Luke 23:24-25

Luke 23:24-25

[24] Pilate  gave sentence  that it should be as  they  required.  [25] And  he released  unto them  him that for  sedition  and  murder  was cast  into  prison,  whom  they had desired;  but  he delivered  Jesus  to their  will. 

What does Luke 23:24-25 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

Pilate capitulated totally to the will of the people. This was in perfect harmony with God"s will ( Acts 2:23), but Luke did not mention that here. Here he wanted his readers to see the human responsibility that resulted in Jesus" death, particularly the Jews" responsibility.
"Perhaps we should add that Luke is not being anti-Semitic, much less providing grounds for anti-Semitism in our own day. He is dealing with a specific group of people and maintaining that they brought about Jesus" death. It was not Pilate nor his Romans that called for Jesus" execution: it was the Jewish chief priests and their followers. ... Luke is not indicting a race and neither should his readers." [1]
"Pilate was a complex character. He openly said that Jesus was innocent, yet he permitted Him to be beaten and condemned Him to die. He carefully questioned Jesus and even trembled at His answers, but the truth of the Word did not make a difference in his decisions. He wanted to be popular and not right; he was more concerned about reputation than he was character. If Herod had silenced the voice of God, then Pilate smothered the voice of God. He had his opportunity and wasted it." [2]
Luke was much kinder to Pilate than the other Gospel writers. He stressed Jesus" innocence more than Pilate"s guilt. Perhaps he did this so his Greek readers would focus their attention more on Jesus than on Pilate. In Acts also Luke gave as positive a picture of Roman rulers as he could realistically. Evidently he did not want his writings to alienate the Gentiles and their rulers unnecessarily.
"The narrative in Luke 23:13-25 places strong emphasis on the responsibility of both the leaders and the people for Jesus" death." [3]