The Passion of the Christ: Who Really Killed Jesus?
Imagine that a very kind father has a beloved son—his
firstborn. Now, some criminals in a far away land have committed
an offence deserving of death. This good man purposely sends his
son to die for these criminals so that they would be saved. When
his beloved son arrives, one of his friends takes money from
some of these condemned criminals who had trumped up charges
against the son. They take the son to their king, who instead of
freeing him, hand him over to the hangman to be executed.
Now, who really caused the death of this son? Is the father not
guilty of first-degree murder or at lest manslaughter? Can the
son not be charged for second-degree suicide? Is the son's
friend who betrayed him to blame. What about the criminals who
framed up the charges against the son? Or is the king who played
safe to be held accountable? Or do we blame the executioner who
finished the dastardly act?
The kind man in this illustration is God, the son is Jesus
Christ, while his friend who betrayed him is Judas Ischariot.
The criminals who framed up the charges against him are the
Jewish leaders, the cowardly king is Pontius Pilate and the
executioner represents the Roman soldiers.
Passion stories of Christ, the greatest man, who ever lived,
have always generated interest. But Mel Gibson's recent movie,
"The Passion of the Christ," has ignited a controversy. Not only
because of all the brutality but because it has resurrected the
old question: Who really killed Jesus?
First, could it be that God killed him? Adam and Eve had sinned
by eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and bad in the
Garden of Eden. Their sin constituted a rebellion against God
and condemned their offspring to death. But God in his infinite
mercy sent an equivalent of Adam, Jesus Christ, to redeem the
world of mankind from death. So is God guilty of murder,
manslaughter or conspiracy?
Next is Jesus Christ. He himself had admitted that he came to
give his soul as a ransom for many. So he knew that he was sent
to die, yet he accepted the assignment. He even personally chose
Judas Ischariot and dismissed him to go and get his job done
just before he instituted the commemoration of the Last Supper.
So is Jesus to blame?
But what about this apostle, Judas Ischariot, who betrayed his
master to the wicked Jewish leaders for thirty pieces of silver?
Ought he to have done so? If he had to sell his master for us to
be free, then did he do wrong?
Next are the Jewish religious leaders? They framed up charges,
which included the serious charge of lese-majesty against Jesus.
Could Jesus have died if they had not cooked up these charges?
If these charges led to his death, are the Jews therefore
culpable for his death?
And then comes Pontius Pilate who instead of freeing Jesus
pardoned a criminal. Why did he give in to the demand of the
Jews to impale Jesus? Could it be that he is not to blame as the
washing of his hands suggests?
Finally, the merciless Roman soldiers who inflicted unimaginable
wound on Jesus before nailing him on the torture stake. Was the
treatment given to Jesus deserving? Or is everyone to be
forgiven because they did not know what they were doing
according to Jesus? Or are we to further probe the question: Who
really killed Jesus?
To begin with, God is not to blame. The Scripture says that he
sent his son to die because of the love that he has for mankind.
(John 3:16) And Jesus obeyed his father and came to die because
he too loved the world.—John 15:13.
That leaves the betrayer Judas Ischariot, the Jewish
conspirators, and Pontius Pilate who was pressured to hand Jesus
over to the guards who killed him. To find out the culprit, let
us see a statement of Jesus to Pilate during his trial at John
chapter 19 verse 11: "This is why the man that handed me over to
you has greater sin." And another statement of admission of
guilt by the Jews to Pilate at Matthew 27 verse 25: "At that all
the people said in answer: ‘His blood come upon us and
upon our children.' "
So the question arises again: Who really killed Jesus Christ?
Answer: The Jews murdered him. And they paid for this in 70 C.E
when Rome destroyed that nation. But even today, people are
still killing Jesus Christ in ‘small' and ‘big' ways.
Consider one ‘small' way, the wearing of the cross. Jesus
did not die on the cross (Latin ‘cruz') , but on a tree or
pole (Greek ‘stauros'). See King James Bible at Acts 5:30;
10:39; Galatians 3:13; and compare Deuteronomy 21:22,23. The
cross is a pagan symbol, the sign of the Babylonian god Tammuz,
son of Astarte, the goddess of fertility, which some
‘Christians' celebrate as Easter. Besides, the Bible
condemns the wearing of images.—Exodus 20:4,5;
1Corinthians 10:14; 1John 5:21.
Even then consider this: Imagine that a triple-edged sword has
killed your best friend and you are searching for his murderers.
Then you meet someone wearing that very instrument of death on
his neck. What would you do to him? Strangle him! That is what
should be done to those cross-wearing ‘Christians': hang
them all!
What of in ‘big' things? Consider this quotation by
‘Chicago Tribune': "Every major religion preaches peace
and brotherhood and mercy, yet some of the cruellest and most
intolerant repressions in history have been committed in the
name of God." And this one by ‘Waterloo Courier' of Iowa:
"Nor have Christians ever been squeamish about waging wars on
other Christians. If they had been, most of the liveliest wars
in Europe would never have occurred. . . . World Wars I and II,
which set the all-time records, for Christians killing
Christians, could never have occurred."
Yet the teaching of Jesus on this is clear: he who lives by the
sword would perish by the sword. And at Isaiah 2:4, it is stated
that Christians should beat their swords into plowshares. But
sadly, Christians are engaged in wars around the globe killing
fellow believers and no-believers.
Military personnels and their commanders are slaughtering
innocent people daily in the vain hope of stamping terrorism
from the face of the earth and making the world a peaceful home
for mankind. And the UN (called Talking Nations in my book
CHASING SHADOWS!: A Dream), which has Isaiah 2:4 conspicuously
written on the wall of its headquarters in New York, is
shamelessly supervising all these pogrom The aggregation of
these choreographers of genocide are killing Christ again.
ARTHUR ZULU, is an editor, book reviewer, and published author.
BOOKS PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR
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finally set the world on fire.)
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