Who Killed Jesus?

For our Messianic Monday email today, we are looking at a central and historically contentious question - Who killed Yeshua? 

The answer to this question has fueled antisemitism and hateful, murderous genocides against the Jewish people for more than two millennia. 

I will let Ariel (a heavenly instructor in my book "ID Theft") and the main character, David, a young American-Jewish man searching for the truth, walk us through this important topic. I hope you enjoy this full chapter from "ID Theft: Reloaded" and are blessed by the truth about our Messiah Yeshua. Please feel free to share this with friends. 

Thank you for loving Israel and praying for the Jewish people to know the good news of Yeshua!

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Ariel continued, “While the Holocaust, unlike the Crusades and the Inquisitions, was not explicitly religious, the Church had set the stage.Without centuries of Christian antisemitism, the Holocaust would not have had the theological pretext to happen.

“I am sure you have read quotes about Jews being called Christ Killers. The Nazis and others throughout the centuries have long enjoyed the employment of this claim as a satanic pretext for blood libels, pogroms, and Holocaust-scale genocide. In short, it is the excuse for nearly every perverted form of persecution that antisemitism has ever staged. And the enemy used all of this to further alienate Jews from their Jewish Messiah.”

“In fact, Hitler even had Christian theologians helping him. One set out to convince people that Jesus was not Jewish but Aryan. Watch.”

“On the screen, a slight woman appeared. She was lecturing…like at a university.”

"In the Nazi era, in the first half of the 20th century, some scholars went even further to deny Jesus’s Jewishness altogether. The Nazis had set up an institute for the study and eradication of Jewish influence on German religious life. This was led by a highly regarded theologian named Walter Grundmann, who was still an influence at the time that I went to graduate school in the 70’s, some decades after the end of the war. The role of this institute, the mandate, was to demonstrate that Jesus was not a Jew, but an Aryan, on the grounds that in the first century the Galilee was populated primarily by Gentiles rather than Jews. The definitive study of that institute is this truly compelling book by Susannah Heschel, called The Aryan Jesus, Christian Theologians, and the Bible in Nazi Germany.5"

“It is true that there was a distinction between Judeans and Galileans, and with the conquering of the ten northern tribes in 721 BCE, many Gentiles had moved in. But…"

1. I can assure you they were not Aryans in the Middle East.

2. Jesus was actually a Judean living in the Galilee. Remember, his father was from Bethlehem, and Jesus was born in Bethlehem, the city of David from the tribe of Judah.

3. It is clear from Scripture that Jesus and his Galilean disciples follow Torah (Matthew 5:17). Yeshua is circumcised (Luke 2:21). His parents dedicated him at the Temple in Jerusalem (Luke 2:22). They return to Jerusalem for his bar mitzvah.1 Jesus regularly goes to

Jerusalem for the festivals, as does his family (John 7).

“In other words, they were Jews,” I offered.

“But the claim that He wasn’t Jewish, but an Aryan, gave them the ‘evidence’ that the Jews had actually persecuted the pure race,” Ariel added. “Yes, Christ Killer has become a common moniker for Jews during these past 1,900 years. Under this theme, Jewish blood has flowed down the streets of not only Jerusalem but numerous other cities as well.”

“It never made any sense to me,” I shared, “how an entire race of people, over thousands of years of existence, could be responsible for the killing of one man.”

“Well, David, who do you think killed Yeshua?”

“I could make a case for the Romans, as Jews were forbidden from enforcing a death penalty under Roman rule. But I do know that it was Jewish people who handed Him over to the Romans.”

Ariel helped, “Actually, David, it was primarily the Jewish leaders, not the people, who had a problem with Yeshua. I want you to read this.”

"As the words came out of his mouth, they appeared written in fire. Two passages of Scripture were before me, with some commentary in between. They were suspended in the air and close enough for me to touch. I was in awe.

“Go ahead, read!” I did.

Now when the chief priests and Pharisees heard His parables, they perceived that He was speaking of them. But when they sought to lay hands on [Yeshua], they feared the multitudes [of Jews] … (Matthew 21:45-46 NKJV).

“You see, David, the ahm ha’aretz, the people of the Land, loved Yeshua. The religious leadership did not arrest Yeshua because they feared the multitude of Jews! Yeshua’s popularity with the common Jew is what led to the decision to oppose him – to turn him over to the Romans.”

“When they finally did arrest him, it was secretly at night, when He was praying with His disciples. In the morning, the day they planned to execute Him, the residents of Jerusalem were stunned to see this beloved rabbi condemned. Read this next one.”

Again, I read as I was asked.

And a great multitude of the people followed Him… who also mourned and lamented Him (Luke 23:27 NKJV).

“Yeshua was taken to the home of Pilate. He was the Roman

governor over the province of Judea. Read on.”"

"Again, emblazoned in fire, I saw the Scriptures, but this time certain words were highlighted:

Then the detachment of soldiers with its commander and the Jewish officials arrested Jesus… (John 18:12).

Then the Jewish leaders took Jesus from Caiaphas to the palace" of the Roman governor… (John 18:28). “While in the Greek,” Ariel shared, “it merely says ‘they’ in verse 28, it is understood that the ‘they’ in this verse is referring to the Jewish officials in verse 12.” “Ariel, I was told that the entire city of Jerusalem was shouting for Him to be crucified. That would be more than just a few leaders.” “Nowhere in the New Testament does it claim that the entire city was calling for His death, but a crowd of people, out of about a half a million who were in the city at the time for Passover…and even this crowd had been worked up by the religious leaders. But you are not the first to wrongly assume this. As you will see on our journey, Yeshua was loved by the Jewish masses, and they came from all over the region to hear Him teach. I want you to read a message that a Messianic Jew sent to a Christian author on Facebook.” “Facebook? An angel who’s into Facebook?” “Well, I don’t have my own account, but yes David, we kind of know about everything. Read!” Immediately, a Facebook page appeared on the screen: Dear Martin,

My name is Avi Marks. I came across your website, and I found your article, “Jesus and the Jews,” very interesting; it was certainly well researched. May I just offer one critique that will help your Jewish readers? You used the phrase “the Jews” over fifty times. Sometimes it is just part of the phrase “King of the Jews.” But more often than not, you are referring to the small group of men who brought Yeshua to Pilate. John 18:12 makes it clear that it was not “the Jews” who brought Yeshua to Pilate, but “Jewish officials,” “officers of the Jews,” or the “Temple guards,” just to quote a few modern translations. The problem with the way you use the term “the Jews” is that it makes it appear as if you are saying all of the Jews. There are a few times when you correctly say Jewish religious leaders, but for the most part, you simply say, “the Jews.” It is true that in the Greek, John, at certain times, simply writes the phrase “the Jews” (John 18:14; 19:7,12), but there can be no doubt that he is referring to the Jewish leadership. In fact, some modern English translations, such as the New International Version, actually translate those passages using the phrase “the Jewish Leaders” as opposed to “the Jews,” even though they know that is not what the Greek says. How can they be so bold? I’ll explain.Take a look at John 18:14: “Now it was Caiaphas who advised the Jews that it was expedient that one man should die for the people” (NKJV). In this passage, it states clearly that Caiaphas was speaking to “the Jews”; he advised, “the Jews.” However, if we turn back a few pages, we can see exactly to whom Caiaphas was speaking: Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin.… Then one of them, named Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, spoke up, “You know nothing at all! You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish” (John 11:47, 49-50)."

So “the Jews” of John 18 and 19 are clearly the Jewish leaders, not the Jewish population. Let’s look at John 9 – the healing of the blind man. The Jews did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight and asked them, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?” His parents answered, “We know that this is our son and that he was born blind, but we do not know how it is that now he sees, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age. He will speak for himself.” His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed that anyone who confessed Yeshua to be the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue. (John 9:18-22) Who are “the Jews” here? The blind man was Jewish. His parents were Jewish. Jesus was Jewish and all of his followers, including John, who was taking notes, were Jewish. And the resisters were Jewish. In fact, everyone we see in the entire book, except for John 4 in Samaria, John 12 (though these were probably Greek-speaking Jews since they came to worship in Jerusalem for Passover), and the Romans at the end of the story, is Jewish. It is quite easy to determine to whom John is referring when he says the Jews here.They are the ones with the power to “put out of the synagogue” (see also 12:42) those who followed Yeshua. And that would be the local synagogue, at most, the Jerusalem region, as most scholars agree this took place at or very close to the Temple. But it would not include the Galilee and certainly not the millions of Jews scattered abroad who had never even heard of the Galilean Rabbi. One thing is clear, he was not referring to all Jews as they themselves were Jews. “The Jews” is, then, a term used of a group of Jewish leaders who exercise great authority among their compatriots and are especially hostile to Jesus and his disciples. A recent study of the Gospels’ use of Ioudaioi confirms the view that when it is used in a peculiarly Johannine sense, that is, not with reference to Judeans or to Jewish customs, feasts, and so forth, it refers to certain authorities rather than to the people as a whole.6 Now I understand that it seems like a strange choice of words but keep in mind back then, “Jews” didn’t mean what it means today. For instance, the region was separated into three regions: Judea, Galilee, and Samaria. Yeshua and His disciples were Galilean, not Judean. The Samaritan woman refers to Jesus as a Jew – the same word for Judaean. Probably because she did not realize he was Galilean. While technically, both the Judeans in the Galileans were Jews, there was tension between the two groups. Galilean Jews were more passionate about the land of Israel; hence there was a high number of Zealots in the region. The Pharisees were more concerned with the legal aspects of the Torah, both written and oral. The Pharisees, who were regular critics of Yeshua, we’re mostly Judean. The word for Judean and Jew is the same: Yehudi. When Mark records: “The Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they give their hands a ceremonial washing, holding to the tradition of the elders,” he probably means Judeans. All of the Jews would include Yeshua and his disciples. However, Dr. David Stern’s Complete Jewish Bible translates this: “For the Pharisees and indeed all the Judeans.” Indeed, both the DBL and BDAG, highly respected biblical Greek dictionaries, say that Ioudaios can mean both Jews and Judeans, obviously depending on context.

Given the fact that the Galileans were not as obsessed with the ritual or liturgical aspects of Judaism, this makes sense. And we can see why John may have used this term when he is in Jerusalem, as he is a Galilean. Only in Chapter six does John use the term while in the Galilee, referring to the Jews who struggled with some of Yeshua’s was teaching – and these could have been disciples who came from Judea to follow the Galilean Rabbi. Stern translates Ioudaios 55 times7 in John as Judean(s), not Jew(s). For instance, in John 1:19, was it the Jews from Jerusalem who sent Levites and priests to check out Yeshua, or was it just the Judeans? Judeans make much sense, as they were sending them from Judea to the Galilee. Not all references to the Jews are negative in John: • Salvation is from the Jews (4:22).

• Many people (all Jews) believed in Yeshua (2:23).

• Many Jews believed Yeshua was a prophet or even the Messiah (7:40-41).

• And in that place, many (Jews) believed in Jesus after the Hannukah confrontation (10:42).

• John reports that after Yeshua raised Lazarus from the dead, “many of the Jews … believed in him” (11:45).

• “…a large crowd of Jews found out that Jesus was [in Bethany] and came, not only because of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead” (12:9-11). The chief priests (not all Israel) “made plans to kill Lazarus as well, for, on account of him, many of the Jews were going over to Jesus and believing in him.” Without understanding the nuance, it could appear that the Jews wanted to kill Lazarus because the Jews were following Jesus. But of course, that is not what it says.

• The Pharisees lament, “Look how the whole world has gone after him!” (12:19). Clearly, “the whole world” is hyperbole, referring to Judeans in Jerusalem at the time. Clearly, a very large number of the Jews

loved Jesus! Giving more credence that John associated Ioudaios with Judea as a region is his use of Israel. [John’s] occasional use of “Israel” and “Israelite” always indicates a favorable bias. The words appear a total of five times: Twice, incipient believers hail Jesus as “King of Israel” (1:49; 12:13), and John the Baptist declares that his mission is for Jesus to be “revealed to Israel” (1:31). Also, Jesus declares that Nathanael is “truly an Israelite in whom is no guile” (1:47) and refers to Nicodemus as “the teacher of Israel” (3:10).8 How could one who is antisemitic have such a favorable view of Israel or Israelites? And keep in mind that the usage in John of Israelite would not be the same as Israeli today, a citizen of the state of Israel. At the time, the Romans controlled the region. In context, Israelite clearly refers to someone serving the God of Israel. It would have been strange for those who flocked to hear Him teach – many of whom were healed – to suddenly call for His execution. Scripture makes it clear that a very large number of Jews followed Yeshua, even some high-profile leaders like Nicodemus, who not only sought him out to question him (John 3) but along with another Jewish man, asked for his corpse, to give a proper Jewish burial (John 19:38-42).

When he had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, “Who is this?” So, the multitudes said, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth… (Matthew 21:10-11 NKJV). Many of the people believed in him and said, ‘When the Messiah comes, will He do more signs than these which this Man has done?” (John 7:31 NKJV).

Nevertheless, even among the [Jewish] rulers, many believed on him…” (John 12:42 NKJV).

John records it was the leaders who shouted for Him to be crucified. “As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw him, they shouted, ‘Crucify! Crucify!’” (John 19:6).

In the other accounts, where it mentions the crowd joining in, it seems clear they were manipulated by the leaders. As Matthew writes, “But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus executed” (Matthew 27:20). We are not told the means by which they persuaded the crowd, but bribery would have been the common resource of the time. (They had paid witnesses to turn in false evidence at the trial the day before.) Clearly, this persuaded crowd did not represent the people of Israel, as there were approximately 100,000 Jews living in Jerusalem, and because it was Passover, there could have been upward of another 500,000 visitors in Jerusalem at that time. Do you really think there were 600,000 Jews at Pilate’s Jerusalem Palace? This may appear to you as nitpicking, but on the contrary, it is extremely important because so many Jews have been falsely blamed for the death ofYeshua, even killed as part of this accusation of being Christ-killers. It is important to emphasize that it was primarily the Jewish leaders who were jealous of Yeshua and went to Pilate. The multitudes loved Him. Thanks for your time.

Blessings,

Avi Marks “This is crazy, Ariel. The entire Jewish nation has been blamed for the actions of a small group of jealous, politically- oriented leaders and a manipulated crowd.”

“I know, it is twisted and sad, but you should know not all the leaders were jealous of Him. Let the words of one of the passages that you just read in the e-mail, John 12:42, sink in.”

Again, the words appeared in fire as Ariel read them:

Yet, at the same time, many even among the [Jewish] leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees, they would not openly acknowledge their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue…

“These Jewish leaders believed but were afraid. Nicodemus, to whom Avi was referring, was a Jewish leader, a member of the Sanhedrin, in fact. He was initially scared to be caught even speaking with Yeshua and so met with Him in secret, but eventually, he became one of His most ardent followers.”

Another passage in fire appeared: Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus, who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him (John 3:1-2). “David, it is entirely false to claim: one, that all Israel rejected Yeshua, as you will see in the coming lessons; and two, that the Jews, or even the Romans for that matter, were responsible for killing Yeshua.

“Let me put this dreadful argument to rest – I know who killed Yeshua.”

“Who?” I asked, wondering what Ariel would say. Wars have been fought over this question, and now an angel sent from Heaven itself is offering to tell me. Unreal! I thought.

“You did! You killed Him, David!”

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NOTES:

"1. Scholars are not sure if the bar mitzvah ceremony goes all the way back to Second Temple Judaism, but it does seem that the family is there for some sort of rite of passage for a young man. Hence, the rabbis are conversing with him. There is no hard evidence that a bar mitzvah or rite of passage occurred at 13 back then; it could’ve been at 12. It may not even have been called a bar mitzvah then but there are many who believe it was. The fact that the Gospel writers mention his age and the other details communicates to me that it was a bar mitzvah of sorts."

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