✨WEB · Luke 23:34
What does Luke 23:34 mean?
"Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.” Dividing his garments among them, they cast lots."
— Luke 23:34 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
For if they do these things in the green tree, what will be done in the dry?”
There were also others, two criminals, led with him to be put to death.
When they came to the place that is called The Skull, they crucified him there with the criminals, one on the right and the other on the left.
Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.” Dividing his garments among them, they cast lots.
The people stood watching. The rulers with them also scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others. Let him save himself, if this is the Christ of God, his chosen one!”
The soldiers also mocked him, coming to him and offering him vinegar,
and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!”
Explanation
Luke 23:34 records one of the most striking moments of the crucifixion narrative. As Jesus hangs on the cross, having just been nailed there by Roman soldiers, he speaks not words of anger or despair but a prayer of forgiveness on behalf of those crucifying him. The verse then notes, almost in the same breath, that the soldiers were dividing his garments among themselves by casting lots — carrying on with a routine task of stripping and distributing the belongings of the condemned, seemingly indifferent to the extraordinary words just spoken above them.
The Gospel of Luke was written by Luke, a companion of the apostle Paul, likely for a largely Gentile Christian audience, with care given to showing Jesus's compassion toward the marginalized and his fulfillment of God's redemptive purposes. This verse falls within Luke's detailed account of the crucifixion, a scene Luke alone records with this particular prayer. The soldiers casting lots for Jesus's garments echoes Psalm 22:18, a psalm long understood as pointing to the suffering of God's chosen one, reinforcing that what is happening, however brutal, is unfolding within the larger story of Scripture. It's worth noting that some ancient manuscripts of Luke omit this saying, which has led scholars to discuss its textual history, but it has long been treasured as part of the received text and consistent with Jesus's character throughout Luke's Gospel.
Theologically, this verse reveals the heart of Jesus's mission and character even in his final hours. He models
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