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Jews: Behold Your God


Chapter 18

Who Killed Jesus?


Hitler justified murdering 6 million Jews in genocide in World War 2, labeling them “Christ Killers”.  Was he justified?  Germans are hardly followers of Jesus Christ.  Now they openly admit that Satan is their ‘god.’  But Hitler was able to brainwash the Germans into believing that the Jews should be exterminated for killing the Savior of Mankind.

For the past more than 1,980 years The Jews have been persecuted by Catholics and Protestants alike for being the murderers of Jesus Christ.  But were the Germans and Catholics and Protestants right?  Were Jewish leaders responsible for Murdering Jesus Christ?

There is no question that the Jewish religious leaders, the chief priests, scribes and Pharisees who perceived Jesus Christ to be a threat to their position wanted Him dead.  They arrested Him, held a trial.  When He admitted to them that He was the Messiah, they accused Him of blasphemy and condemned Him to death.  But since they did not have the authority to execute Him they accused Him before Pilate the Roman governor.

After trial when Pilate wanted to set Jesus free, having found nothing worthy of death in Him twice (John 18:38; 19:4), they insisted that He be crucified.  They were even able to manipulate the common people to shout and demand that Pilate crucify Him.  And yet Pilate went ahead and sanctioned His execution to please the Jewish people (Mark 15:15, “15 And so Pilate, willing to content the people, released Barabbas unto them, and delivered Jesus, when he had scourged him, to be crucified.)”

Colossal injustice was done in the execution of Jesus Christ.  UCG booklet “Jesus Christ: The Real Story” states on p. 107:

“The injustice of the arrest, trial and death of Jesus Christ is profound in that no person was ever so innocent, so sinless, so blameless, so undeserving of such punishment. Peter testifies that He "committed no sin, nor was deceit found in His mouth" (1 Peter 2:22). He was the most virtuous man who ever lived.

“Jesus challenged His enemies, "Which of you convicts Me of sin?" [Which means He kept the Sabbath and the whole Law] (John 8:46). The centurion, the officer in charge of His execution, was convinced that He had executed a righteous man (Luke 23:47). One of the thieves crucified with Him understood that Jesus had done nothing wrong and didn't deserve to die (Luke 23:41).

“He did nothing to deserve the horrendous death imposed on Him, for He was "holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners" (Hebrews 7:26). He was, after all, the Son of God, as the centurion recognized (Mark 15:39).

“This was not the injustice of the century, or the millennium, but the injustice of the history of the human race.”Who is to Blame?

So who is to blame for this incredible injustice done to an innocent Man?

When the apostles had begun preaching the gospel and a man was healed, the chief priests put them in prison.  But later they were let go because of the miracle done to the man.  Then the disciples prayed to God in Acts 4:27-28, " 27 "For truly against Your holy Servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together 28 to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose determined before to be done.”

Here the apostles laid the blame for Jesus’ death on everybody, not just the Jewish leaders.  They blamed Herod and Pontius Pilate, the Gentile leaders, the Romans as representatives of the Gentiles and the Jews as representatives of Israel. Both Israelites and Gentiles are blamed for Jesus’ death. But the apostles acknowledged that Jesus died because God had purposed it beforehand.

God had purposed beforehand and prophesied through the prophets that Jesus would come and die for the sins of humanity.  Isaiah the prophet had prophesied in Isaiah 53:5-7 (NIV), “5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. 6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter…”

Jesus as the God of the Old Testament had inspired the prophets to prophesy His death centuries before He came.  It was pre-determined that Jesus would come and die for the sins of all mankind.  In this case, the Jewish religious leaders, representatives of the Roman rule, Roman soldiers and the common Jewish people were simply all involved in an event that God the Father and Jesus Christ had pre-determined.  Execution of Jesus Christ was pre-ordained.  It could not have been avoided.  It was God’s plan from the very beginning of humanity’s creation.

But the reason Jesus Christ’s death was necessary was the iniquities of each and every one of us as Isaiah states. If Jesus had come to any people and exposed their hypocrisy and conduct which were far removed from God’s ideal they would all have been incensed at Him enough to have murdered Him.

Jesus Christ knew why He had come into the world.  He stated in His prayer in John 12:27 (NKJV), “27 "Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? 'Father, save Me from this hour'? But for this purpose I came to this hour.”

John wrote in John 3:16 (NKJV), “16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

Jesus Himself said in John 10:17-18, “17 Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. 18 No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father."

So the horrible truth that none of us want to admit is that each and every one of us is responsible for the execution of Jesus Christ.  We are all guilty.  He was executed for our sins to pay the death penalty on our behalf.  We are all complicit in His death.  His death would not have been necessary if we had not sinned.

Paul the apostle was convinced of his own guilt in the death of Jesus Christ.  He said in 1 Timothy 1:15 (NIV), "Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners – of whom I am the worst."

Jesus Killed in Ignorance

The apostles lay the blame for the unjust murder of Jesus Christ on all of humanity.  But they also declare that we all did it in ignorance.

Paul, said of himself in 1 Timothy 1:13 (NKJV), “13 Although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man; but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.”

Peter the apostle stated the same thing in Acts 3:17-26 (NKJV), “17 Yet now, brethren, I know that you did it in ignorance, as did also your rulers. 18 But those things which God foretold by the mouth of all His prophets, that the Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled.”

The Jews of the world need to admit this.  They are not exclusively guilty of the murder of Jesus Christ.  All of humanity is and everyone will learn and acknowledge the truth one day.  So the Jews and the world need to quit blaming the Jews exclusively for the murder of Jesus Christ.  The Jews need not feel any more guilty than any other people on earth for the death of Jesus Christ.

God’s commission to His end-time Church is to proclaim this truth to the Jews.  They have not known the God they worship.  They have not known and do not acknowledge that Jesus Christ is the God of the Old Testament that they profess to worship.  He was resurrected, and is alive today, sitting at the right hand of God the Father in heaven.

But they have a responsibility now that the truth has been proclaimed to them.  They need to follow the advice that Peter the apostle gave to the Jews of his day when they realized that they were responsible for the murder of Jesus as stated above in Acts 3:17-18.  Peter followed up with this advice for them next in verses 19-26: “19 Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, 20 and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before, 21 whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began. 22 For Moses truly said to the fathers, 'The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brethren. Him you shall hear in all things, whatever He says to you. 23 And it shall be that every soul who will not hear that Prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.' 24 Yes, and all the prophets, from Samuel and those who follow, as many as have spoken, have also foretold these days. 25 You are sons of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying to Abraham, 'And in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.' 26 To you first, God, having raised up His Servant Jesus, sent Him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from your iniquities."

Peter stated his advice further to the Jews of his generation in Acts 2:37-39 (NKJV), “37 Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" 38 Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call."

As mentioned in the sequence of end-time events in chapter 11, before the end-time catastrophic events are over much of humanity will lose their lives.  But God does provide a way of escape.  And that escape is possible only by accepting Jesus Christ as Savior, repenting of one’s sins, being baptized into God’s Church and doing God’s end-time work diligently.

God’s Church is showing this way of escape to all Jews of the world.  It is up to you to act to take advantage of it.



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