Luke 23:1

Here is Luke's record of the final trials of Jesus before Pilate (Luke 23:1-7), before Herod (Luke 23:8-12), and before Pilate again (Luke 23:13-25), Simon of Cyrene bearing the cross, the prophecy to the daughters of Jerusalem, and the crucifixion of the malefactors (Luke 23:26-32), the crucifixion of our Lord, three sayings from the cross, the inscription, and the death of Jesus (Luke 23:33-49), and the entombment (Luke 23:50-56).

And the whole company of them rose up, and brought him before Pilate. (Luke 23:1)

Pilate was the fifth procurator of Judea, holding office from 28-36 A.D. In view of all that is known of this evil ruler from the writings of Philo, and from the New Testament itself, it is incredible that one would say that "There is not enough information about him to make a valid judgment of the kind of man he was"![1] Luke recorded that Jesus himself mentioned Pilate's mingling the blood of Galilean worshipers with the blood of their sacrifices in the temple itself (Luke 13:15); and what is in this chapter alone provides ample information upon which to form a definitive judgment regarding what kind of man Pilate was.

The Sanhedrin had just concluded the formal daylight trial at which they had condemned Jesus to death; but since they were prohibited by the Romans from the execution of such a sentence (John 18:31), they were compelled to pursue their objective in the court of the pagan governor.