Introduction

The murder of Christ is not a fragment of a larger theology. It is the larger theology that touches every fragment. In the death and resurrection of Christ, one all-embracing power knocks every monster flat and raises them as children of God to sit on thrones of self-forgetfulness. The theologian of the ordinary modern type may forget that he who abaseth himself shall be exalted. Who killed Jesus? Such a question demands serious study. Christians envision a theology in which every question has an answer numbered and ticketed by chapter and verse. If this question is properly studied, it will reveal the universal and essential conclusion that “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost” (1 Tim. 1:15).

The Jews

The Jewish leaders plotted to arrest Jesus and condemn him in a trial (Mt. 12:14; Mt. 26:4, 59; Mk. 11:18; 15:13; Lk. 23:21-23; Jn. 5:18; 11:53; Acts 3:15). Are the Jews Jesus-killers? Caiaphas is. The Sanhedrin is. The elders, scribes, and Pharisees are.[1] In the synoptic gospels, Jesus’ enemies are identified with appreciable exactness. In John’s gospel, the enemies are more regularly called “the Jews.”

All four gospels are about Jews. There are Jesus’ parents, both Jews. Then Jesus, a Jew. Then the twelve disciples, all Jews. The crowds Jesus taught were usually Jews. Those who followed Jesus were Jews. Those who rejected him were Jews. Some Jews yelled, “Crucify him.” Other Jews looked on with sadness. One respected Jew gathered the body of Jesus for a special burial.

All Jews are not Jesus-killers. The Jewish leaders of Jesus’ day plotted to kill Jesus. But the disciples didn’t. Neither did the women (Mk. 15:40f). Not all the Jews of Jesus’ day can be charged, without distinction, with the death of Christ. Much less the Jews of today, who were not present 2,000 years ago. Should God’s curse fall on the descendants of Ciaphas for ten thousand generations? This question is answered in Mark 11-13.

Consider the chiastic structure of Mark 11. The middle of the chiasm is the emphasis.

A. He enters Jerusalem and inspects the temple (vv. 1-11)  B. He judges the fig tree (vv. 12-14)    C. He enters Jerusalem and judges Israel at the temple (vv. 15-18)  B’. He justifies the withering of the fig tree (vv. 19-26)A’. He enters Jerusalem and walks in the temple (27-33)

Notice that Jesus judges the fig tree, then judges Israel at the temple, and then explains the judgment of the fig tree. Why? Jesus cursing the fig tree symbolizes the judgment of the temple. Why is Jesus judging the temple? This is explained in Mark 12:1-11 with The Parable of the Vineyard, which concludes with the words, “The Stone the builder rejected became the chief Cornerstone” (Mk. 12:10). When the people of the Old Testament killed the prophets, they killed God’s servants. But with Jesus, they are killing God’s Son. What happens when they kill the Son? God will remove them from their special covenant position and give the vineyard to someone else (Mark 12:1-11). Jesus says, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone” (Mk. 12:10). This is a quote from Psalm 118. In Acts 4:8-12, Peter interprets Psalm 118. Acts 4:10 says the stone is Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Acts 4:8 says the builders are the rulers. Acts 4:10 says the rejection of the stone is the crucifixion of Jesus. Acts 4:10 says the placement of the cornerstone is the resurrection of Jesus. Acts 4:12 says the implication of Christ the cornerstone is that there is salvation in no other name but Jesus.

Now, back to Mark 12:1-11. Jesus is warning them that to reject Jesus is to reject God. Jesus is the new cornerstone of the new temple. But the leaders have thrown the cornerstone out. The New Temple will be built elsewhere. The new people of God will be built elsewhere, away from the old Temple. This parable is set against the backdrop of the larger story of God’s relationship with Israel. Remember God’s warning, “All day long I have held out my hands to an obstinate people, who walk in ways not good, pursuing their own imaginations—a people who continually provoke me to my very face” (Isa. 65:2–3a). Also, remember that God’s kindness is meant to lead to repentance, yet they have continued down the stubborn path (Rom. 2:4). Continual rebellion will meet with certain judgment (65:7). But God will not destroy all Israel; a remnant will be saved (65:8–16). Connect that to Jesus’ parable where the vineyard is not destroyed but given to others; given to those who put their trust and loyalty in Jesus Christ.

Throughout the history of the church, some misguided Christians have blamed the Jews for Jesus' death and thought that Jews were under a perpetual curse from God. But there is no special curse hanging over the Jewish people today. They’ve been punished for their Old Testament sins and their rejection of the Messiah (Mark 13:1-31). The curse was fulfilled when the temple was destroyed.[2] And now the church scatters the seed of the gospel to the whole world, including the Jews. Christians look forward to a time in history when the Jews, in significant numbers, accept the gospel (Rom. 11:25-27). The Jews are not now collectively held responsible for the death of Jesus. The Jews of Jesus’ generation were cursed like the fig tree when the temple was destroyed. Their special covenant relationship with God ended (Rom. 9:8). What should be the church’s response to those who were cursed? Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Lk. 23:34). The church’s job is to spread the same message of forgiveness to the ends of the earth (Mt. 28:18-20).

The Romans

The Jewish leaders needed support from Rome to execute Jesus. Pontius Pilate was not innocent. Does Pilate’s reluctance to condemn Jesus exonerate him? In Luke 23:4 Pilate says, “I find no guilt in this man,” which means that Pilate executed a man he knew to be innocent. Pilate is convinced of Jesus’ innocence, so much so that he calls for water and washes his hands in the sight of the people, attempting to display his innocence towards the death of Christ (Mt. 27:24-26). This doesn’t exonerate Pilate. It deepens his guilt. Luke says “So Pilate gave sentence, that it should be as they required” (Lk. 23:24 GNV). Pilate didn’t merely hand Jesus over to the Jews for execution. He “sat down on the judgment seat” (Jn. 19:13), released Barabbas (Mk. 15:6-15), and “delivered Jesus” to the will of the Jews, namely, death (Lk. 23:24f). Did the Jewish leaders bully Pontius Pilate into killing Jesus? Yes, and Pilate is responsible for bending to the pressure and using his soldiers to kill an innocent man. The Apostle’s Creed recognizes this when it says, “He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried.”

John 19:23 says the Roman soldiers crucified Jesus. Acts 2:23 concurs that Jesus was “crucified and killed by anomon,” which refers to pagan men without the law. Augustine points out that Pilate and the Jews killed Jesus out of ignorance. Paul said, “None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory” (1 Cor. 2:8).

Roman soldiers arrested Jesus in Gethsemane (John 18:1-14) and kept him under guard (Mt. 27:27; Mk. 15:16). The Jews didn’t have the authority to execute Jesus, but Pilate did (John 18:31). Pilate used his authority to sentence Jesus to death. Roman soldiers—a whole battalion—mocked Jesus, spit on Jesus, and crowned him with thorns (Mk. 15:16-20). Roman hands physically nailed Jesus to the cross (Mk. 15:20). If the Jews conspired to kill Jesus, Pilate’s authority was the responsibilizing factor. In Monarchia, Dante writes that punishment is “a penalty imposed on the wrongdoer by one who has the authority to punish him.”[3] Without Pilate passing sentence from the seat of judgment, Jesus would not have been properly punished, and if Jesus was not properly punished, then we are still in our sins (Col. 2:9-15), all of us, Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, and free (Col. 3:11). To obfuscate the role of Pilate in killing Jesus to perpetuate a “you did it” accusation against the Jews is to compromise the heart of the gospel.

Act 4:27-28 says that God’s plan predestined that Herod and Pontius Pilate gather together against Jesus. “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, 28 to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place.” (Acts 4:27-28)

Pilate and the Romans were assigned a role in Jesus’ crucifixion from the beginning. The Jews participated in the crucifixion of Jesus because that was part of “the definite plan and foreknowledge of God” (Acts 2:33). In God’s sovereign plan, willful human agents sinned against Jesus. God commands people not to murder. Yet God’s plan is fulfilled by those who murder Jesus. The worst evil is meant by God for good. Joseph’s brothers chose to sell Joseph into slavery and simultaneously served God’s purpose (Gen. 50:20). Herod and Pilate fulfilled God’s will by crucifying Jesus. Should we label the Jews and their descendants Christ-killers? If we do, we have to label the Romans and their descendants Christ-killers too.

But the church’s job is not to distribute collective guilt two millennia later. Our job is to be as forgiving as Christ was forgiving (Lk. 23:34). Jesus forgave the Jews and Pilate from the cross. There is a tradition in the Eastern church that Pilate repented and believed in Jesus. While the historical evidence is lacking to prove if this is true or not, Jesus’s grace was indeed sufficient to forgive those who killed him.

All Sinners

We will never explicate the death of Christ until we write ourselves into the story. Martin Luther’s sermon “Concerning Meditation on the Holy Sufferings of Christ,” makes this point.[4] Luther says, “You should believe, and never doubt that you are in fact the one who killed Christ. Your sins did this to Him. When you look at the nails being driven through His hands, firmly believe that it is your work. Do you see His crown of thorns? Those thorns are your wicked thoughts.” Why does Luther say this?

“That evening they brought to him many who were oppressed by demons, and he cast out the spirits with a word and healed all who were sick. 17 This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: “He took our illnesses and bore our diseases."

Mt. 8:16-17

“For this is my blood of thecovenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins."

Mt. 26:28

“For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

Romans 5:7-8

“And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God."

Ephesians 5:2

“Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her."

Ephesians 5:25

“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me."

Galatians 2:20

“And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses."[5]

Colossians 2:13

Who killed Jesus? To edit yourself out of the story is to read the passion narratives wrongly. The disciples failed to keep watch and pray in Gethsemane. Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss of vulgar prejudice. Peter denied Christ three times. Pilate washed his hands of Christ. The crowds shouted, “Crucify him!”

We too sin against Christ in thought, word, and deed. Christ died on the cross because of the sin of the world (John 1:29); and because of my sin (1 Tim. 1:15). The wages of sin is death, which means sin earns death (Rom. 6:23a). If an employer refuses to pay his worker’s wages, the worker can say, “Give me my wage. Give me what I earned. Give me what I deserve.” Likewise, sinners stand before God having earned God’s just wrath. God does not ignore sin. He does not brush sin under the rug or look the other way (Rom. 3:23-26). God’s judgment of sin is as certain as it is severe.

“But the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 6:23b). In mercy, Christ Jesus “bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness” (1 Pt. 2:24). As Isaiah writes: “he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.” (53:5). The cross reveals God’s justice toward sin and his immeasurable love for sinners. Christ has taken the burden of sin for his people and set their conscience free. The Centurion illustrates the extent of God’s grace, that Christ accepts the worship of His killers (Mk. 15:39). Praise the Lord, for this is the hope of our salvation. 

God the Father

Sinners don’t have the final word on the fate of Jesus. God does. “And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, ‘Eloi, Eloi lema sabachthani?’ which means, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’” (Mark 15:34) What happens between God the Father and God the Son on the cross? What role did God the Father play in the crucifixion of Christ?God the Father forsook God the Son. Why did God the Father forsake God the Son?

In Mark 15:33 there was an unusual occurrence. Great darkness came over the whole area (Amos 8:9-10).  Throughout Biblical history, God often used darkness to accompany his divine judgment (Exodus 10:21-22; Isaiah 13:10). This darkness is the cosmic revelation of God’s judgment. During this horrific moment, Jesus cannot remain silent any longer. He unleashes a tortured cry. It is not just physical pain, though the physical suffering was ghastly. The physical death of Jesus was the means to the spiritual judgment he received in our place. Our sin deserves punishment. At the crucifixion, it wasn’t just the lashes of Roman soldiers that Jesus experienced, but it was the wrath of God against the sin of his people (Gal. 3:13; 1 Jn. 4:10).

Why did God the Father punish God the Son? Because on the cross, God the Father judged God the Son as guilty of the sins of his people. The Father punished the Son for these sins, thus accomplishing salvation for all those who believe in him. At the crucifixion, on this day, at this moment, God the Son was exposed to the fury of God the Father’s righteous wrath toward sin. Some have referred to this as the scream of the damned. It is this moment; it is this act of God the Father forsaking God the Son that delivers the faithful from hell. On the cross, Jesus Christ experienced hell for us. When God the Father forsook God the Son, planet Earth witnessed unequaled pain. At that moment God the Son was enduring God’s holy wrath against particular acts of sin committed by humanity.

Conclusion

Who Killed Jesus? Ciaphas did. Pilate did. The Centurion did. I did. You did. And by faith in the suffering servant, “we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace” (Eph. 1:7).

[1] In savage irony, the theological liberals who called themselves Christians in the Third Reich believed exactly like the Jews who killed Jesus. Neither believed that Jesus was God in the flesh (Mk. 14:63-65) and neither believed that Jesus was raised from the dead. In case you haven’t read J. Gresham Machen, Christianity and liberalism are two different religions.

[2] https://gotaminute.podbean.com/e/conspiracy-theories/

[3] Italics added.

[4] The sermon can be found here.

[5] See also Romans 5:10; 1 Cor. 6:19f; 1 Thess. 5:10; Titus 2:14; Hebrews 13:12; 1 Peter 3:18; Rev. 1:5-6; 5:9