Word Pictures in the New Testament - David Cox

Word Pictures in the NT [Luke: Chapter 23]
aorist active imperative of \aphi•mi\, with dative case. Some of
the oldest and best documents do not contain this verse, and yet,
while it is not certain that it is a part of Luke's Gospel, it is
certain that Jesus spoke these words, for they are utterly unlike
any one else. Jesus evidently is praying for the Roman soldiers,
who were only obeying, but not for the Sanhedrin. {Cast lots}
(\ebalon kl•ron\). Second aorist active indicative of \ball•\.
See Mr 15:24; Mt 27:35. Joh 19:23f. shows how the lot was
cast for the seamless garment, the four soldiers dividing the
other garments.
23:35 {The people stood beholding} (\hist•kei\). Past perfect
active of \hist•mi\, intransitive and like imperfect. A graphic
picture of the dazed multitude, some of whom may have been in the
Triumphal Entry on Sunday morning. {Scoffed} (\exemukt•rizon\).
Imperfect active, perhaps inchoative, began to turn up (out,
\ex\) at the dying Christ. The language comes from Ps 22:7.
{The Christ of God} (\ho Christos tou theou\). He had claimed to
be just this ( 22:67,70). The sarcastic sneer (he saved others;
let him save others, for himself he cannot save) is in Mr 15:31;
Mt 27:42. Luke alone gives the contemptuous use of \houtos\
(this fellow) and the fling in "the elect" (\ho eklektos\). These
rulers were having their day at last.
23:36 {Mocked} (\enepaixan\). Even the soldiers yielded to the
spell and acted like boys in their jeers. Aorist tense here and
different verb also from that used of the rulers. They were not
so bitter and persistent.
23:37 {If} (\ei\). Condition of the first class as is text in
verse 35 used by the rulers. The soldiers pick out "the king of
the Jews" as the point of their sneer, the point on which Jesus
was condemned. But both soldiers and rulers fail to understand
that Jesus could not save himself if he was to save others.
23:38 {A superscription} (\epigraph•\). Mr 15:26 has "the
superscription of his accusation" Mt 27:37, "his accusation,"
Joh 19:19 "a title." But they all refer to the charge written
at the top on the cross giving, as was the custom, the accusation
on which the criminal was condemned, with his name and residence.
Put all the reports together and we have: This is Jesus of
Nazareth the King of the Jews. This full title appeared in Latin
for law, in Aramaic for the Jews, in Greek for everybody ( Joh
19:20).
http://www.ccel.org/r/robertson_at/wordpictures/htm/LU23.RWP.html (7 of 11) [28/08/2004 09:05:57 a.m.]