Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
Luke 23:47 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 47. 47Now when the centurion saw what was done, he glorified God, saying, Certainly this was a righteous man.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
Luke 23:47 places a Roman centurion's righteous-or-innocent verdict after the state execution.
Darkness, a torn veil, and a death that splits the watchers
This verse is one part of that explanation in Luke 23:44–23:49. The complete section carries the connected meaning and how it should shape life.
Read It With
- Luke 23:44–23:49
Read Luke 23:47 with 23:44–23:49. In isolation, this contribution—places a Roman centurion's righteous-or-innocent verdict after the state execution—can be detached from its speaker, audience, scene or teaching sequence, and outcome. The complete unit establishes: Darkness covers the land, the temple veil tears, Jesus entrusts his spirit to the Father and dies, the centurion calls him righteous, crowds return beating breasts, and acquaintances and women watch from a distance.
Follow the Context
- Identify the actors, setting, and initiating speech or action in Luke 23:44–23:49.
- Darkness covers the land, the temple veil tears, Jesus entrusts his spirit to the Father and dies, the centurion calls him righteous, crowds return beating breasts, and acquaintances and women watch from a distance.
- Hold this material interpretive limit in view: The darkness and veil are theological signs with debated historical and symbolic meanings. The centurion's word can mean righteous or innocent; the women remain continuous witnesses into burial and resurrection.
What This Verse Is Not Saying
This verse does not detach its specific contribution—places a Roman centurion's righteous-or-innocent verdict after the state execution—from the complete unit or override the unit's explicit boundary: The death scene does not absolve Roman execution, authorize antisemitism, shame distant witnesses, turn lament into unbelief, or make cosmic language a scientific report.
What Remains True
Luke 23:47 places a Roman centurion's righteous-or-innocent verdict after the state execution. Read inside Luke 23:44–23:49, this contribution supports the unit's proportionate truth: Darkness covers the land, the temple veil tears, Jesus entrusts his spirit to the Father and dies, the centurion calls him righteous, crowds return beating breasts, and acquaintances and women watch from a distance. Its use remains accountable to affected people and the unit's explicit boundary.
Continue in Context
Read the complete section for the connected explanation and how it should shape life. This verse is a doorway into that passage, not a saying that stands alone.
Read Luke 23:44–23:49 — Darkness, Torn Veil, and Jesus' Death Draw Varied ResponsesSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? probable
Where care is needed
The darkness and veil are theological signs with debated historical and symbolic meanings. The centurion's word can mean righteous or innocent; the women remain continuous witnesses into burial and resurrection.
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and coverage.
Exact location: Luke 23:44–23:49, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Open source ↗Greek textual evidence
The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition
Michael W. Holmes, editor; Society of Biblical Literature and Logos
Society of Biblical Literature and Logos Bible Software, 2010
Supports: Greek wording and sentence relations; the edition is not treated as a complete apparatus.
Exact location: Faithlife SBLGNT official repository, data/sblgnt/text/Luke.txt, 23:44–23:49
Open the Luke Greek text file ↗open translation and translator notes
NET Bible First Edition Notes: Luke
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2006
Supports: Verse-level translation, syntax, KJV-language clarification, historical notes, Synoptic parallels, and textual alternatives.
Exact location: NET Bible First Edition Luke PDF, exact tn/tc/sn entries attached to Luke 23:44–23:49
Open source ↗