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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. Arthur Zulu is an editor, book reviewer and published author
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