This page gives you ready-to-use Bible study questions for Luke 23, with leader’s notes for each one. It suits a small group, a Sunday class, or personal study. Luke 23 follows Jesus from Pilate’s courtroom through Herod’s palace to the cross, and the questions below move through the chapter in the same order so you can work through it in one session.
Luke 23 at a Glance
The chapter opens with the religious leaders bringing Jesus before Pilate on charges of political rebellion. Pilate finds no fault, sends Jesus to Herod, and receives him back again. The crowd then chooses Barabbas over Jesus, and Jesus is led out to be crucified, with Simon of Cyrene carrying the cross behind him.
At Golgotha the scene turns to the two criminals, the mockers, the prayer for forgiveness, the darkness, the torn temple veil, and the death of Jesus. The chapter closes with Joseph of Arimathea burying Jesus and the women preparing spices before the Sabbath.
Observation Questions
Use these first to make sure everyone has the facts of the text clear before anyone interprets them. Ask people to answer from the passage itself and point to verses, rather than from memory of the story.
Luke 23:4
Pilate said to the chief priests and the multitudes, “I find no basis for a charge against this man.”
(WEB)
Read this to hear Pilate’s verdict plainly stated. It sets up the whole chapter by showing that the case against Jesus has already failed before the crowd demands a different outcome.
Luke 23:34
Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.” Dividing his garments among them, they cast lots.
(WEB)
Read this to hear the first of Jesus’s words from the cross. Let the group sit with the prayer for forgiveness spoken while the soldiers divide his clothing.
Luke 23:42-43
42 He said to Jesus, “Lord, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.” 43 Jesus said to him, “Assuredly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”
(WEB)
Read this to hear the request of the repentant criminal and the answer Jesus gives. It is one of the clearest pictures in the Gospels of grace received by someone with nothing to offer.
Luke 23:46
Jesus, crying with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” Having said this, he breathed his last.
(WEB)
Read this to hear the final words of Jesus recorded by Luke. Ask the group to notice the trust in the Father that the words express at the moment of death.
Luke 23:47
When the centurion saw what was done, he glorified God, saying, “Certainly this was a righteous man.”
(WEB)
Read this to hear the centurion’s response. It is the first human voice in the scene to name Jesus as righteous, and it makes a fitting close to the crucifixion account.
Memory Verse for Luke 23
A Closing Prayer for the Group
Father, we thank you that you saw us in our need and did not turn away. Thank you for the grace shown by Jesus from the cross, when he prayed for those who wronged him and welcomed the repentant man into Paradise. Help us to be honest about our failures, quick to forgive those who have hurt us, and faithful in quiet acts of service. Keep us from following crowds away from what is right, and give us courage like Joseph’s to stand with Jesus. Hold each person in this room in your care this week. Amen.
