Luke 24 20

Luke 24:20 kjv

And how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death, and have crucified him.

Luke 24:20 nkjv

and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to be condemned to death, and crucified Him.

Luke 24:20 niv

The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him;

Luke 24:20 esv

and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him.

Luke 24:20 nlt

But our leading priests and other religious leaders handed him over to be condemned to death, and they crucified him.

Luke 24 verses

Luke 24 20 Meaning

Luke 24:20 conveys the sorrowful understanding of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, who recount to the unrecognized Jesus the recent, devastating events concerning Him. They state that "our chief priests and rulers" (referring to the Jewish leadership) were responsible for initiating the process that led to Jesus being "condemned to death" by Roman authorities and subsequently "crucified." This reflects their current perception of a prophet, mighty in word and deed, whose promising ministry was brutally and definitively ended, contrasting sharply with their earlier hopes for a Messiah.

Luke 24 20 Context

Luke 24:20 occurs as two distraught disciples, Cleopas and another unnamed companion, are walking from Jerusalem to Emmaus on the very day of Jesus' resurrection. They are deeply saddened and discussing the recent events concerning Jesus of Nazareth. They have heard confusing reports of an empty tomb and angelic visions but, still gripped by grief and fear, have not yet grasped the reality or significance of the resurrection. This verse is their summary, recounted to the unrecognized, resurrected Jesus, of what they believed to be the tragic end of their hope. It encapsulates their limited, human perspective on the events that have transpired.

Within Luke's Gospel, this statement reflects Jesus' consistent teaching that He must suffer and be delivered (Lk 9:22, 18:31-33), while also highlighting the culpability of the Jewish religious leadership in rejecting and persecuting Him. Historically and culturally, the Jewish Sanhedrin, represented by "chief priests and rulers," lacked the authority to carry out capital punishment under Roman occupation. Therefore, they needed to "deliver" Jesus to the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate, for the death sentence and execution, specifically by crucifixion—a brutal Roman form of capital punishment reserved for rebels and serious criminals. The disciples' lament expresses the scandal and perceived failure of their "prophet mighty in deed and word" (Lk 24:19) to be so publicly and shamefully executed by their own leaders, acting through the foreign occupiers.

Luke 24 20 Word analysis

• καὶ (kai): "and" – Functions as a conjunction, connecting the disciples' previous description of Jesus as a mighty prophet (v.19) with the tragic fate that befell Him.
• ὅπως (hopōs): "how" – Here indicates the manner or circumstance of Jesus' end, expressing a sense of bewilderment or sorrow about the method. It emphasizes how such a great prophet could meet such a demise.
• τε (te): "and" – This particle serves to link the preceding "how" clause (v.19b) even more closely to what follows in verse 20, providing a cohesive narrative flow to their explanation of Jesus' fate. It can imply "not only... but also," highlighting the dual tragedy.
• παρέδωκαν (paredōkan): "delivered him over" (from παραδίδωμι - paradidomi) – A key verb implying handover, surrender, or betrayal.
  • Significance: In this context, it describes the actions of the Jewish leadership (chief priests and rulers) in officially bringing Jesus to Pilate and effectively abandoning Him to Roman jurisdiction for trial and punishment. This term can carry nuances of betrayal (e.g., Judas "delivered over" Jesus) and legal surrender.
• αὐτὸν (auton): "Him" – The direct object, referring specifically to Jesus.
• οἱ ἀρχιερεῖς (hoi archiereis): "the chief priests" – The leaders of the priestly class, primarily Sadducees, politically powerful and responsible for Temple worship. This group held significant authority within the Sanhedrin.
  • Significance: They were the main instigators and vocal proponents for Jesus' death, seeing Him as a threat to their authority and to the fragile peace with Rome.
• καὶ (kai): "and" – Connects the two groups of leaders.
• οἱ ἄρχοντες (hoi archontes): "the rulers" – A more general term for leaders or officials, encompassing elders and other members of the Sanhedrin who were not necessarily chief priests.
  • Significance: Together with "chief priests," this emphasizes the broad institutional consensus within the Jewish ruling body to condemn Jesus, reinforcing the responsibility of the collective Jewish leadership.
• ἡμῶν (hēmōn): "our" – Possessive pronoun, "our."
  • Significance: Highlights the disciples' personal identification with the Jewish nation and their national leadership. This imbues their statement with a profound sense of lament and betrayal: it was their own leaders who acted against this prophet.
• εἰς κρίμα θανάτου (eis krima thanatou): "to a judgment of death," "to be condemned to death."
  • κρίμα (krima): judgment, decision, verdict, sentence.
  • θανάτου (thanatou): of death, relating to death.
  • Significance: Specifies the desired legal outcome from the Roman authorities—not just any punishment, but a definitive capital sentence. The Jewish court (Sanhedrin) delivered a religious verdict but lacked the authority to execute. They sought and obtained the ultimate Roman legal sanction.
• καὶ (kai): "and" – Connects the condemnation with the execution.
• ἐσταύρωσαν (estaurōsan): "crucified him" (from σταυρόω - stauroō) – The act of execution by crucifixion.
  • Significance: This verb pinpoints the brutal, public, and ignominious Roman method of Jesus' death. While physically carried out by Roman soldiers, the disciples imply the Jewish leaders' ultimate responsibility in pushing for and achieving this specific form of execution. This scandalous death was antithetical to Jewish expectations of a conquering Messiah.

Words-group by words-group analysis:

• "how our chief priests and our rulers delivered Him": This phrase articulates the central grievance and profound disappointment of the disciples. The active agents ("chief priests and rulers") are clearly identified as those within their own national leadership ("our"). The verb "delivered Him" points to their critical role in initiating and prosecuting Jesus' demise through the Roman judicial system, moving Him from their religious judgment to a secular one with capital power.
• "to be condemned to death, and crucified Him": This sequence emphasizes the two-stage process leading to Jesus' death. First, the desired legal verdict of "condemnation to death" was secured through Pilate. Second, the horrific physical execution, "crucified Him," was carried out. Together, these phrases convey the irreversible finality and brutal reality of Jesus' fate as the disciples perceived it, highlighting the severity of the leaders' actions and the ignominy of the chosen execution method.

Luke 24 20 Bonus section

The Emmaus Road account, beginning with statements like Luke 24:20, provides a unique insight into the interpretive challenges faced by the early followers of Jesus. The disciples knew the facts of Jesus' life and death but utterly missed the meaning and divine purpose of His suffering. Their recounting serves as a foundational example of pre-enlightened hermeneutics, highlighting the common human tendency to filter divine events through personal hopes and fears rather than God's revealed word. Jesus' response to their lament in verses 25-27 would precisely address this deficiency, opening their understanding to how the Old Testament scriptures necessitated a suffering Messiah who would enter into glory. This dialogue thus becomes a cornerstone lesson in understanding the coherence of the entire biblical narrative, from prophecy to fulfillment, all centering on Christ's death and resurrection. The phrase "our chief priests and our rulers" emphasizes the depth of internal betrayal perceived, yet it subtly hints at the universal aspect of human culpability, as ultimately all humanity contributed to the necessity of Jesus' atoning sacrifice, orchestrated by God's sovereign will (Acts 4:27-28).

Luke 24 20 Commentary

Luke 24:20 encapsulates the raw pain and dashed hopes of Jesus' followers just days after the crucifixion. It represents their initial, incomplete understanding of a suffering Messiah, viewed solely through the lens of human tragedy and failure. The disciples, reflecting popular sentiment, recognized Jesus as a great prophet, yet paradoxically, it was their own respected national and religious authorities – "our chief priests and our rulers" – who were instrumental in handing Him over to Roman power, explicitly desiring a capital sentence.

This verse reveals the tragic irony: those entrusted with God's law instigated the execution of its ultimate fulfiller. The detailed mention of "condemned to death" and "crucified Him" underscores the judicial finality and the barbaric method of His end. For the disciples, it was a profound scandal, the undoing of their aspirations that He "was the one to redeem Israel" (Lk 24:21). Their statement, though historically accurate in describing the mechanics of the event, lacked the divine perspective that Jesus himself would immediately begin to unpack for them—that all this was according to God's pre-ordained plan, a necessary suffering that the Scriptures prophesied for the Messiah. This pre-resurrection narrative beautifully sets up the powerful teaching that would follow, transforming despair into understanding and faith.