I know. Wrong time of year. Should be doing this around Easter or something, right? Well, sorry. I'm reading John's Gospel and came across this text, so I'm sharing it with you.
In John 18-19 we have John's version of Jesus's arrest, trial, crucifixion, and burial. In these chapters we find some interesting perspectives on who killed Christ. For centuries over various Christian-influenced cultures there has been anti-Semitism based on the notion that the Jews killed Jesus. What does the Bible say? Well, Jesus told Pilate, "He who delivered Me to you has the greater sin." (John 19:11) So there you have it. The Jews killed Jesus. Or, a least, they had "the greater sin."
That, of course, is a severely narrow perspective (on the question of who killed Jesus). It is abundantly clear that Roman soldiers crucified Jesus (John 19:23). If we're going to be rational and hate whoever killed Christ, it would have to be the Romans. Okay, well, the ancient Romans. Yeah, that's a little silly. But the Bible is clear that the Romans killed Christ.
But even that is a severely narrow perspective. After all, doesn't Paul make it abundantly clear "Christ died for us" (Rom 5:8)? I mean, He said Himself that He came to seek and to save the lost (Luke 19:10). So, really, who killed Jesus? Jesus said, "I lay down My life for the sheep." (John 10:15) Who really killed Jesus? We did. He died for us because we needed it.
Oh, now, hold on. I just noticed something. Doesn't Jesus say, "I lay down My life"? It could be said, then, that Jesus killed Jesus. And we're not done there. In that verse I butchered at the beginning, John 19:11, Jesus told Pilate, "You would have no authority over Me, unless it had been given you from above." Oh, now, see? Now it looks like God killed Jesus. Or, at least, authorized it.
At the end of the day, hating Jews because the Jews/Romans/Pilate/Jesus/God/we killed Jesus is quite ludicrous. Equally ludicrous is the amazing self-love we carry around in the face of the fact that our sin was what precipitated God's sending His Son to die on our behalf. Sin was expensive. And those of us blessed by salvation by grace through faith in Christ have many reasons to rejoice in His sacrifice.
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And if anything, we should be congratulating who killed Him since that is the vehicle of salvation. No dead Jesus, no saved people. I look at like the end times. Christians are so worried about the apocalypse and trying to avoid or stall it, when the apocalypse should be welcomed by us since it is the end of sin and suffering and the arrival of the kingdom forever.
Our Bible study went through the book One Way Love last spring and the author made a similar point. We often hear talk of "cheap grace", but in reality God paid the absolutely highest possible price and even though His grace was expensive beyond measure many still reject it.
"Cheap grace" occurs when I can just pick up what Christ offers (salvation) and say, "Hey, thanks, man!" and walk away with nothing more. On the other hand, given the huge price that He paid on my behalf, is "Do what you want with my life" too much to ask?
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