Luke 23 — Clausal Layout (Greek)

independentparticipialrelativepurposecausecontentconditionalphrase modifierdashed = verbless / suspended

Flush-left = a main (independent) clause. Each dependent line begins directly beneath the word it attaches to in the line above — the anchor word is dotted-underlined, and lights up when you hover its dependent clause; each tag also names the attachment. A dashed border marks verbless, elliptical, or suspended lines. Where a long sentence's staircase runs wider than the page, the diagram scrolls sideways. (In print, or without JavaScript, lines fall back to stepped indent columns.)

Before Pilate — the charges and the first acquittal 23:1–7

vv. 1–5 — the political indictment and the first 'not guilty'

Καὶ ἀναστὰν ἅπαν τὸ πλῆθος αὐτῶνparticipial — preposed participle — the council decamps en masse; leans on ἤγαγον

ἤγαγον αὐτὸν ἐπὶ τὸν Πιλᾶτον.independent — constructio ad sensum — singular πλῆθος, plural verb: all of them go

ἤρξαντο δὲ κατηγορεῖν αὐτοῦindependent — ingressive ἤρξαντο — the blasphemy verdict of 22:71 is re-costumed for Rome

λέγοντες·participial — the speech-frame for the three charges

τοῦτον εὕραμεν διαστρέφοντα τὸ ἔθνος ἡμῶνcontent — first charge — sedition: διαστρέφω, the word Jesus will be cleared of at v. 14

καὶ κωλύοντα φόρους Καίσαρι διδόναιparticipial — second charge — tax refusal: demonstrably false (20:25)

καὶ λέγοντα ἑαυτὸν χριστὸν βασιλέα εἶναι.participial — third charge — kingship: the one count Rome must hear, and the one Pilate takes up

ὁ δὲ Πιλᾶτος ἠρώτησεν αὐτὸνindependent — the interrogation reduced to a single question

λέγων·participial — pleonastic speech-participle

σὺ εἶ ὁ βασιλεὺς τῶν Ἰουδαίων;content — emphatic σύ — the title that will hang over the cross (v. 38)

ὁ δὲ ἀποκριθεὶς αὐτῷparticipial — preposed pleonastic participle — leans on ἔφη

ἔφη·independent — φημί — the reply in two words

σὺ λέγεις.content — the poised σὺ λέγεις (= Mark 15:2) — affirmation laid back on the asker's own words, neither yes nor no

ὁ δὲ Πιλᾶτος εἶπεν πρὸς τοὺς ἀρχιερεῖς καὶ τοὺς ὄχλους·independent — the verdict addressed to accusers and crowd alike

οὐδὲν εὑρίσκω αἴτιον ἐν τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ τούτῳ.content — FIRST not-guilty declaration — αἴτιον, the legal 'ground for charge'; two more follow (vv. 14–15, 22)

οἱ δὲ ἐπίσχυονindependent — ἐπισχύω (NT hapax), durative imperfect — pressure against the verdict

λέγοντεςparticipial — the renewed accusation

ὅτι ἀνασείει τὸν λαὸνcontent — recitative ὅτι; ἀνασείω — the incitement charge restated

διδάσκων καθ' ὅλης τῆς Ἰουδαίας,participial — means participle — the 'sedition' is teaching

καὶ ἀρξάμενος ἀπὸ τῆς Γαλιλαίας ἕως ὧδε.participial — the fatal word Γαλιλαία — meant to widen the charge, it hands Pilate his exit

vv. 6–7 — the jurisdictional loophole: sent to Herod

Πιλᾶτος δὲ ἀκούσαςparticipial — preposed participle — the word 'Galilee' seized; leans on ἐπηρώτησεν

ἐπηρώτησενindependent — the procedural question

εἰ ὁ ἄνθρωπος Γαλιλαῖός ἐστιν,content — indirect question with εἰ — venue, not guilt, now the issue

καὶ ἐπιγνοὺςparticipial — preposed participle — leans on ἀνέπεμψεν

ὅτι ἐκ τῆς ἐξουσίας Ἡρῴδου ἐστὶνcontent — ἐξουσία as legal competence — Antipas, tetrarch of Galilee

ἀνέπεμψεν αὐτὸν πρὸς Ἡρῴδην,independent — ἀναπέμπω — the technical verb of judicial remittal, three times in this chapter (vv. 7, 11, 15)

ὄντα καὶ αὐτὸν ἐν Ἱεροσολύμοις ἐν ταύταις ταῖς ἡμέραις.participial — attributive ὄντα — in the city for the feast: the convenience that enables the Luke-only episode

Before Herod — sign-hunger, silence, contempt 23:8–12

vv. 8–10 — the curiosity of Antipas met with silence

Ὁ δὲ Ἡρῴδης ἰδὼν τὸν Ἰησοῦνparticipial — preposed participle — the meeting he has wanted since 9:9; leans on ἐχάρη

ἐχάρη λίαν,independent — ingressive aorist — delight, of exactly the wrong kind

ἦν γὰρ ἐξ ἱκανῶν χρόνων θέλων ἰδεῖν αὐτὸνcause — periphrastic imperfect — the standing curiosity of 9:9 ('who is this? and he sought to see him')

διὰ τὸ ἀκούειν περὶ αὐτοῦcause — διά + articular infinitive — hearsay is all Herod has

καὶ ἤλπιζέν τι σημεῖον ἰδεῖν ὑπ' αὐτοῦ γινόμενον.cause — coordinate with the γάρ clause — sign-hunger, not repentance: the demand refused throughout Luke (11:29)

ἐπηρώτα δὲ αὐτὸν ἐν λόγοις ἱκανοῖς,independent — durative imperfect — many words on one side

αὐτὸς δὲ οὐδὲν ἀπεκρίνατο αὐτῷ.independent — emphatic αὐτός — total silence (Isa 53:7): Herod gets no word at all

εἱστήκεισαν δὲ οἱ ἀρχιερεῖς καὶ οἱ γραμματεῖςindependent — pluperfect εἱστήκεισαν with imperfect sense — the accusers have followed the prisoner

εὐτόνως κατηγοροῦντες αὐτοῦ.participial — εὐτόνως — at full stretch; the charges pursued into the second court

vv. 11–12 — the mockery, the return, the unholy friendship

ἐξουθενήσας δὲ αὐτὸν [καὶ] ὁ Ἡρῴδης σὺν τοῖς στρατεύμασιν αὐτοῦparticipial — preposed participle — ἐξουθενέω, the verdict of Ps 22:6 and Acts 4:11; [καὶ] bracketed in the critical text; leans on ἀνέπεμψεν

καὶ ἐμπαίξαςparticipial — ἐμπαίζω — the third mockery-prediction of 18:32 fulfilled

περιβαλὼν ἐσθῆτα λαμπρὰνparticipial — ἐσθὴς λαμπρά — the shining robe: a king's costume as a joke, returned wearing the charge

ἀνέπεμψεν αὐτὸν τῷ Πιλάτῳ.independent — ἀναπέμπω again — remitted without verdict: Herod's acquittal is his refusal to sentence (v. 15)

ἐγένοντο δὲ φίλοι ὅ τε Ἡρῴδης καὶ ὁ Πιλᾶτος ἐν αὐτῇ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ μετ' ἀλλήλων·independent — narrator's aside — ἐν αὐτῇ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ: reconciled over the shared prisoner (Ps 2:2, read so at Acts 4:25–27)

προϋπῆρχον γὰρ ἐν ἔχθρᾳ ὄντες πρὸς αὐτούς.cause — periphrastic προϋπῆρχον ὄντες — the old hostility (13:1 may lie behind it) healed at the innocent's expense

Pilate yields — Barabbas released, Jesus handed over 23:13–25

vv. 13–16 — the second acquittal and the offered compromise

Πιλᾶτος δὲ συγκαλεσάμενος τοὺς ἀρχιερεῖς καὶ τοὺς ἄρχοντας καὶ τὸν λαὸνparticipial — preposed participle — a formal assembly convened to hear the verdict; leans on εἶπεν (v. 14)

εἶπεν πρὸς αὐτούς·independent — the judicial pronouncement begins

προσηνέγκατέ μοι τὸν ἄνθρωπον τοῦτον ὡς ἀποστρέφοντα τὸν λαόν,content — ὡς + participle — the charge as alleged, not conceded

καὶ ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ ἐνώπιον ὑμῶν ἀνακρίνας οὐθὲν εὗρον ἐν τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ τούτῳ αἴτιονcontent — SECOND not-guilty declaration — ἀνακρίνας, the formal examination, held ἐνώπιον ὑμῶν: due process invoked

ὧν κατηγορεῖτε κατ' αὐτοῦ.relative — on αἴτιον — ὧν genitive by attraction: none of the counts stands

ἀλλ' οὐδὲ Ἡρῴδης,content — verbless ellipsis — supply 'found guilt': the second jurisdiction concurs

ἀνέπεμψεν γὰρ αὐτὸν πρὸς ἡμᾶς,cause — the remittal read as acquittal — no counter-charge came with him

καὶ ἰδοὺ οὐδὲν ἄξιον θανάτου ἐστὶν πεπραγμένον αὐτῷ·content — periphrastic perfect; αὐτῷ dative of agent — the capital question answered in the negative

παιδεύσας οὖν αὐτὸνparticipial — preposed participle leaning on ἀπολύσω — παιδεύω, the euphemism for the light whipping (fustigatio): the compromise that concedes what the verdict denied

ἀπολύσω.content — predictive future — release intended; the critical text omits v. 17 (the amnesty custom), so the verse numbering jumps from 16 to 18

vv. 18–23 — the crowd's veto: Barabbas instead

ἀνέκραγον δὲ παμπληθεὶindependent — παμπληθεί (NT hapax) — the whole assembly of v. 13 with one voice; v. 17 (the Passover-release custom) is absent from the critical text as a harmonization from Mark 15:6 / Matt 27:15 — the gap falls immediately before this line

λέγοντες·participial — the counter-demand

αἶρε τοῦτον,content — αἶρε — the cry Acts 21:36; 22:22 will repeat against Paul

ἀπόλυσον δὲ ἡμῖν τὸν Βαραββᾶν·content — Pilate's ἀπολύσω seized and redirected — release, but the wrong man

ὅστις ἦν διὰ στάσιν τινὰ γενομένην ἐν τῇ πόλει καὶ φόνον βληθεὶς ἐν τῇ φυλακῇ.relative — qualitative ὅστις, periphrastic ἦν…βληθείς — the narrator's aside: actually guilty of the very στάσις Jesus is charged with

πάλιν δὲ ὁ Πιλᾶτος προσεφώνησεν αὐτοῖςindependent — the second appeal

θέλων ἀπολῦσαι τὸν Ἰησοῦν.participial — causal participle — the narrator states the intent plainly

οἱ δὲ ἐπεφώνουνindependent — iterative imperfect — φωνέω answered with φωνέω: the shouting match

λέγοντες·participial — the chant's frame

σταύρου σταύρου αὐτόν.content — doubled present imperative — Luke's form of the chant, keep-on-crucifying insistence

ὁ δὲ τρίτον εἶπεν πρὸς αὐτούς·independent — τρίτον — Luke counts the acquittals out loud

τί γὰρ κακὸν ἐποίησεν οὗτος;content — γάρ in a question (= Mark 15:14) — no crime found, and none named

οὐδὲν αἴτιον θανάτου εὗρον ἐν αὐτῷ·content — THIRD not-guilty declaration — αἴτιον θανάτου: the capital threshold expressly unmet

παιδεύσας οὖν αὐτὸνparticipial — preposed participle leaning on ἀπολύσω — the compromise of v. 16 verbatim

ἀπολύσω.content — the offer re-made word for word — and drowned

οἱ δὲ ἐπέκειντο φωναῖς μεγάλαιςindependent — ἐπίκειμαι — the third insistence-imperfect (vv. 5, 21, 23)

αἰτούμενοι αὐτὸν σταυρωθῆναι,participial — middle αἰτέομαι + accusative-infinitive — the formal demand

καὶ κατίσχυον αἱ φωναὶ αὐτῶν.independent — κατίσχυον, imperfect — Luke's bleak verdict on the trial: volume wins

vv. 24–25 — the sentence: the exchange

καὶ Πιλᾶτος ἐπέκρινενindependent — ἐπικρίνω (NT hapax) — the formal decree, rendered against his own three findings

γενέσθαι τὸ αἴτημα αὐτῶν·content — infinitive of indirect discourse — τὸ αἴτημα αὐτῶν: the crowd's will becomes the court's ruling

ἀπέλυσεν δὲ τὸν διὰ στάσιν καὶ φόνον βεβλημένον εἰς φυλακὴνindependent — the crimes repeated verbatim from v. 19 — Luke will not let the exchange pass unnoticed (cf. Acts 3:14)

ὃν ᾐτοῦντο,relative — iterative imperfect — their man, by their demand

τὸν δὲ Ἰησοῦν παρέδωκεν τῷ θελήματι αὐτῶν.independent — παρέδωκεν τῷ θελήματι αὐτῶν — no verdict of guilt is ever spoken: the innocent handed to a will, not a law

The way of the cross — the daughters of Jerusalem 23:26–31

v. 26 — Simon carries the cross behind Jesus

Καὶ ὡς ἀπήγαγον αὐτόν,conditional — temporal ὡς (typed cnd; no temporal key) — forward-leaning on ἐπέθηκαν

ἐπιλαβόμενοι Σίμωνά τινα Κυρηναῖον ἐρχόμενον ἀπ' ἀγροῦparticipial — preposed participle — the impressment; Luke drops Mark's Alexander and Rufus

ἐπέθηκαν αὐτῷ τὸν σταυρὸνindependent — the condemned man can no longer carry it

φέρειν ὄπισθεν τοῦ Ἰησοῦ.purpose — purpose infinitive — ὄπισθεν τοῦ Ἰησοῦ: Luke's wording makes Simon the picture of discipleship (9:23; 14:27)

vv. 27–31 — the oracle to the weeping women: green wood, dry wood

Ἠκολούθει δὲ αὐτῷ πολὺ πλῆθος τοῦ λαοῦ καὶ γυναικῶνindependent — ἀκολουθέω, imperfect — the sympathetic λαός distinguished from its rulers throughout the chapter

αἳ ἐκόπτοντο καὶ ἐθρήνουν αὐτόν.relative — κόπτομαι, θρηνέω — the ritual funeral lament, offered while he still lives

στραφεὶς δὲ πρὸς αὐτὰς ὁ Ἰησοῦςparticipial — στραφείς — Luke's pivot-word for Jesus' decisive turnings (7:9; 22:61); leans on εἶπεν

εἶπεν·independent — his only speech on the road — an oracle of judgment

θυγατέρες Ἰερουσαλήμ,phrase modifier — vocative of address — the city named in its children

μὴ κλαίετε ἐπ' ἐμέ·content — μή + present imperative — stop the lament already underway

πλὴν ἐφ' ἑαυτὰς κλαίετε καὶ ἐπὶ τὰ τέκνα ὑμῶν,content — πλήν — the tears redirected toward the city's coming fate (19:41–44; 21:20–24)

ὅτι ἰδοὺ ἔρχονται ἡμέραιcause — the prophetic formula (Jer 7:32 etc.) — the ground of the redirected weeping

ἐν αἷς ἐροῦσιν·relative — the days defined by what will then be said

μακάριαι αἱ στεῖραι καὶ αἱ κοιλίαι αἳ οὐκ ἐγέννησαν καὶ μαστοὶ οἳ οὐκ ἔθρεψαν.content — verbless beatitude inverted — the blessing of 11:27 turned inside out: childlessness a mercy in the siege

τότε ἄρξονται λέγειν τοῖς ὄρεσιν·content — τότε resumes 'the days' — the Hos 10:8 cry, taken up again at Rev 6:16

πέσετε ἐφ' ἡμᾶς,content — burial preferred to what is coming

καὶ τοῖς βουνοῖς· καλύψατε ἡμᾶς·content — ellipsis of λέγειν — the parallel cry, Hosea's second colon

ὅτι εἰ ἐν τῷ ὑγρῷ ξύλῳ ταῦτα ποιοῦσιν,conditional — ὅτι + protasis, forward-leaning — the proverb's terms: the innocent Jesus is the green (unburnable) wood

ἐν τῷ ξηρῷ τί γένηται;cause — apodosis, deliberative subjunctive — grounding the whole oracle: if Rome so burns the green wood, what of dry, rebellious Jerusalem?

The Skull — crucified between the criminals, the three mockeries 23:32–38

vv. 32–34 — the crucifixion, the disputed word of forgiveness, the lots

Ἤγοντο δὲ καὶ ἕτεροι κακοῦργοι δύο σὺν αὐτῷindependent — imperfect passive — 'numbered with the transgressors' (Isa 53:12, quoted at 22:37) taking bodily shape

ἀναιρεθῆναι.purpose — purpose infinitive — ἀναιρέω, the execution-verb Acts will use of this death (Acts 2:23)

καὶ ὅτε ἦλθον ἐπὶ τὸν τόπον τὸν καλούμενον Κρανίον,conditional — temporal ὅτε (typed cnd; no temporal key) — Κρανίον without Mark's Aramaic 'Golgotha'; leans on ἐσταύρωσαν

ἐκεῖ ἐσταύρωσαν αὐτὸν καὶ τοὺς κακούργους,independent — the deed itself in one unadorned verb — Luke spends no word on the mechanics

ὃν μὲν ἐκ δεξιῶν ὃν δὲ ἐξ ἀριστερῶν.phrase modifier — verbless distributive ὃν μέν… ὃν δέ — flanked by the guilty: the Isa 53:12 tableau, soon to split into curse and plea (vv. 39–42)

⟦ὁ δὲ Ἰησοῦς ἔλεγεν·independent — the double brackets open the disputed word of forgiveness — absent from P75 א¹ B D*, copied verbatim brackets and all; iterative ἔλεγεν: said more than once

πάτερ, ἄφες αὐτοῖς,content — the first cross-word — πάτερ, as at v. 46: the passion opens and closes addressing the Father

οὐ γὰρ οἴδασιν τί ποιοῦσιν.⟧cause — the ignorance-motif, unmistakably Lukan (Acts 3:17; 13:27; Stephen's echo, Acts 7:60) — the closing bracket ends the disputed text

διαμεριζόμενοι δὲ τὰ ἱμάτια αὐτοῦparticipial — preposed participle — leans on ἔβαλον: 'they divided my garments among them' (Ps 22:18a)

ἔβαλον κλήρους.independent — Ps 22:18b — the psalm of the righteous sufferer running under the whole scene (cf. ἐξεμυκτήριζον, v. 35)

vv. 35–38 — the three mockeries: rulers, soldiers, inscription

Καὶ εἱστήκει ὁ λαὸςindependent — pluperfect εἱστήκει — the λαός watches but does not mock: kept distinct from its rulers to the end (v. 48)

θεωρῶν.participial — θεωρέω — 'all who see me' (Ps 22:7a); the watching will turn to breast-beating (v. 48)

ἐξεμυκτήριζον δὲ καὶ οἱ ἄρχοντεςindependent — FIRST mockery — ἐκμυκτηρίζω, the very verb of Ps 22:7 LXX; durative imperfect

λέγοντες·participial — the taunt's frame

ἄλλους ἔσωσεν,content — the taunt concedes the ministry — σῴζω, Luke's salvation-verb, granted on hostile lips

σωσάτω ἑαυτόν,content — third-person imperative — the wilderness temptation returned (4:1–13): the σῶσον-refrain runs vv. 35, 37, 39

εἰ οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ χριστὸς τοῦ θεοῦ ὁ ἐκλεκτός.conditional — backward-leaning εἰ on the imperative — ὁ ἐκλεκτός (Isa 42:1), the transfiguration voice's own word (9:35) thrown back as a jeer

ἐνέπαιξαν δὲ αὐτῷ καὶ οἱ στρατιῶταιindependent — SECOND mockery — ἐμπαίζω, the verb of Herod's court (v. 11) and of the passion prediction (18:32)

προσερχόμενοι,participial — the approach — mock homage acted out

ὄξος προσφέροντες αὐτῷparticipial — ὄξος — 'for my thirst they gave me vinegar' (Ps 69:21): the soldiers' toast to the 'king'

καὶ λέγοντες·participial — third participle of the mock-ceremony — the taunt now in Roman terms

εἰ σὺ εἶ ὁ βασιλεὺς τῶν Ἰουδαίων,conditional — protasis, forward-leaning — the devil's εἰ (4:3, 9) in soldiers' mouths; the charge-title of v. 3 as a dare

σῶσον σεαυτόν.content — apodosis — the refrain's second round: the salvation he will not seize for himself he is about to promise to a thief (v. 43)

ἦν δὲ καὶ ἐπιγραφὴ ἐπ' αὐτῷ·independent — THIRD mockery, in writing — the titulus: the legal charge posted as a jeer

ὁ βασιλεὺς τῶν Ἰουδαίων οὗτος.content — verbless titulus — the charge of v. 2 fixed above his head: Rome's irony, Luke's plain truth

The two criminals — the rebuke, the plea, the promise 23:39–43

vv. 39–41 — one rails; the other confesses the chapter's verdict

Εἷς δὲ τῶν κρεμασθέντων κακούργων ἐβλασφήμει αὐτὸνindependent — iterative imperfect ἐβλασφήμει — the mockery reaches even the cross alongside; κρεμάννυμι, the 'hanged' of Deut 21:23 (cf. Acts 5:30)

λέγων·participial — the third round of the σῶσον-taunt introduced

οὐχὶ σὺ εἶ ὁ χριστός;content — οὐχί expects 'yes' — the title granted only to sharpen the jeer

σῶσον σεαυτὸν καὶ ἡμᾶς.content — the refrain's third occurrence (vv. 35, 37) — with καὶ ἡμᾶς: rescue demanded, not asked

ἀποκριθεὶς δὲ ὁ ἕτεροςparticipial — preposed participle — ὁ ἕτερος of v. 32; leans on ἔφη

ἐπιτιμῶν αὐτῷparticipial — ἐπιτιμάω — the rebuke Jesus does not make, made for him

ἔφη·independent — the one voice in the chapter raised in Jesus' defense speaks from a cross

οὐδὲ φοβῇ σὺ τὸν θεόν,content — οὐδέ — not even you, hanging here: the fear of God as last argument

ὅτι ἐν τῷ αὐτῷ κρίματι εἶ;cause — causal ὅτι — τὸ αὐτὸ κρίμα: same cross, same condemnation, opposite readings of it

καὶ ἡμεῖς μὲν δικαίως,content — verbless — supply 'are under it': δικαίως, the just sentence confessed; μέν awaiting its δέ

ἄξια γὰρ ὧν ἐπράξαμεν ἀπολαμβάνομεν·cause — γάρ — ὧν genitive by attraction; the confession that grounds the plea to come

οὗτος δὲ οὐδὲν ἄτοπον ἔπραξεν.content — the answering δέ — οὐδὲν ἄτοπον: a FOURTH acquittal, from the neighboring cross, seconding Pilate's three (vv. 4, 14–15, 22)

vv. 42–43 — the plea and the σήμερον promise

καὶ ἔλεγεν·independent — imperfect ἔλεγεν — the plea, perhaps repeated

Ἰησοῦ, μνήσθητί μουcontent — the bare vocative Ἰησοῦ — the only speaker in the Gospels to address him simply by name; μνήσθητι, the remember-me prayer of Ps 106:4

ὅταν ἔλθῃς εἰς τὴν βασιλείαν σου.conditional — temporal ὅταν + subjunctive (typed cnd; no temporal key) — faith that the man dying beside him has a kingdom still to come

καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ·independent — the answer outruns the plea — not remembered someday, but accompanied today

ἀμήν σοι λέγω,content — the ἀμήν-formula — its last occurrence in Luke, spent on a criminal

σήμερον μετ' ἐμοῦ ἔσῃ ἐν τῷ παραδείσῳ.content — the comma crux — σήμερον read with ἔσῃ, not λέγω: Luke's 'today' of fulfillment (2:11; 4:21; 19:9); 'remember me' answered with μετ' ἐμοῦ

The death — darkness, the torn veil, the last word of trust 23:44–49

vv. 44–45 — the signs: noon darkness and the veil torn before the death

Καὶ ἦν ἤδη ὡσεὶ ὥρα ἕκτηindependent — noon — the hour marked as the darkness begins

καὶ σκότος ἐγένετο ἐφ' ὅλην τὴν γῆν ἕως ὥρας ἐνάτηςindependent — σκότος at midday — Amos 8:9 ('the sun go down at noon'); the 'authority of darkness' of 22:53 made visible

τοῦ ἡλίου ἐκλιπόντος,participial — genitive absolute — ἐκλείπω: Luke's own note on the darkness, appended to how it came

ἐσχίσθη δὲ τὸ καταπέτασμα τοῦ ναοῦ μέσον.independent — divine passive — in Luke's order the veil tears BEFORE the death (contrast Mark 15:37–38): the sanctuary's mourning precedes, not answers, the last breath

vv. 46–49 — the last word, the centurion's verdict, the watchers

καὶ φωνήσας φωνῇ μεγάλῃ ὁ Ἰησοῦςparticipial — preposed participle — Mark's inarticulate great cry becomes in Luke articulate prayer; leans on εἶπεν

εἶπεν·independent — the last word introduced

πάτερ, εἰς χεῖράς σου παρατίθεμαι τὸ πνεῦμά μου.content — Ps 31:5 with πάτερ prefixed — trust, not dereliction: where Mark's last word is Ps 22:1, Luke's is the evening prayer of the righteous (echoed by Stephen, Acts 7:59)

τοῦτο δὲ εἰπὼνparticipial — preposed participle — leans on ἐξέπνευσεν: the death follows the word of trust immediately

ἐξέπνευσεν.independent — ἐκπνέω — one word for the death: the spirit committed, then released

Ἰδὼν δὲ ὁ ἑκατοντάρχης τὸ γενόμενονparticipial — preposed participle — the executioner as first interpreter; leans on ἐδόξαζεν

ἐδόξαζεν τὸν θεὸνindependent — inceptive imperfect — δοξάζειν τὸν θεόν, Luke's response-formula to God's works (5:26; 7:16; 17:15): a Gentile joins the chorus

λέγων·participial — the verdict's frame

ὄντως ὁ ἄνθρωπος οὗτος δίκαιος ἦν.content — ὄντως δίκαιος — where Mark's centurion says 'Son of God' (Mark 15:39), Luke's returns the chapter's legal verdict: innocent (vv. 4, 14–15, 22, 41)

καὶ πάντες οἱ συμπαραγενόμενοι ὄχλοι ἐπὶ τὴν θεωρίαν ταύτην,participial — preposed subject with attributive participle — θεωρία (NT hapax): they gathered for a show; leans on ὑπέστρεφον

θεωρήσαντες τὰ γενόμενα,participial — τὰ γενόμενα — the same sight the centurion saw (v. 47), differently answered

τύπτοντες τὰ στήθηparticipial — the tax collector's gesture (18:13) — the lament of vv. 27–28 now taken up by the whole crowd

ὑπέστρεφον.independent — imperfect — the crowd drains away changed: the spectacle became a funeral

εἱστήκεισαν δὲ πάντες οἱ γνωστοὶ αὐτῷ ἀπὸ μακρόθενindependent — pluperfect εἱστήκεισαν — ἀπὸ μακρόθεν: 'my friends stand aloof' (Ps 38:11); Luke spares the disciples Mark's flight

καὶ γυναῖκες αἱ συνακολουθοῦσαι αὐτῷ ἀπὸ τῆς Γαλιλαίαςphrase modifier — coordinate subject — the Galilean women (8:2–3), the continuity-witnesses of death, burial, and empty tomb (24:1–10)

ὁρῶσαι ταῦτα.participial — feminine ὁρῶσαι — the participle agrees with the women: the eyewitnesses named; ταῦτα, all of it

The burial — Joseph of Arimathea and the Sabbath rest 23:50–56

vv. 50–53 — the dissenting councillor and the rock-hewn tomb

Καὶ ἰδοὺ ἀνὴρ ὀνόματι Ἰωσὴφindependent — ἰδού-presentation, verbless — the sentence suspends across vv. 50–52, piling up credentials until the resumptive οὗτος finds its verb (ᾐτήσατο)

βουλευτὴς ὑπάρχωνparticipial — βουλευτής — of the very βουλή that condemned (22:66–71): the exception inside the 'whole company' of v. 1

[καὶ] ἀνὴρ ἀγαθὸς καὶ δίκαιοςphrase modifier — apposition — δίκαιος, the centurion's word (v. 47) now attached to the burier; [καὶ] bracketed in the critical text

— οὗτος οὐκ ἦν συγκατατεθειμένος τῇ βουλῇ καὶ τῇ πράξει αὐτῶν —independent — narrator's parenthesis, dashed off inside the suspended sentence — periphrastic pluperfect; βουλή/βουλευτής wordplay: a councillor against the counsel

ἀπὸ Ἁριμαθαίας πόλεως τῶν Ἰουδαίων,phrase modifier — provenance resumed after the dash — the description still accumulating, the verb still withheld

ὃς προσεδέχετο τὴν βασιλείαν τοῦ θεοῦ,relative — προσδέχομαι, imperfect — the verb of Simeon and Anna (2:25, 38): the Gospel closes as it opened, with the waiting faithful of Israel

οὗτος προσελθὼν τῷ Πιλάτῳparticipial — resumptive οὗτος with preposed participle — the suspended sentence finally moves; leans on ᾐτήσατο

ᾐτήσατο τὸ σῶμα τοῦ Ἰησοῦindependent — the long-delayed main verb — middle αἰτέομαι: the request that saves the body from the criminals' pit

καὶ καθελὼνparticipial — preposed participle — καθαιρέω, Joseph's own hands; leans on ἐνετύλιξεν

ἐνετύλιξεν αὐτὸ σινδόνιindependent — σινδών — clean linen for the condemned: the dishonored body honored

καὶ ἔθηκεν αὐτὸν ἐν μνήματι λαξευτῷindependent — λαξευτός (NT hapax) — and the shift from αὐτό ('it') to αὐτόν ('him'): the body becomes the person again

οὗ οὐκ ἦν οὐδεὶς οὔπω κείμενος.relative — relative οὗ with piled negatives — an unused tomb: no other bones to confuse the third day (cf. the unridden colt, 19:30)

vv. 54–56 — Preparation day, the watching women, the commanded rest

καὶ ἡμέρα ἦν παρασκευῆςindependent — παρασκευή — Friday; the clock now governs everything

καὶ σάββατον ἐπέφωσκεν.independent — inceptive imperfect ἐπιφώσκω — the Sabbath 'lighting up' at evening: the burial races the sunset

Κατακολουθήσασαι δὲ αἱ γυναῖκες,participial — preposed participle — κατακολουθέω: they track the body to its place; leans on ἐθεάσαντο

αἵτινες ἦσαν συνεληλυθυῖαι ἐκ τῆς Γαλιλαίας αὐτῷ,relative — qualitative αἵτινες, periphrastic pluperfect — the same Galilean company of v. 49 and 8:2–3

ἐθεάσαντο τὸ μνημεῖονindependent — θεάομαι — deliberate looking: they mark the place, against Sunday morning

καὶ ὡς ἐτέθη τὸ σῶμα αὐτοῦ,content — indirect question ὡς — place AND manner witnessed: exactly the knowledge 24:1–3 will require

ὑποστρέψασαι δὲparticipial — preposed participle — leans on ἡτοίμασαν

ἡτοίμασαν ἀρώματα καὶ μύρα.independent — the work done before sundown — love's errand, which 24:1 will carry to the tomb and find unnecessary

Καὶ τὸ μὲν σάββατον ἡσύχασαν κατὰ τὴν ἐντολήν.independent — ἡσυχάζω κατὰ τὴν ἐντολήν (Ex 20:10) — Torah-faithful to the last; τὸ μέν leans across the chapter break to the τῇ δέ of 24:1: rest, then the first day

Analysis. Luke's passion chapter is built of verdicts. Pilate's three not-guilty declarations sit flush left at the chapter's spine (vv. 4, 14–15, 22), seconded by Herod's implicit acquittal (v. 15, the Luke-only episode of vv. 6–12), by the penitent criminal's οὐδὲν ἄτοπον ἔπραξεν (v. 41), and finally by the centurion's ὄντως δίκαιος (v. 47) — where Mark's centurion says 'Son of God,' Luke's returns the legal verdict the whole chapter has been stacking up: innocent. Against that column the crowd's imperfects grind (ἐπίσχυον, ἐπεφώνουν, ἐπέκειντο, κατίσχυον — insistence answered by volume) until the sentence comes as a naked exchange: the insurrectionist-murderer released, Jesus παρέδωκεν τῷ θελήματι αὐτῶν (v. 25). Luke's distinctives all get their shape: the daughters-of-Jerusalem oracle indents stepwise to the green-wood/dry-wood proverb (vv. 27–31, protasis leaning on its deliberative apodosis); the two-criminals dialogue (vv. 39–43) climaxes in the σήμερον promise — the layout takes the traditional side of the comma crux, reading σήμερον with ἔσῃ (Luke's 'today' of fulfillment, 2:11; 4:21; 19:9), not with λέγω; and the cross-words are trust, not dereliction — the disputed word of forgiveness (v. 34a) stands in the critical text's double brackets ⟦…⟧, absent from P75 א¹ B D* yet unmistakably Lukan (the ignorance-motif returns in Acts 3:17; 7:60), copied verbatim brackets and all and flagged, and the last word is Ps 31:5 with πάτερ prefixed (v. 46). Textual shape: the critical text omits v. 17 (the amnesty custom, harmonized in from Mark 15:6 / Matt 27:15), so the numbering runs 1–16, 18–56 — the seam is flagged at v. 18. The chapter closes with Joseph the dissenting councillor, whose sentence suspends across vv. 50–52 until the resumptive οὗτος finally finds its verb, the Galilean women marking the tomb, and the Sabbath rest — Luke's μέν (v. 56) leaning across the chapter break to the δέ of 24:1.