Today's reading is Luke chapter 23. Then the whole council rose and led Jesus away to Pilate. And they began to accuse him, saying, We found this man subverting our nation, forbidding payment of taxes to Caesar, and proclaiming himself to be Christ, a king. So Pilate asked him, Are you the king of the Jews? You have said so, Jesus replied. Then Pilate said to the chief priests and to the crowds, I find no basis for a charge against this man. But they kept insisting, he stirs up the people all over Judea with his teaching. He began in Galilee and has come all the way here. When Pilate heard this, he asked if the man was a Galilean. And learning that Jesus was under Herod's jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod, who himself was in Jerusalem at that time. When Herod saw Jesus, he was greatly pleased. He had wanted to see him for a long time because he had heard about him and was hoping to see him perform a miracle. Herod questioned Jesus at great length, but he gave no answer. Meanwhile, the chief priests and scribes stood there vehemently accusing him. And even Herod and his soldiers ridiculed and mocked him. Dressing him in a fine robe, they sent him back to Pilate. That day Herod and Pilate became friends. Before this time, they had been enemies. Then Pilate called together the chief priests, the rulers, and the people, and said to them, you brought me this man as one who was inciting the people to rebellion. I have examined him here in your presence and found him not guilty of your charges against him. Neither has Herod, for he sent him back to us. As you can see, he has done nothing deserving of death. Therefore I will punish him and release him. But they all cried out in unison, Away with this man, release Barabbas to us. Barabbas had been imprisoned for an insurrection in the city and for murder. Wanting to release Jesus, Pilate addressed them again, but they kept shouting, crucify him, crucify him. A 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. but they were insistent, demanding with loud voices for Jesus to be crucified, and their clamor prevailed. So Pilate sentenced that their demand be met. As they had requested, he released the one imprisoned for insurrection and murder and handed Jesus over to their will. As the soldiers led him away, they seized Simon of Cyrene on his way in from the country. and put the cross on him to carry behind Jesus. A great number of people followed him, including women who kept mourning and wailing for him. But Jesus turned to them and said, daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. Look, the days are coming when people will say, blessed are the barren women, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed. At that time, they will say to the mountains, Fall on us, and to the hills, Cover us. For if men do these things while the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry? Two others who were criminals were also led away to be executed with Jesus. When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals, one on his right and the other on his left. Then Jesus said, Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing. And they divided up his garments by casting lots. The people stood watching and the rulers sneered at him saying, he saved others, let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the chosen one. The soldiers also mocked him and came up to offer him sour wine. If you are the king of the Jews, they said, save yourself. Above him was posted an inscription. This is the king of the Jews. One of the criminals who hung there heaped abuse on him. Are you not the Christ? He said, save yourself and us. But the other one rebuked him, saying, Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same judgment? We are punished justly, for we are receiving what our actions deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong. Then he said, Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom. And Jesus said to him, Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise. It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over all the land until the ninth hour. The sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was torn down the middle. Then Jesus called out in a loud voice, Father, into your hands I commit my spirit. And when he had said this, he breathed his last. When the centurion saw what had happened, he gave glory to God, saying, Surely this was a righteous man. And when all the people who had gathered for this spectacle saw what had happened, they returned home beating their breasts. But all those who knew Jesus, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance watching these things. Now there was a council member named Joseph, a good and righteous man who had not consented to their decision or action. He was from the Judean town of Arimathea and was waiting for the kingdom of God. He went to Pilate to ask for the body of Jesus. Then he took it down, wrapped it in a linen cloth and placed it in a tomb cut into the rock where no one had yet been laid. It was preparation day and the Sabbath was beginning. The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed, and they saw the tomb and how his body was placed. Then they returned to prepare spices and perfumes, and they rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment. And this is God's word. Yesterday we read about Jesus' religious trial in Luke 22, verses 66-71. That trial was for blasphemy, as you can see if you look at Matthew 26, verses 64-66. Since Jesus claimed to be the Son of God, as we saw in verses 69 through 70, here in Luke chapter 23, and that He would be seated at the right hand of the mighty God, the religious leaders of His era concluded that He was speaking irreverently of God, which is what blasphemy means. That was worthy of death in Jewish law. Again, Matthew 26, 66 says that. The problem was that these religious leaders did not have the legal authority to perform capital punishment under Rome. If they did kill Jesus themselves, they could have been charged with murder by the Roman government. So here in Luke 23, Jesus was taken to Pilate, the Roman governor of their area, for that trial, according to verse 1. Their religious reasons for killing Jesus were insufficient for Roman law, so they charged him with sedition, according to verse 2, before Pilate. Pilate found the charge unpersuasive, since Jesus answered indirectly and didn't seem like much of a threat to him, according to verse 3. So Pilate ruled in Jesus' favor, according to verse 4. The chief priests and the crowd, in verse 5, tried to muster some evidence against Jesus. So they talked about how many multitudes had been following him in Galilee. Galilee was under the political government of Herod Antipas, who actually happened to be in town, according to verses six and seven. Note that Pilate was the governor of Judea, the southern part of Israel, while Herod was in charge of Galilee, the northern part of Israel. Jerusalem is in Judea, the south. So they were in Pilate's territory when Jesus was arrested. But as a Galilean, Herod could be responsible for dealing with Jesus, and we saw that in verse seven. So Pilate tried to dodge responsibility here by letting Herod deal with Jesus. And Herod tried to talk to Jesus, but Jesus refused. So after mocking Jesus, Herod sent him back to Pilate. And we read that in verses 8 through 12. Once again, Pilate tried various ways to release Jesus, knowing that his death would be unjust. And we saw that in verses 13 through 22. But Pilate finally buckled under the pressure of the crowd and approved Jesus for the death penalty. And we saw that in verses 23 through 26. Jesus was not alone in his crucifixion. Two other men were crucified with him, according to verses 32 through 43, but they had very different reactions to him. One man joined the mocking of the crowd, according to verse 39, but the other man spoke up and rebuked the first criminal in verse 40. Notice the words of the criminal who spoke up for Jesus. We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve, he said. But he also said this, but this man has done nothing wrong. That criminal is someone who understood sin and punishment. In his own case, and apparently based on what he knew of the other man, he knew that he was guilty and deserved the death penalty. But how could he know that Jesus was innocent? Did he overhear the trial of Christ before Pilate? Had he heard Jesus teaching at some point earlier in his life? Maybe one or both of those things is true, and maybe that's what caused him to say, Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom. We don't know. But whatever he knew of Jesus, and however he knew it, he believed that Jesus was the Messiah, and that even though Jesus was dying, he would still be king. That's why he said, remember me when you come into your kingdom. What a remarkable thing that is. Yet, it is a testimony not to the man's keen spiritual insight, but to God's saving grace. In the final hours of this man's life, He turned to Jesus in faith and believed that his eternity would be safe in Jesus' hands. Jesus comforted him with the promise, "'Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.'" That's in verse 43. Despite all the sinful things that he had done, sins so bad that some of them got him executed, this man found forgiveness in Christ at the end of his life. Time seems to harden people to the gospel. It is very rare to see an elderly person, even someone who is actually dying and knows that they're dying, it's so rare to see them accept Christ as Savior. Many prisoners who hear the gospel profess faith in Christ, but certainly not all of them. Facts like these sometimes cause me to be pessimistic when giving the gospel to adults. But my pessimism is wrong. God can save anyone he chooses to save. Hardened criminals who have done wicked crimes can be changed forever by the power of Jesus Christ. The conversion of this criminal should remind us and encourage us not to prejudge whether someone will be saved or not. We shouldn't decide in advance whether or not we think someone will turn to Christ in faith. We should understand that God is saving people all over the world at different points in their lives, and in some cases with very little knowledge about Jesus, like this man on the cross had. So let's trust God, then, and be faithful to give the gospel whenever we can. And if you like these devotionals, consider signing up to receive them in your email every day. Go to dailypbj.com slash subscribe for that. If you like these devotionals, consider signing up to receive them in your email every day. Go to dailypbj.com slash subscribe for that. Also, would you consider becoming a financial supporter so that I can make more content and reach more people with the Word of God? Go to dailypbj.com slash support if you'd like to do that. You could also help me by sharing this devotional, and actually it might help the person you're sharing with too. So please consider doing that. Thanks so much. God bless you. I hope you have a great day.