Luke 23:4. And Pilate said to the chief priests and scribes. As Christ was come to bear the punishment of our sins, it was proper that he should first be condemned by the mouth of his judge, that it might afterwards be evident that he was condemned for the sake of others, and not for his own.

11. And Herod despised him. It was impossible but that a haughty man, who valued himself on his luxuries and royal dignity and wealth, should despise Christ, who had at that time nothing but what was contemptible in his appearance.

12. Pilate and Herod became friends. From the fact that Christ was the occasion of reconciling two wicked men, let us learn how much the children of God, and religion itself, are disdained by the world.

Luke 23:16. I will therefore chastise him, and release him. If any slight offense had been committed, which was not a capital crime, the Roman governors were wont to cause the offenders to be beaten with rods; and this kind of punishment was called, in the Latin language, coerctio Pilate,…

Luke 23:27. And there followed him. Although in public all the people, with one shout, had condemned Christ, yet we see that there were some who had not forgotten his doctrine and miracles; and thus, in the midst of that miserable dispersion, God reserved for himself a small remnant.

28. Weep not. Some have thought that the women are reproved, because foolishly and inconsiderately they poured out tears to no purpose. On the contrary, Christ does not simply reprove them, as if it were improperly and without a cause that they were weeping, but warns them that there will be far…

31. If they do these things in the green tree. By this sentence Christ confirms what he had stated, that his death will not remain unpunished, and that the Jews, whose iniquity is ripe, or rather half-rotten, will not remain long in their present condition; and by a familiar comparison, he proves…

Luke 23:34. And Jesus said, Father, forgive them. By this expression Christ gave evidence that he was that mild and gentle lamb, which was to be led out to be sacrificed, as Isaiah the prophet had foretold, For not only does he abstain from revenge, but pleads with God the Father for the salvation…

Luke 23:39. And one of the malefactors. This reproach, which the Son of God endured from the robber, obtained for us among angels the very high honor of acknowledging us to be their brethren.

40. And the other answering. In this wicked man a striking mirror of the unexpected and incredible grace of God is held out to us, not only in his being suddenly changed into a new man, when he was near death, and drawn from hell itself to heaven, but likewise in having obtained in a moment the…

41. And we indeed justly. As the reproof founded on the condemnation might be thought to apply to Christ, the robber here draws a distinction between the condition of Christ and that of himself and his companion, or he acknowledges, that the punishment which was common to all the three was justly…

42. Lord, remember me. I know not that, since the creation of the world, there ever was a more remarkable and striking example of faith; and so much the greater admiration is due to the grace of the Holy Spirit, of which it affords so magnificent a display.

43. Verily I tell thee. Though Christ had not yet made a public triumph over death, still he displays the efficacy and fruit of his death in the midst of his humiliation.