WHO KILLED JESUS? AND WHY DID HE DIE?
Historically, from a human perspective, the answer is straightforward enough. The Jewish leaders plotted against him, Judas betrayed him, Herod and Pilate tried him, and the Roman soldiers executed him.
In the Gospel accounts an assembly of Jewish leaders charges Jesus with blasphemy. The Jewish high priests are portrayed as pushing the reluctant Roman governor, Pontius Pilate, to crucify Jesus, while a mob of Jews yells in favor of the crucifixion, the crowd chooses Barabbas to be released instead and Jesus of Nazareth who was crucified.
Barrabas was a prisoner mentioned in all four Gospels who was chosen by the crowd, over Jesus Christ, to be released by Pontius Pilate in a customary pardon before the feast of Passover.
But a number of individuals and groups were responsible for his death. As Luke puts it, Wicked men put him to death by nailing him to the cross (Acts 2:23).
But there is another angle to consider. As Acts 2:23 also says, Jesus was handed over by Gods deliberate plan and foreknowledge. To get to the heart of the question of why Jesus died, we have to think from Gods point of view.
The purpose of bringing us to God implies that, prior to Jesus dying, we were far away. On this score, the apostles Paul and Peter agree: You who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ (Eph. 2:13).
Our sin needed to be dealt with to bring us near: Christ died for sins (1 Pet. 3:18). The Bible does not mince words when it comes to human disobedience and its consequences. Paul says in Romans 6:23 that the wages of sin is death. All humans stand condemned before God; our sins separate us from him whose character is pristine holiness and perfect justice.
The substitutionary nature of Jesus death is the key idea for understanding how God deals with sin and offers us forgiveness. To bring us near, Christ died for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous (1 Pet. 3:18). If the unrighteous is all of us, the righteous is Jesus himself. The one who knew no sin, became sin (2 Cor. 5:21) our sin—so that we might receive mercy.
The New Testament uses several vivid images to expound the truth that Jesus died in our place. For example, Jesus paid the price for our redemption when he gave his life as a ransom in the place of many (Mark 10:45). Jesus reconciled us to God by bearing our sins himself (1 Pet. 2:24). God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement through the shedding of his blood (Rom. 3:25), exhausting God's wrath against our unrighteousness.
WHO KILLED JESUS? NO ONE!
John 10:18 No one takes my life from me. I give it up willingly! I have the power to give it up and the power to receive it back again
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