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| Accusing groups of people of killing Jesus diminishes what Jesus intended to accomplish at the cross |
One of the most disheartening things I read on social media, especially Facebook is the rising antisemitism posts that has been spurred on by recent global events, chiefly the Israel-Hamas war.
Banking on this, some political leftists see the Jews as an oppressor in the oppression-oppressed Marxist narrative. Weirdly these leftists find themselves aligned with some members of the political right who hold racists views that the Jews are the source of the problems.
Thus one of the common accusations I hear is that the "Jews killed Jesus" in an attempt to stir up hatred among the Christian community.
So who killed Jesus then?
While one can point out the Jewish leaders of the time plotted to kill Jesus and the Roman authorities carried out the execution, it clearly states in Isaiah 53 that Jesus died for our sins ("he was pierced for our transgression").
Surely he took up our pain
and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God,
stricken by him, and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all. -- Isaiah 53: 4-6
This is further corroborated by the New Testament authors.
But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. - Romans 5:8
He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. - 1 Peter 2:24
In other words, we (humans) in our sinful nature, killed Jesus. To single out a single group and blame them for the death of Jesus is to defeat the message that Christ died for all humanity.
So how should Christians respond?
Instead, Christians should acknowledge that Jesus's death was good news - good because his death has provided us a way to reconcile with God, and news because this is true.
In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. - 1 John 4:10
