Luke 23 5

Luke 23:5 kjv

And they were the more fierce, saying, He stirreth up the people, teaching throughout all Jewry, beginning from Galilee to this place.

Luke 23:5 nkjv

But they were the more fierce, saying, "He stirs up the people, teaching throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee to this place."

Luke 23:5 niv

But they insisted, "He stirs up the people all over Judea by his teaching. He started in Galilee and has come all the way here."

Luke 23:5 esv

But they were urgent, saying, "He stirs up the people, teaching throughout all Judea, from Galilee even to this place."

Luke 23:5 nlt

Then they became insistent. "But he is causing riots by his teaching wherever he goes ? all over Judea, from Galilee to Jerusalem!"

Luke 23 verses

Luke 23 5 Meaning

The Jewish leaders, driven by intense hostility, pressed their case before Pontius Pilate by accusing Jesus of widespread sedition. They alleged that Jesus was inciting and stirring up the people, not just in Jerusalem but throughout all Judea, specifically emphasizing that this agitation began in Galilee and had spread to their current location in Jerusalem. Their accusation cleverly reframed Jesus' spiritual teachings into a politically dangerous movement, aiming to secure His condemnation by the Roman authority.

Luke 23 5 Context

Luke 23:5 takes place during Jesus' trial before Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea. The Jewish Sanhedrin had arrested Jesus and, after a hurried and unlawful trial where they convicted Him of blasphemy (a charge meaningless to Roman law), they brought Him before Pilate, hoping for a Roman death sentence. Recognizing Pilate's indifference to their religious accusations, they shrewdly shifted their charge to one of sedition against Rome. Verse 2 presented a general accusation of subverting the nation, forbidding tribute to Caesar, and claiming to be king. In Luke 23:5, the Jewish leaders intensify their false accusation, specifying the breadth of Jesus' supposed revolutionary activity. This specific detail about Galilee is crucial as it leads Pilate to discover Jesus' Galilean origin, which he then uses as a pretext to send Jesus to Herod Antipas, hoping to deflect responsibility. The leaders' escalating fury underscores their desperate intent to have Jesus executed.

Luke 23 5 Word analysis

• But they were the more fierce (ischuroteros - ἰσχυρότερος): The Greek word denotes an intensifying degree of strength, vehemence, or determination. It highlights the unyielding and growing hostility of the Jewish leadership. Their anger was not subsiding; it was increasing, reflecting their profound opposition to Jesus and their desperation to see Him condemned.
• saying, He stirs up (anaseiei - ἀνασείει): The verb anaseiei means to shake up, to excite to rebellion, or to incite. It's a strong political term, implying sedition or insurrection. The accusation framed Jesus not as a religious teacher but as a dangerous agitator undermining Roman authority, which was a capital crime.
• the people (laos - λαός): This refers to the common Jewish populace. The charge implied that Jesus' widespread teaching had transformed into popular unrest, a claim designed to alarm Pilate and provoke his intervention to maintain Roman order.
• teaching (didaskon - διδάσκων): The very act that characterized Jesus' ministry – teaching God's truth – was maliciously reinterpreted as a means of political subversion. It's a key distortion by His accusers, transforming a spiritual kingdom message into a worldly threat.
• throughout all Jewry (kath' holēs tēs Ioudaias - καθ' ὅλης τῆς Ἰουδαίας): "Jewry" here refers to the entire region of Judea, often including other Jewish territories like Galilee, Transjordan, and Samaria where Jews resided. The phrase emphasizes the wide scope of Jesus' perceived "rebellion," suggesting a widespread and systemic threat across all Jewish lands. This was a tactical exaggeration to impress upon Pilate the scale of Jesus' alleged crime.
• beginning from Galilee (apo tēs Galilaias - ἀπὸ τῆς Γαλιλαίας): Galilee was often viewed by Roman authorities and Jerusalem elites as a hotbed of rebellious activity and nationalistic fervor against Rome. By stating that the agitation began in Galilee, the accusers shrewdly connected Jesus to a politically volatile region, immediately raising Roman suspicions about His motives and followers. This specific detail proves crucial for Pilate, leading him to send Jesus to Herod Antipas, ruler of Galilee.
• to this place (heōs toutou tou topou - ἕως τούτου τοῦ τόπου): This phrase explicitly points to Jerusalem, where the trial was taking place. By claiming that the alleged sedition had spread from a rebellious region to the very capital of the province and seat of Roman power, they presented Jesus as a direct, imminent threat to public order right in the heart of the Roman administration.
• Words-group: "He stirs up the people, teaching": This phrase directly connects Jesus' widely acknowledged role as a teacher with the serious crime of inciting a popular uprising. It falsely presents His spiritual message, which was about God's kingdom, as a dangerous political agenda intended to destabilize Roman rule through popular agitation. The combination of "stirring up" and "teaching" transformed His ministry from religious instruction into perceived political treason in the eyes of Roman law.

Luke 23 5 Bonus section

The charge of "stirring up the people" (anaseiei) was particularly damning in the Roman legal system, directly equating Jesus with a disturber of the peace or seditionist. This allowed the Jewish leaders to leverage Roman anxieties about maintaining order in a restless province, especially around the Passover festival when Jewish nationalism tended to heighten. Their detailed geographical indictment, specifying the widespread nature of Jesus' "crimes" from Galilee to Jerusalem, aimed to convince Pilate that Jesus was a significant threat who could not be dismissed. This legal pressure tactics played a crucial role in ultimately forcing Pilate's hand, despite his personal belief in Jesus' innocence, as seen throughout the narrative.

Luke 23 5 Commentary

Luke 23:5 reveals the unyielding malevolence and cunning of the Jewish leadership. Faced with Pilate's initial disinterest in their religious charges of blasphemy, they skillfully adapted their accusation, transforming it into a politically potent one. Their assertion that Jesus "stirs up the people" across the entire land, especially highlighting His origin in "Galilee"—a region associated with Zealotic movements and a general anti-Roman sentiment—was a calculated move to portray Him as a revolutionary threatening Roman stability. By stating that this activity had extended "to this place" (Jerusalem), they painted Jesus as a direct threat to the very seat of power. This specific accusation serves as a strategic point in the narrative, allowing Pilate to seek a way out of judging Jesus by referring Him to Herod Antipas, based on His Galilean origin, inadvertently highlighting the widespread reach of Jesus' actual, non-political ministry, as observed in Acts 10:37. It powerfully illustrates how truth can be distorted and weaponized to achieve malicious ends.