Determining who is responsible for the Death of Jesus

OPEN: Our nation suffered another tragic shooting in GA on Tuesday, March 16, 2021. The shooter was a white male and he killed 8 people, 6 of whom were females of Asian descent. The mainstream media immediately called for a stop to Asian hate (were the killings ethnically motivated? How can they know this in less than 24 hours?) According to the Daily Beast’s headline on March 17, “Massage Parlor Massacres Suspect said he loved guns and God.” Later in the article you find the statement, “Pizza, guns, drums, music, family, and God. This pretty much sums up my life. It’s a pretty good life, read the tagline on an Instagram account that appeared to belong to Long.” (thedailybeast.com, March 17, 2021, accessed on March 20,2021)

Slanted news coming from secular sources is one thing, but the “woke” crowd in Evangelical circles are attempting to show that the shooter was motivated by conservative Christianity. The shooter was a member of a conservative Church so the result would of course that he would go out and kill people - because that’s what conservative churches teach, right?

Transition: We can all agree that this is a terrible crime, and the shooter should receive justice in accordance with his crime. What I want to focus on about this account is the desperate and immediate rush to determine motive. Most of these folks are immediately looking past the individual and are attempting to assign blame to groups. The shooter didn’t kill people because he had real and troublesome sin in his life; the shooter killed people because he was a member of the oppressor class (he is a white male) and because he was associated with Christianity (he is a member of a conservative Christian Church).

The search for blame is a dangerous pursuit and it often leads to even more tragic outcomes. As we look together this morning at the Scripture passage from the 19th Chapter of John, I want you to reflect soberly and seriously on what the Bible teaches about the blame game, motives, and responsibility. And I also want you to see the Sovereign Hand of God as He unfolds His plan according to His purpose.

READ THE TEXT: John 19:1-22

Who bears the greatest guilt for having Jesus Crucified?

Explanation: Of all of the brutal murders throughout history, the execution of Jesus by Crucifixion is the most shocking. The reason is that Jesus was truly the ONLY innocent man who ever lived. Granted there have been many murders and killings of people who did not deserve to die (6 million Jews in the Holocaust; another 5 to 6 million deaths under Stalin’s regime, just for starters - sadly, there are more), but no one of these individuals was truly innocent of all things in life - ONLY Jesus was the ONLY innocent party.

Because Christ has such a unique place in history, it is important to know who is responsible for such a horrendous act so blame can be applied to where it belongs. Of the possible contenders, there is no shortage. Let’s start the examination process:

The Roman Soldiers (John 19:23)

Explanation: The text clearly states that the soldiers were the ones who physically nailed Jesus to the Cross. The Roman soldiers were the direct force that executed Jesus (cf Luke 23:32-33; Matthew 27:32-35)

Argument: Even though the soldiers were the ones who put Jesus on the Cross, were they responsible. They were soldiers just carrying out their duties as directed by their authorities. Crucifixion was a very popular means of controlling people groups and Rome executed tens of thousands of people by crucifixion. For these soldiers it was just another day on the job.

Application: They would say: “we are NOT responsible. we were just following orders.”

Pontius Pilate, the Roman Governor (John 19:16)

Explanation: If the soldiers were just carrying out orders, who gave the order for Jesus’ crucifixion? The answer is Pilate. In v. 16 of our text we see it clearly stated: “Then delivered He Him therefore unto them to be crucified.” As the duly appointed officer of government under the auspices of Rome, Pilate made the official judgment and sentenced Jesus to be executed by crucifixion.

Argument: Pilate certainly appears to be a contender for bearing responsibility for the death of Jesus. He was the authority, and he could have went in another direction. In fact, we have read the account of Pilate resisting the efforts of the Jews to have Jesus crucified; we have read where Pilate stated that Jesus was not guilty of a capital crime; we see where he even tried to release Jesus instead of Barabbas. But in the end, Pilate compromised his own justice and caved into pressure. Pilate was the one who signed the official death warrant for Jesus.

Application: Pilate’s response would be to blame the Jewish authorities. Pilate would say, “I am NOT really responsible for having Jesus killed. I tried to have him released, but those pesky Jews wouldn’t let me. They made me have Jesus killed!’

The Jewish Authorities (John 19:6,12,15)

Explanation: As we discussed last week, the Jewish authorities were the ones who brought Jesus to Pilate in the first place. The Jewish priests and their leaders (the Pharisees and Sadducees) all hated Jesus. They did not appreciate how Jesus condemned them for their hypocrisy (cf Matthew 23). The High Priest is the one who held the illegal night trial that did not produce any real evidence, but the HP declared Jesus guilty anyway.

And we see in our text that, when given the opportunity to change their minds, they refuse to do so. Three times they ignore Pilate’s attempts and shout for Jesus to be crucified.

Argument: The Jewish leaders definitely bear guilt for their part in the execution of Jesus. Pilate was the one who gave the official order, but the Jews were the ones who were pressuring him. This is not just some conspiracy theory where motives and actions are cloaked in secrecy; the Jewish leaders were out front in what they wanted. During one of Pilate’s attempts to release Jesus, these Jews went so far as to say, “His blood be upon us, and our children” (Matt 27:20).

Application: The Jewish leaders felt justified in their actions. In their eyes Jesus was an agitator and a fraud. They felt as though Jesus was messing up all that they had worked for. As a vassal state under Roman rule, the leaders had to keep their own people in line. If civil unrest broke out brought on by a rabble-rouser like Jesus, the Romans could come in and bring a lot of pain and destruction. Caiaphas had stated earlier that “it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish” (John 11:50)

Judas Iscariot, the Betrayer (John 18:1-5)

Explanation: But even the Jewish leaders had a fall back scape goat to blame for their plan to have Jesus executed. They would not have been able to separate Jesus from His followers without help from Judas the betrayer.

Judas was one of the 12 Apostles selected by Jesus to be His inner circle. This man was given a mighty privilege and he basically spit on it. Judas made the choice to betray Jesus for a price.

“Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests, and said unto them What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver.  And from that time he sought opportunity to betray him. (Matt 26:14-16)

Argument: Judas’ motive for betraying his Master is not just as straight forward as wanting money. He was a thief and he was greedy (John 12:4-6), but Judas had ulterior motives. He was a zealot, and he wanted to see the Roman government overthrown. He had spent years with Jesus and knew that He was something special. Judas saw that Jesus was capable of actually leading a successful revolution. When Judas realized that Jesus was not politically motivated, he saw an opportunity to help himself with some cash (30 pieces of silver) and a chance to force Jesus into motion as the Deliverer Messiah.

Application: Judas would probably say that he was guilty of a poor decision. He did realize he had sinned and brought the money back to the chief priests when he saw the results of his betrayal (Matt 27:3-5). If Judas was a modern 21 century enlightened individual, he would probably admit to a troubled home life and play the victim card. He would say, “It’s not my fault, I was raised by revolutionary-minded parents and I fell in with the Israel Now crowd when I was only twelve.”

Not that it would work because betraying Jesus was a serious crime. Jesus stated, “The Son of man goeth as it is written of him: but woe unto that many by whom the Son of man is betrayed! It had been good for that man if he had not been born” (Matt 26:24)

Summary of the Suspects

Given the above list, who would you vote for as being the most responsible for the Crucifixion? The Roman soldiers? Pilate? Caiaphas and his cronies? Judas the Betrayer?

Before you vote, I need to add one more name - the Lord God Himself. Surprised? Some people would be. Some would have a very hard time even considering that the Father had anything to do with the death of His only begotten. The clear witness of Scripture attests to this very fact, however, and we dare not overlook this important truth

As spokesman for the 11, Peter preaches to the crowd on the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2. Peter tells the crowd, “Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know:  Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain” (Acts 2:22-23).

Scripture reveals that God sovereignly predetermined that Jesus would be crucified. The first book of the Bible foreshadows this truth (Gen 3:15), but the Plan for Jesus to die as a payment for sin did not originate in the Garden of Eden after Adam & Eve brought sin into the world. In His total omniscience, the Triune God knew that man would fall into sin even before Creation took place. It has always been the Father’s plan for the Son to die as a substitute, and the Son was a willing participant.

Unlike the other candidates previously mentioned, the Father bears no guilt. God’s plan was to provide Himself as THE Sacrifice for Sins, and the motive was a holy love.

And though the Crucifixion is seen to be to the predetermined plan of God, each of the parties listed above share real guilt. They chose to make sinful decisions for their part in the death of Christ. They are responsible for their actions, just like we are.

And that brings us to the final point as this message comes to a close. Let’s go back and look at the final verses of John 18. This is the point at which Pilate is trying to have Jesus be the prisoner who is released according to the custom. Instead, the people choose Barabbas, a murderer and an insurrectionist. Barabbas is definitely guilty and yet he avoids execution while an innocent man takes his place.

For those of us who are in Christ, we can identify with Barabbas. Just like him, we were under a sentence of death with no hope. Just like Barabbas, we too are guilty. And just like Barabbas, Jesus took our place, with the exception that Jesus’ death was substitutionary for us through faith.

If you don’t already know the meaning of Barabbas’ name, I want you to consider it for a moment. The prefix Bar means “son of” and the word abba is the Aramaic for Father. The name Barabbas means “son of the father.” By faith in the substitutionary death of Jesus on our behalf, we who are in Christ are literally sons of the Father. What a cause for joy and for praising and glorifying God in the Highest!