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Luke 23 — The innocent one dies so the guilty one walks free
10 min read
nocap.bible editorialThis is where everything spirals. had been arrested in the middle of the night, dragged through a sham trial before the , and now — before the sun was barely up — the entire religious establishment hauled Him before the Roman governor. They needed stamp to execute someone, and they were determined to get it.
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Reflect
Jesus forgave people who weren't even sorry. How does that challenge the way you think about forgiveness?
After five days in this topic, is there one specific person or situation where you sense God asking you to let go?
What follows is one of the most gut-wrenching sequences in . Two rulers, one crowd, and an innocent man getting passed around like nobody wants the responsibility — because deep down, they all knew He didn't deserve what was coming.
The whole crew — chief , , , the full lineup — marched to headquarters. And they came loaded with accusations. But notice what they said:
"We found this man misleading our nation, telling people not to pay taxes to Caesar, and claiming to be the Messiah — a king."
That's strategic. They repackaged a theological dispute as a political threat. Pilate didn't care about Jewish religious debates — but a rival king? That would get his attention.
So Pilate looked at Jesus and asked the question directly:
"Are you the King of the Jews?"
Jesus said: "You have said so."
Not a denial. Not a defense. Just a quiet, steady acknowledgment that let the truth sit there without performing for it. Pilate turned to the religious leaders and the crowd and gave his verdict:
"I find no guilt in this man."
That should have been the end of it. The Roman governor — the only one with execution authority — said "not guilty." But the crowd wouldn't have it. They got louder, more aggressive, insisting that Jesus had been stirring up people from all the way to . They weren't looking for . They were looking for a conviction.
When heard the word "," he saw an exit. If was Galilean, that put Him under jurisdiction. And Herod just happened to be in for . So Pilate shipped Jesus across town — passing the problem to someone else.
was actually hyped to see Jesus. He'd heard the stories — the healings, the , the authority. He'd been wanting to meet Jesus for a long time. But not because he was searching for truth. He was hoping for a show. He wanted Jesus to perform something.
He questioned Jesus for a while. Threw question after question at Him. But Jesus said absolutely nothing. Not a word. Meanwhile, the chief and stood right there, hurling accusations nonstop.
When Herod realized he wasn't getting his entertainment, he and his soldiers mocked Jesus, treated Him with contempt, dressed Him up in fancy royal robes like it was a joke — and sent Him back to Pilate.
Here's a wild detail: Herod and Pilate had been beefing before this. But that day — bonding over their shared dismissal of Jesus — they became friends. Two powerful men found common ground in mocking the . Let that sit.
gathered everyone back together — the chief , the rulers, the people — and delivered his conclusion:
"You brought this man to me, saying He was misleading the people. I examined Him right in front of you. I found Him not guilty of any of your charges. Herod didn't either — he sent Him right back. Nothing this man has done deserves death. So I'll have Him flogged and then release Him."
Two separate examinations by two separate authorities. Both reached the same conclusion: not guilty. Pilate knew was innocent. He said it plainly. But instead of standing on that verdict, he offered a compromise — without conviction. He was trying to split the difference between and the mob. That never works.
Then the crowd made the most disturbing choice in human history:
"Away with this man! Release Barabbas to us!"
(Quick context: was in prison for starting an insurrection in the city and for murder. Not petty theft. Not a misunderstanding. Insurrection and murder.)
tried again. He wanted to release . He spoke to them a second time, trying to reason with them. But they drowned him out:
"Crucify! Crucify Him!"
A third time Pilate pushed back:
"Why? What has He done wrong? I've found nothing in Him that deserves death. I'll punish Him and let Him go."
But the crowd wouldn't stop. They kept screaming, kept demanding, kept pushing — and their voices won. Pilate caved. He released the man convicted of insurrection and murder, the one they actually asked for. And he handed Jesus — the one he'd just declared innocent three times — over to be .
The innocent one was condemned so the guilty one could go free. That's not just what happened in Pilate's courtyard. That's the entire in one scene.
As they led away, the soldiers grabbed a man named from — just some guy coming in from the countryside, minding his own business — and forced him to carry the behind Jesus. One moment he was walking into . The next he was carrying the instrument of execution for the .
A huge crowd followed. Women were weeping and mourning for Him. But Jesus — beaten, exhausted, walking toward His own — turned around and spoke to them:
Jesus said: "Daughters of Jerusalem, don't weep for me. Weep for yourselves and for your children. Because the days are coming when people will say, 'Blessed are the women who never had children, who never nursed a baby.'
Jesus said: They'll beg the mountains, 'Fall on us,' and the hills, 'Cover us.'"
Even on the way to the cross, Jesus wasn't thinking about Himself. He was warning them about what was coming — the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD, when the Roman army would level the city and the . The women were crying for Him, but He knew their suffering hadn't even started yet.
That's the weight of this moment. The one being led to die is still trying to save the people watching Him go. 🫶
Jesus said: "For if they do these things when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?"
One more line before they reached the hill. A riddle that the women following Him would've turned over in their minds for years.
The green wood is — innocent, alive, someone who did nothing wrong. Yet is executing Him. If they're willing to do this to someone who is rightless, what do you think they'll do when they come for a city that actually is guilty? The dry wood is — a people who rejected their , who would one day face the full force of Roman with no one to intercede.
It's one last warning. Wrapped in . Spoken by a man on His way to die. 🫶
Two criminals were led out to be executed alongside Him. When they arrived at the place called , they crucified all three — in the middle.
And in the moment of His own agony, the first thing Jesus said was not a cry of pain or a curse at His enemies. He prayed:
Jesus said: "Father, forgive them — they don't know what they're doing."
The soldiers divided His clothes among them by casting lots. The rulers sneered at Him:
"The leaders mocked, 'He saved others. Let Him save Himself — if He really is the Messiah that God chose.'"
The soldiers joined in, Him sour wine:
"The soldiers mocked, 'If you're the King of the Jews, save yourself.'"
Above His head, a sign: "This is the King of the Jews."
Then one of the criminals hanging next to Him joined the chorus:
"One criminal said, 'Aren't you the Messiah? Save yourself — and us!'"
But the other one stopped him. Even in the final moments of his life, dying for crimes he actually committed, something clicked.
"The other criminal shot back, 'Don't you fear God? We're getting what we deserve — but this man has done nothing wrong.'"
And then — with whatever was left of his voice — he turned to Jesus:
"He said, 'Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.'"
No theological statement. No . No years of faithful service. No works to point to. Just a dying man who saw who Jesus was and asked to be remembered.
Jesus said: "Jesus answered him, 'Truly, I tell you — today you will be with me in paradise.'"
Today. Not someday. Not after a review process. Not pending good behavior. Today.
This is one of the clearest pictures of in the entire . The man on the cross next to Jesus had nothing to offer. He couldn't get baptized, couldn't serve anyone, couldn't make up for anything he'd done. He just believed — at the last possible second — and Jesus called it enough. was never about what we bring. It's about who we ask. 💯
It was around noon when the darkness started.
From noon until three in the afternoon, the sun stopped giving its light. Three hours of unnatural darkness in the middle of the day — not an eclipse, not a storm. The sky itself went dark over what was happening at .
Then the curtain of the — the massive veil separating the from the of the , the barrier that only the could pass through once a year — was torn in two.
And called out with a loud voice:
Jesus said: "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit."
Having said that, He breathed His last.
He wasn't taken. He gave it. He committed His spirit — an act of total trust — into His hands, and it was done.
The Roman standing right there, watching everything unfold, gave to God:
"The centurion said, 'This man was truly righteous. Innocent.'"
A soldier. A pagan. Someone with no stake in Jewish theology. He watched what happened — the darkness, the curtain, the way Jesus died — and came to the conclusion the wouldn't admit: this man did not deserve to die.
The crowds who had gathered to watch turned around and went home, beating their chests — the ancient posture of grief and . Something about what they had just witnessed broke through. Even those who had jeered hours before were walking away crushed.
And standing at a distance, watching all of it, were the women who had followed Him from . When the scattered, they stayed. They saw everything. They would not look away. 🫶
There was a man named . He was a member of the — the same council that had voted to hand over — but he had not agreed with what they decided or what they did. The says he was a good and man, and that he was waiting for the .
He went to and asked for the body.
He took it down from the himself. Wrapped it in a linen cloth. And placed it in a tomb cut from rock where no one had ever been laid — his own tomb, given over without hesitation for the one who had just died.
Time was short. The sun was going down. The was about to begin, and once it started, no work could be done.
The women who had come with Jesus from followed of Arimathea and saw the tomb. They saw exactly how His body was laid. Then they went home to prepare spices and ointments to bring back — and they rested on the Sabbath, because that was , and they kept it even in their grief.
The tomb was sealed. The Sabbath began. To everyone watching, it looked like it was over.
But that's not how this story ends. 🔥
