Luke 23:48

48 And when all the crowds that had gathered to watch the spectacle saw the things that had occurred, they returned home beating their breasts.

Luke 23:48 Meaning and Commentary

Luke 23:48

And all the people that came together to that sight
To see the execution of Jesus; and some of them might be his inveterate enemies, and came to insult him, and did insult him; many of these, though not every individual of them:

beholding the things which were done;
the eclipse, earthquake

smote their breasts;
as conscious of guilt, and as fearing some dreadful judgment would fall upon them, and their nation, for this sin of crucifying Christ. The Persic version reads, "they went back, and kneeled down, and prostrated themselves to the ground"; as being in the utmost astonishment, confusion, fear, and dread:

and returned;
to the city, and to their own houses, where they might more seriously, and with the greater composure of mind, reflect on these things.

Luke 23:48 In-Context

46 Crying out with a loud voice, Yeshua said, "Father! Into your hands I commit my spirit." With these words he gave up his spirit.

47 When the Roman officer saw what had happened, he began to praise God and said, "Surely this man was innocent!"

48 And when all the crowds that had gathered to watch the spectacle saw the things that had occurred, they returned home beating their breasts.

49 All his friends, including the women who had accompanied him from the Galil, had been standing at a distance; they saw it all.

50 There was a man named Yosef, a member of the Sanhedrin. He was a good man, a tzaddik;