Have you ever stopped to consider who killed Jesus? This is a bit more complex than you might think upon first consideration. I’d like to share with you six answers to that question…
1. The Jews did. (Matt 27:22-26; Luke 24:20)
I realize that this is not a politically-correct thing to say. After all, the Jews have gone through an enormous amount of suffering through the ages. And much of the suffering has come from the hands of Christians:
· In the Dark Ages and the Middle Ages the Jews were exposed to constant harassment, frequent expulsions, and sometimes massacre. One of the worst examples occurred during the First Crusade (1096-99).
· The Spanish Inquisition continued the horrific mistreatment of Jews until they were all eventually expelled from Spain in 1492.
· Even Martin Luther, after earlier more favorable views, made bitter and despicable attacks on the Jews.
Though the accusation that the Jews killed Jesus is a politically-incorrect thing to assert - it is nonetheless true. They utterly rejected Jesus in the end and had Him crucified.
…the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to the sentence of death, and crucified Him.(Lk 24:20)
It is important to point out that there is no justification for treating the Jewish people with hatred.
· Jesus Himself was a Jew (and so were His disciples),
· God still has a future plan for the Jews & will not break His promises to them,
· The sins of the Crusades, the Inquisition, and even the attitudes of the Reformers like Martin Luther – are NOT reflective of the actions and attitudes of Jesus Christ.
· Jesus even demonstrated a forgiving spirit on the cross as He said, “Father forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.”
· Why did the Jews want Jesus to die? Blasphemy
Ultimately, their greatest charge against Jesus was blasphemy. Through His teachings, His miracles, and His actions He was claiming to be deity. To the Jewish mind, this was blasphemy of the highest degree.
Remember, on several occasions, the Jewish leaders attempted to capture or stone Jesus.
…“For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy; and because You, being a man, make Yourself out to be God.” (John 10:33)
Furthermore, Jesus’ liberating message was a threat to the established, ritualistic religion and political influences of Judaism in that day, under the leadership of the Pharisees, scribes, elders, priests, and the Herodians.
So, when Jesus healed on the Sabbath, or forgave someone’s sins, or ate with “sinners,” it was a direct affront to the revered traditions of that day.
Jesus has authority over Religion (The spiritual realm)
2. The Romans did. (John 19:17-22)
Perhaps the Romans are the most obvious answer to this question. After all, Jesus was arrested by Romans, whipped by Romans, and nailed to a Roman cross by the direct order of Pontius Pilate.
Many of us wear a Roman cross for jewelry. For many, it is a beautiful and visible testimony of our faith in the One who victoriously overcame death. But we should never forget just how horrible death by crucifixion was. And the Romans were merciless in their attitudes toward those who experienced it.
Illustration: Julius Caesar
At one point early in Julius Caesar’s political career, feelings ran so high against him that he thought it best to leave Rome. He sailed for the Aegean island of Rhodes, but on the way, the ship was attacked by pirates and Caesar was captured. The pirates demanded a ransom of 12,000 gold pieces, and Caesar’s staff was sent away to arrange the payment. Caesar spent almost 40 days with his captors, jokingly telling the pirates on several occasions that he would someday capture and crucify them to a man. The kidnappers were greatly amused, but when the ransom was paid and Caesar was freed, the first thing he did was gather a fleet and pursue the pirates. They were captured and crucified… to a man! Such was the Romans’ attitude toward crucifixion. It was to be reserved for the worst of criminals, a means of showing extreme contempt for the condemned. The suffering and humiliation of a Roman crucifixion were unequaled.
Our Savior suffered this humiliating and excruciating death at the Roman’s hands.
· Why did the Romans want Jesus to die?
Unlike the Jews, I assure you that it had nothing to do with the charge of blasphemy. The Romans had a multitude of gods that they believed in… what was one more? Who cared?
The charge of blasphemy couldn’t hold any water with the Romans. There was no punishment for that. So the Jews trumped up the charge of treason against Rome:
And they began to accuse Him, saying, "We found this man misleading our nation and forbidding to pay taxes to Caesar, and saying that He Himself is Christ, a King." (Luke 23:2)
· Misleading the nation
· Forbidding the paying of taxes
· Declaring Himself to be a King.
Now this was something the Romans could punish.
The Romans didn’t care anything at all about some religious squabble. What they cared about was order in the Empire. And to them, Jesus posed a threat of an uprising against Caesar and Rome.
But the fact of the matter is that Jesus Christ is “King of Kings and Lord of Lords.”
Jesus has authority over the Nations (The political realm)
3. Satan did. (Gen 3:14-15)
In an indirect sense, Satan Himself was involved in the murderous plot to kill Jesus.
· God foretold that Satan would make the Messiah suffer:
The LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you will go, and dust you will eat all the days of your life; And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel.” (Gen 3:14-15)
This is commonly called the “proto-evangelium,” – the “first gospel.” This is the first mention in the Bible of God’s direct promise that He would send a Savior.
Satan would be successful in “bruising” Christ’s heel (i.e. – making Him suffer), but Christ would succeed in striking Satan on the head. These were done at the cross.
We know that Jesus convincingly won that battle: …through death [Jesus rendered] powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and [freed] those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives. (Heb 2:14-15)
· Satan operated through the actions of Judas Iscariot:
…Satan entered into Judas who was called Iscariot, belonging to the number of the twelve.(Lk 22:3)
· Satan operated through the Jews who rejected Jesus:
“You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” (John 8:44)
· Why did Satan want Jesus to die? (Jealousy & Hatred)
Is there really any wonder about this?! J
Satan is a liar, a deceiver, a murderer, an accuser. He would do anything to try upset the plan of God. He would do anything to keep people in the bondage of sin and death. He would do anything to cast doubt in peoples’ hearts about the trustworthiness of Jesus, or the Scriptures, or the love of God, or the church.
We can still look to this day at all the devious “theories” that try to disprove the validity of Christ’s death and resurrection. All you have to do is watch any given TV documentary on Jesus to hear the same old warmed-over arguments that Jesus either didn’t really die on the cross, or that He didn’t really rise again. And usually these pitiful theories are usually proposed by those who would classify themselves as Christians… go figure.
Illustration: The Search for Jesus
Most recently, there was a documentary on ABC called “The Search for Jesus,” in which Peter Jennings interviewed a highly selective collection of so-called biblical scholars about the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
I suppose it never occurred to Mr. Jennings that he was interviewing only the most liberal, unorthodox self-proclaimed scholars who openly deny the central tenets of the Christian faith. (The atonement, the resurrection, the Trinity, etc.)
Satan is still at work today, trying to kill Jesus through the influence of unregenerate heretics.
While it may be no surprise that Satan had His hand in the death of Christ, perhaps it will be a bit of surprise who else did…
4. God the Father did. (Isa 53:10-11; Acts 2:23)
But the LORD was pleased to crush Him, putting Him to grief; If He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, and the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand. As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied; By His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, as He will bear their iniquities. (Isa 53:10-11)
The Bible teaches that God had it in His heart a bigger picture in mind than simply the death of His innocent Son. It was for the purpose of redemption. Jesus was to serve as a guilt offering to the Father – in our place. He bore our sins.
Listen to these passages carefully:
· …this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death. (Acts 2:23)
· "For truly in this city there were gathered together against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose predestined to occur. (Acts 4:27-28)
God was not caught off guard by the cross… He purposed it to occur!
The godless men who carried out the murder are held responsible for their actions by all means – but behind it all, God was carrying out His heavenly plan to pay for the world’s sins with His Son’s innocent blood.
· Why did God the Father want Jesus to die?
To justify us with His righteousness.
· He (the Father) made Him (Christ) who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. (2 Cor 5:21)
God sent Jesus to die in order to offer us, who are sinful by nature, the righteousness we need for salvation.
5. Jesus did. (John 10:14-18; Mark 10:45)
"I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me, even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. "I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice; and they will become one flock with one shepherd. "For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again. "No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father." (John 10:14-18)
Listen to these Scriptures that teach that Jesus willingly gave up His life for us:
· And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. (Matt 27:50)
· And Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, said, "Father, into Your hands I commit my spirit.” Having said this, He breathed His last. (Luke 23:46)
· "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many." (Mark 10:45)
· Or do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels? (Matt 26:53)
· Why did Jesus want to die?
Because He loved us.
and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma. (Eph 5:2)
God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.(Ro5:8)
Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends. (John 15:13)
6. We did. (Gen 3:1-7; Rom 5:12)
This one is a bit difficult to explain, but I ask for your patience…
Of course, we know that Adam was responsible for the first sin. But in a sense so are we…
Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned. (Rom 5:12)
The Greek aorist tense (past tense) is used in this verse. The entire human race is viewed as having sinned in the one act of Adam’s sin. As a result God considered all people as participating in the act of sin that Adam committed and as receiving the penalty he received.
· Think about this: “We are not sinners because we sin, we sin because we are sinners.”
In other words, that we commit sins isn’t what makes us sinners in God’s eyes. More fundamentally, we commit our sin BECAUSE we are corrupted with a sin nature passed on to us from Adam.
This sinfulness is what prevents us from being accepted by God.
· Why would we have wanted Jesus to die?
Because we want to be our own “god.”
Do you remember the words of the serpent to Eve in the garden? “For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God…”
Adam and Eve let their own will and desires supersede the will and desires of God. They wanted to call their own shots, despite the clear commands of God.
The whole human race is like that. They want to be independent, calling their own shots, living only for themselves, exalting themselves with their own pride.
And we lived for ourselves too.
And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. (Eph 2:1-3)
Our sins were responsible for putting Christ on the cross. He came to die for our sins – past, present and future.
Illustration: Rembrandt
If you were to look at Rembrandt’s painting of The Three Crosses, your attention would be drawn first to the center cross on which Jesus died. Then as you would look at the crowd gathered around the foot of that cross, you’d be impressed by the various facial expressions and actions of the people involved in the awful crime of crucifying the Son of God. Finally, your eyes would drift to the edge of the painting and catch sight of another figure, almost hidden in the shadows. Art critics say this is a representation of Rembrandt himself, for he recognized that by his sins he helped nail Jesus to the cross.
But remember the encouraging words of Scripture:
For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit. (1 Peter 3:18)
Illustration: The longest bridge
The island of Sicily is linked with the mainland of Italy by a suspension bridge, built in a joint effort by the Italians and the Japanese. It extends 6,650 feet, and it is the longest suspension bridge in the world. In a spiritual sense the longest bridge was at Calvary where Jesus’ cross bridged the gulf between sinful man and holy God.
Conclusion:
In all of this talk about the Cross, let us not forget about the Resurrection.
Jesus was indeed put to death, but it was God’s full intention from before the foundation of the world, that Jesus was conquer sin and death by rising from the dead.
Our faith in Jesus would be of no value whatsoever unless He did rise from the dead.
As we take Communion this morning, think through the majesty of the cross and resurrection. Many people were involved in killing Jesus… but nobody and nothing could keep Him dead.
We have such an incredible privilege to be children of God because Jesus was willing to face incredible suffering for us at the hands of godless men, yet all in the sovereign plan of God. Amen.
