Allya Miramontes

Dr. Daugherty

Understanding the Bible

6 Dec. 2021

Essay #3

Part 1:

My interpretation of this verse is that Jesus was being humiliated because the word of

him being a great prophet and even king of Jews was going around. In the text, it states, “He

questioned him at some length, But Jesus gave him no answer.”( Luke 23:9). I think Jesus being

quiet and not answering to Herod is important to notice. I would think that he would say

something to open the eyes of Herod. Jesus is known for his teachings throughout the New

Testament, but at this moment he did not speak a word. Maybe Jesus not speaking was a way of

teaching which can be interpreted in many different ways. I think Jesus stayed quiet because he

knew what was waiting for him or the plan that God had for him as well. This verse also makes

me wonder why did God let these things happen, but then I know people would say it is God's

plan.

The next big things that I notice occur in this verse are the soldiers and Herod humiliating

Jesus. In the end, they say that “...Herod and Pilate became friends with each other; before this,

they had been enemies.”( Luke 23:12). Many people Knew Jesus as the miracle worker and that

he had been helping many people throughout his travels. I think this is why Herod and his

soldiers were making fun of Jesus because they felt threatened by Jesus because of his rise in the

community. Maybe they felt challenged because they were in a place of high position. They did

not want someone like Jesus, also known as the king of the Jews, to take their place. I also
wonder if the soldiers making fun of Jesus was a way to make Jesus fall like a temptation, or

making fun of him until he gets mad, so he can prove and show everyone that he can perform

miracles. This reminds me of when people would say God is slow to anger because, in this verse,

Jesus did not even give a reaction or answer to the questions/humiliation.

In Luke, we know it is about how Jesus helps the poor and connects more with the

people in the city, and now you see the people turning their back on Jesus. This makes me

wonder why have the people hardened their hearts for Jesus. I wonder why people turned their

backs on Jesus after they saw how much he was trying to do for them. If you read more on

chapter 23 in Luke, you can see that three is an important number or at least a number that is

mentioned a lot. Pilate asked the people in the city three times, and Peter denied Jesus three

times. I also know from another context that Pilate said he did not want anything to do with

determining Jesus's death and that he washed his hands from this.

Part 2:

Now that I have done the research, I understand more of the historical context of why

Rome did Jesus’s execution so cruel and public. I also get why the people and soldiers

humiliated him. According to Whitaker, Jesus's execution is seen as a “ Spectacle death”, and

“spectacles were gruesome, the tortures grotesque, and death the inevitable conclusion to a long

drama played out before the eyes of the public” ( Whitaker pg.400). This explains why in Luke's

verses in chapter 23 the public is always watching Jesus throughout the whole execution, even

way before the execution has started. The public even had a role in Jesus's execution. This only

happened because it was a part of Rome's culture to execute certain criminals. This also explains

why there were also other people hanging on the cross next to Jesus. I did not understand why

Jesus had to have such a gruesome death, even though many people said it was because he had to
have one because of how evil our sins were. Even though that could be true I understand now, in

historical context, it was because back in that time Rome would hold and show gruesome

executions to the public of many criminals. After all, they wanted to show the people that they

should follow the laws and to show who was in power. Whitaker says, “Luke’s Gospel reflects

the cultural milieu of his time. It was a highly visual culture in which spectacles held a massive

attraction for the populace as well as political significance for the Empire.” (Whitaker pg.403).

Then he shows and explains how Luke shows this throughout the bible. Luke shows how

important public execution was for Rome and its empire. Jesus was just an important one for the

Christian faith because of how we interpret his death.

Even though I do not find any answers on why Jesus was quiet when they were

humiliating him and questioning him, I did find a better understanding of why that is. According

to Collins, “The close proximity of these intruding phrases to the phrase “son of man” thus

ensures that the audience of the Galilean story is no doubt that Jesus is speaking, and refers to

himself.”(The Sources and Historicity of the Galilean Event). I know that Jesus did not write the

bible so of course, there are certain things that would always be left to question or wonder.

Collins explains that many of the Gospels make it clear when Jesus speaks because it is written

from the disciples and what they remember. Another note of why Jesus was humiliated during

questioning was because the people in Rome felt threatened by him and the power he might have

held. Hunt says, “ He had died a blasphemer according to religious leaders, calling into question

his fresh take on the law and grace. He had died an insurrectionist according to Roman

authorities, calling into question all messianic claims and his vision for the healing of society.” (

Hunt pg. 110). At that time the Roman leaders did not want someone to gain publicity and

power. Jesus was making a name for himself with the acts and miracles he was making along his
journey. The Roman Empire wanted to control its people and thus humiliating Jesus and

executing him.

Overall, I think my interpretation was partially correct. I did need to understand the

historical context because it helped me understand the Roman culture. It also leads me to

understand Herod and Pilate’s actions towards Jesus. I think knowing that some things in the

bible will always be left as a question or the interpretation you make of it yourself is something

that you have to fine with because Jesus did not write any of the bibles. The disciples and other

authors had to remember things that happened in the past, and their own context is different than

ours. This is why some verses may be confusing.

 Work Cited:

Collins, Nina L. “Healing and Saving Life from Starvation, Mark 2:23–26, 28, Luke 6:1–5 &

Matthew 12:1–8.” Biblical Theology Bulletin, vol. 45, no. 4, SAGE Publications, 2015,

pp. 215–29, https://doi.org/10.1177/0146107915608596.

Wilson, Benjamin R.. The Saving Cross of the Suffering Christ : The Death of Jesus in Lukan

Soteriology, Walter de Gruyter GmbH, 2016. ProQuest Ebook Central,

https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.bunchproxy.idm.oclc.org/lib/belmont-ebooks/detail.act

ion?docID=4644638.

Whitaker, Robyn J. “A Failed Spectacle: The Role of the Crowd in Luke 23.” Biblical

Interpretation, vol. 25, no. 3, Brill, 2017, pp. 399–416,

https://doi.org/10.1163/15685152-00253p06.

Hunt, Greg. “The Silence of Saturday: Luke 23:50-56 (A Sermon).” Review and Expositor

(Berne), vol. 118, no. 1, SAGE Publications, 2021, pp. 108–12,

https://doi.org/10.1177/00346373211004690.