Luke 23:20

Luke 23:20, in plain English

Pilate really wanted to set Jesus free and tried again to persuade the crowd. But wanting to do the right thing isn't the same as doing it.

Why it's here

Pilate's tragedy is that he knew the truth but didn't have the courage to act on it. He's a cautionary tale about moral cowardice.

Who's speaking

Luke shows us Pilate's internal struggle — a man caught between conviction and cowardice, wanting to save Jesus but unwilling to pay the cost.

Where it sits in the story

Pilate wanted to do the right thing. He really did. But the gap between wanting and doing is where moral failure lives. He appeals to the crowd again, hoping they'll make it easy for him. They won't.

The scholarly reading

Pilate, thelōn apolusai ton Iēsoun (wanting to release Jesus), addresses (prosephōnēsen) the crowd again. Luke emphasizes Pilate's desire to free Jesus, making his ultimate capitulation all the more culpable.

Language and setting

Luke highlights Pilate's internal conviction versus his external cowardice. He knows what's right and wants to do it but lacks the moral courage to withstand the crowd.

Voice

Luke narrates Pilate's continued but weakening resistance, showing a man who desires justice but cannot muster the will to deliver it.

Significance

Pilate tries again. He wants to release Jesus — Luke makes this clear. But wanting to do right and actually doing right are two very different things. Each appeal reveals both Pilate's conscience and his cowardice in equal measure.

18But they all cried out in unison: “Away with this man! Release Barabbas to us!”

19(Barabbas had been imprisoned for an insurrection in the city, and for murder.)

20Wanting to release Jesus, Pilate addressed them again,

21but they kept shouting, “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!”

22A third time he said to them, “What evil has this man done? I have found in Him no offense worthy of death. So after I punish Him, I will release Him.”

Read all of Luke 23 — Pilate finds no fault. Herod finds entertainment. The crowd demands blood. And on a cross between two criminals, Jesus forgives.