Who Killed Jesus Christ?
Mel Gibson's motion picture, "The Passion of the Christ," has engendered a controversy concerning the question, "Who killed Jesus Christ?" We have seen in various forms in recent weeks a variety of attempts to suggest an answer. However, sound and biblical clarity has not emerged from any of this.
Maurice Gordon, pastor of Lovingway United Pentecostal Church, Denver, CO, posted on the Church's outdoor marquee, "Jews Killed the Lord Jesus," a reference to I Thessalonians 2:14-15. This sign created quite a stir among those who reject the authority of the New Testament, such as the Anti-Defamation League, but it also troubled many who claim a Christian allegiance to the Bible. Rev. Jim Ryan, spokesman for the Colorado Council of Churches, is reported as having said, "we stand in direct opposition to the message on this sign."[1] Fran Maier, interfaith officer for the Catholic Archdiocese of Denver, said in response to this sign, "Blaming the Jews for the execution of Jesus is blasphemy, wrong, and un-Christian."[2]
A more popular answer to the question, Who Killed Jesus Christ?, is exemplified by Mel Gibson himself, who is reputed as having said, "We all killed Jesus."[3] Such an answer turns attention away from the historical sense of the question and focuses instead on devotional contemplation of the personal sin that Christ's death atoned. However, the popularity of this answer is due not to a preference to contemplate devotionally vs. to discern historically, but is due mainly to the convenience this answer provides in sidestepping the extremely unpopular historical reality. Indeed, this is the very dynamic in which Mel Gibson gave this answer. He said, "We all killed Jesus" devotionally rather than having to say, "The Jews killed Jesus" historically. While we cannot judge another man's motives, we can wonder whether in giving this answer Gibson was mindful that doing so would spare him the same kind of treatment later accorded Pastor Gordon.
Discerning the need to get beyond a simply devotional approach to the question, "Who killed Jesus Christ?" other Christians point us in a different direction. For example, James White, author, lecturer, and director of Alpha and Omega Ministries, states that in reality it was God Himself who is responsible for Christ's death. In response to the question, "Who killed Jesus?" Dr. White states simply, "God did it."[4] The appeal of this position is that it is a good deal more biblical than the sentimental view that, "we all killed Jesus." Like Pastor Gordon's sign, it harkens to direct sayings of Scripture. Dr. White cites a portion of the prayer of Peter and John in Acts 4:27-28, "For truly in this city there were gathered together against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose predestined to occur." Additionally, Dr. White cites Isaiah 53:4, "Surely our griefs He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried; yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted."
Offering in answer to the query, "Who killed Jesus Christ?" the simple, univocal statement, "God did it," though biblical in one sense, is not biblically rigorous. The term "kill" is pejorative when applied to temporal human action of taking human life unjustly (Ex. 20:13). Man is not qualified to speak pejoratively of God. All of God's actions are by definition good and righteous. The only instance in which it is appropriate to speak of God "killing" a man is in case there is no temporal agency at work, for example Er, Judah's first-born, who "…was wicked in the sight of the Lord, so He put him to death" (I Chr. 2:3). As Dr. White pointed out, God had a purpose in view in the death of Christ. However, there was temporal human agency involved in bringing about the death of Christ unjustly. Therefore, it is not appropriate to employ pejorative terms in speaking of the Providence of God in the death of Christ; and neither is it appropriate to suppress pejorative reference to the temporal human agency that caused Christ's death.
F.J. De Angelis, a scholar with "Semper Reformanda," picked up on Dr. White's brief essay and explained in eloquent terms the appalling lack of biblical rigor in such a view.[5] Drawing upon the Westminster Confession of Faith, the scholarship of Calvin, Pink, and Boettner, and a comprehensive survey of biblical texts, De Angelis explains that the eternal decrees of God, by which He controls whatsoever comes to pass in temporal reality, must always be distinguished from the created will of men and natural causation that are at work within the bounds of temporal reality. "God sovereignly decreeing that Christ should suffer and bear the sins of His people (as Rev. White correctly stated) does not mean that God murdered Jesus Christ, or in White's assessment, that 'God did it.' Christ was smitten of God by virtue of having the sins of His people laid upon Him; it was the sovereign decree of God that He would redeem His people. It was decreed that the events would transpire, but those that carried it out bear the guilt for their actions… As such, the people that rejected Jesus Christ, the people that gave Him an illegal and corrupt trial based upon contradictory and deceitful testimony, the people that cried out for Him to be wrongly executed, the people that rejected Him as their Messiah, these are the people that 'did it.'"[6] We may not contemplate reality in terms that force either an eternal explanation or a temporal explanation, for the Creator must always remain distinct from His Creation, and likewise His eternal power and will must always remain distinct from temporal causation.
Dr. White was quite taken aback by F.J. De Angelis's expose. In an additional entry to his Blog, Dr. White carries on and on about how basic are all the things that De Angelis explains, and goes to great lengths to assure his readers that he really did already know all of this.[7] We are to consult numerous of his books and articles and see that really, really, he did indeed already know all about the Creator / Creature Distinction, the Eternal vs, the Temporal will, the Ultimate vs. the Proximate cause. In that case, one wonders all the more: why, in addressing such a question as, "Who killed Jesus Christ?" would he state univocally that "God did it"? If he wishes to leave the matter at that, and at the same time he wishes for us all to be assured that his doing so is not a result of any lack of biblical or theological rigor concerning Ultimate and Proximate causes, then it is difficult for the reader to avoid the conclusion that Dr. White simply prefers not to speak of the Proximate causes. Granted, Dr. White does not state, along with Rev. Ryan, that he stands in "direct opposition" to I Thessalonians 2:14-15. Nor does he join with Fran Maier in calling I Thessalonians 2:14-15 "blasphemy." But the reader hardly can fail to wonder whether Dr. White's omission of the temporal, historical teaching of the Bible in I Thessalonians 2:14-15 might have been due to his foresight in contemplating the social consequences of being fully biblical about this.
Who killed Jesus Christ? What does it matter? Why is it important? The failure of Pastor Gordon's sign is a perfect object lesson in the importance of this issue. Pastor Gordon was vilified for his "divisiveness" and ultimately replaced the sign with an apology. The church Web site now also contains an apology that reads in part, "The message was not meant in any way to promote anti-Semitism or disunity among the Jewish and Christian faiths."[8] Though at first his sign rightly and biblically pointed out the hostility of the Jews and the Jewish religion to Christ and Christianity, now he wishes us to believe that he never intended to disturb the unity of the Jewish and Christian religions. The importance of this matter is that on the one hand "Jews killed the Lord Jesus" is the most rigorously biblical answer to the question, "Who killed Jesus Christ?" yet on the other hand, this is the only answer that cannot publicly be spoken. This is a sign of the times in which we live. In a matter of hours Pastor Gordon transformed from the historical, biblical clarity of Judaism opposed to Christianity, to confused, oxymoronic "Judeochristianity." "Who killed Jesus Christ?" is an historical question that requires an historical answer. The historical answer is best expressed in I Thessalonians 2:14-15. An unwillingness to speak historically concerning this question means only one of two things: either that one's thought is too muddled to grasp the truth or that one values his social comfort more than truth.
[1] "Denver 'Jesus' Sign Riles Jews": http://www.jewishtimes.com/news/3730.stm
[2] ibid.
[3] http://abcnews.go.com/sections/Primetime/Entertainment
/mel_gibson_passion_040216-1.html
[4] Entry under 2/17/04: http://www.aomin.org/blog.html
[5] http://www.semper-reformanda.org/jameswhite.html
[6] ibid
[7] Entry under 2/22/04: http://www.aomin.org/blog.html
[8] http://www.lovingway.org
Maurice Gordon, pastor of Lovingway United Pentecostal Church, Denver, CO, posted on the Church's outdoor marquee, "Jews Killed the Lord Jesus," a reference to I Thessalonians 2:14-15. This sign created quite a stir among those who reject the authority of the New Testament, such as the Anti-Defamation League, but it also troubled many who claim a Christian allegiance to the Bible. Rev. Jim Ryan, spokesman for the Colorado Council of Churches, is reported as having said, "we stand in direct opposition to the message on this sign."[1] Fran Maier, interfaith officer for the Catholic Archdiocese of Denver, said in response to this sign, "Blaming the Jews for the execution of Jesus is blasphemy, wrong, and un-Christian."[2]
A more popular answer to the question, Who Killed Jesus Christ?, is exemplified by Mel Gibson himself, who is reputed as having said, "We all killed Jesus."[3] Such an answer turns attention away from the historical sense of the question and focuses instead on devotional contemplation of the personal sin that Christ's death atoned. However, the popularity of this answer is due not to a preference to contemplate devotionally vs. to discern historically, but is due mainly to the convenience this answer provides in sidestepping the extremely unpopular historical reality. Indeed, this is the very dynamic in which Mel Gibson gave this answer. He said, "We all killed Jesus" devotionally rather than having to say, "The Jews killed Jesus" historically. While we cannot judge another man's motives, we can wonder whether in giving this answer Gibson was mindful that doing so would spare him the same kind of treatment later accorded Pastor Gordon.
Discerning the need to get beyond a simply devotional approach to the question, "Who killed Jesus Christ?" other Christians point us in a different direction. For example, James White, author, lecturer, and director of Alpha and Omega Ministries, states that in reality it was God Himself who is responsible for Christ's death. In response to the question, "Who killed Jesus?" Dr. White states simply, "God did it."[4] The appeal of this position is that it is a good deal more biblical than the sentimental view that, "we all killed Jesus." Like Pastor Gordon's sign, it harkens to direct sayings of Scripture. Dr. White cites a portion of the prayer of Peter and John in Acts 4:27-28, "For truly in this city there were gathered together against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose predestined to occur." Additionally, Dr. White cites Isaiah 53:4, "Surely our griefs He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried; yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted."
Offering in answer to the query, "Who killed Jesus Christ?" the simple, univocal statement, "God did it," though biblical in one sense, is not biblically rigorous. The term "kill" is pejorative when applied to temporal human action of taking human life unjustly (Ex. 20:13). Man is not qualified to speak pejoratively of God. All of God's actions are by definition good and righteous. The only instance in which it is appropriate to speak of God "killing" a man is in case there is no temporal agency at work, for example Er, Judah's first-born, who "…was wicked in the sight of the Lord, so He put him to death" (I Chr. 2:3). As Dr. White pointed out, God had a purpose in view in the death of Christ. However, there was temporal human agency involved in bringing about the death of Christ unjustly. Therefore, it is not appropriate to employ pejorative terms in speaking of the Providence of God in the death of Christ; and neither is it appropriate to suppress pejorative reference to the temporal human agency that caused Christ's death.
F.J. De Angelis, a scholar with "Semper Reformanda," picked up on Dr. White's brief essay and explained in eloquent terms the appalling lack of biblical rigor in such a view.[5] Drawing upon the Westminster Confession of Faith, the scholarship of Calvin, Pink, and Boettner, and a comprehensive survey of biblical texts, De Angelis explains that the eternal decrees of God, by which He controls whatsoever comes to pass in temporal reality, must always be distinguished from the created will of men and natural causation that are at work within the bounds of temporal reality. "God sovereignly decreeing that Christ should suffer and bear the sins of His people (as Rev. White correctly stated) does not mean that God murdered Jesus Christ, or in White's assessment, that 'God did it.' Christ was smitten of God by virtue of having the sins of His people laid upon Him; it was the sovereign decree of God that He would redeem His people. It was decreed that the events would transpire, but those that carried it out bear the guilt for their actions… As such, the people that rejected Jesus Christ, the people that gave Him an illegal and corrupt trial based upon contradictory and deceitful testimony, the people that cried out for Him to be wrongly executed, the people that rejected Him as their Messiah, these are the people that 'did it.'"[6] We may not contemplate reality in terms that force either an eternal explanation or a temporal explanation, for the Creator must always remain distinct from His Creation, and likewise His eternal power and will must always remain distinct from temporal causation.
Dr. White was quite taken aback by F.J. De Angelis's expose. In an additional entry to his Blog, Dr. White carries on and on about how basic are all the things that De Angelis explains, and goes to great lengths to assure his readers that he really did already know all of this.[7] We are to consult numerous of his books and articles and see that really, really, he did indeed already know all about the Creator / Creature Distinction, the Eternal vs, the Temporal will, the Ultimate vs. the Proximate cause. In that case, one wonders all the more: why, in addressing such a question as, "Who killed Jesus Christ?" would he state univocally that "God did it"? If he wishes to leave the matter at that, and at the same time he wishes for us all to be assured that his doing so is not a result of any lack of biblical or theological rigor concerning Ultimate and Proximate causes, then it is difficult for the reader to avoid the conclusion that Dr. White simply prefers not to speak of the Proximate causes. Granted, Dr. White does not state, along with Rev. Ryan, that he stands in "direct opposition" to I Thessalonians 2:14-15. Nor does he join with Fran Maier in calling I Thessalonians 2:14-15 "blasphemy." But the reader hardly can fail to wonder whether Dr. White's omission of the temporal, historical teaching of the Bible in I Thessalonians 2:14-15 might have been due to his foresight in contemplating the social consequences of being fully biblical about this.
Who killed Jesus Christ? What does it matter? Why is it important? The failure of Pastor Gordon's sign is a perfect object lesson in the importance of this issue. Pastor Gordon was vilified for his "divisiveness" and ultimately replaced the sign with an apology. The church Web site now also contains an apology that reads in part, "The message was not meant in any way to promote anti-Semitism or disunity among the Jewish and Christian faiths."[8] Though at first his sign rightly and biblically pointed out the hostility of the Jews and the Jewish religion to Christ and Christianity, now he wishes us to believe that he never intended to disturb the unity of the Jewish and Christian religions. The importance of this matter is that on the one hand "Jews killed the Lord Jesus" is the most rigorously biblical answer to the question, "Who killed Jesus Christ?" yet on the other hand, this is the only answer that cannot publicly be spoken. This is a sign of the times in which we live. In a matter of hours Pastor Gordon transformed from the historical, biblical clarity of Judaism opposed to Christianity, to confused, oxymoronic "Judeochristianity." "Who killed Jesus Christ?" is an historical question that requires an historical answer. The historical answer is best expressed in I Thessalonians 2:14-15. An unwillingness to speak historically concerning this question means only one of two things: either that one's thought is too muddled to grasp the truth or that one values his social comfort more than truth.
[1] "Denver 'Jesus' Sign Riles Jews": http://www.jewishtimes.com/news/3730.stm
[2] ibid.
[3] http://abcnews.go.com/sections/Primetime/Entertainment
/mel_gibson_passion_040216-1.html
[4] Entry under 2/17/04: http://www.aomin.org/blog.html
[5] http://www.semper-reformanda.org/jameswhite.html
[6] ibid
[7] Entry under 2/22/04: http://www.aomin.org/blog.html
[8] http://www.lovingway.org
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