23.22

To read the Bible in a year, read Luke 23.1–26 on May 2, In the year of our Lord Christ 2023

By Don Ruhl 

The Jewish leaders brought Jesus to Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor in Jerusalem. They were fully persuaded that Jesus was a fraud. Therefore, they wanted Pilate to execute Jesus. 

Initially, Pilate resisted their claims, because he saw that their claims were not motivated by honesty, but that they were motivated politically. 

They kept insisting that Jesus was worthy of death, and Pilate kept resisting them. Finally, after the third time, Matthew wrote: “Why, what evil has He done? I have found no reason for death in Him. I will therefore chastise Him and let Him go” (Luke 23.22). 

Pilate did not know the Scriptures, nor did he know Jesus, although it seems that he would have heard of him. He had nothing to gain or to lose by crucifying Jesus or by letting him go free. In other words, he had no preconceived ideas, nor did he favor Jesus or hate him. 

Yet, he could tell after examining Jesus, that Jesus had done nothing requiring execution. 

What a sad day when people who think they know the Scriptures really do not and a man who does not know the Scriptures, can still see when a man is innocent. 

Questions: 

• Why did Pilate say he would chastise Jesus? 
• How long did it take you to see the truth about Jesus? 

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Don preaches with the Savage Street Church of Christ in Grants Pass, Oregon. 

Listen to his sermons here: GrantsPassChurchOfChrist.com