What does Luke 23:5 mean?

Pilate begins to face the doggedness of ancient Jerusalem's religious leaders. They have brought Jesus to him with a curious list of charges: "We found this man misleading our nation and forbidding us to give tribute to Caesar, and saying that he himself is Christ, a king" (Luke 23:2). In the few moments Pilate has had to question Jesus, he can tell Jesus isn't a threat. He has no army. His closest followers fled as soon as the soldiers arrived to arrest Him. Even the two who have swords are nowhere to be found.

Pilate gives his verdict: "I find no guilt in this man" (Luke 23:4).

The Sanhedrin tried to frame the issue in a way which would grab Pilate's attention. They say Jesus refused to let the Jews pay the Roman tax Pilate is responsible for collecting. This doesn't seem to work—in part because it's a complete lie (Luke 20:19–25). So, they try a different strategy. They claim Jesus is a threat to Pilate's responsibility to keep peace in his territory: Judea. This is odd because the Gospels record very few events of Jesus inside Judea except in Jerusalem and those towns between the Jordan River and Jerusalem. The Jewish rulers seem to add Galilee because Jesus has spent much more time in that district.

Critics can legitimately point to a few occasions in which Jesus stirred up the people. Most recently was the triumphal entry and the cleansing of the temple (Luke 19:28–40, 45–46). Another is when Jesus miraculously fed thousands of people and the crown wanted to make Him king (John 6:1–15). But Jesus never unified an army against Rome or threatened Pilate's authority: He did threaten the popularity of the religious leaders (John 11:45–53).

By mentioning that Jesus spends time in Galilee, the leaders accidentally give Pilate an avenue for escape. Pilate knows that Herod Antipas, the tetrarch of Galilee, is in Jerusalem. He sends Jesus to Antipas in hopes someone closer to the situation can explain what is going on. Antipas is more than glad to do what he can (Luke 23:6–12).