Like a board game of Clue with multiple suspects in play, people have questioned who the real murderer of Jesus is. As the courtroom drama unfolds, let’s start with a key suspect, Judas Iscariot, one of Jesus’ own disciples, who, with evil premeditation, betrayed Him for money. He’s the one who led a large crowd armed with swords & clubs, including a detachment of Roman soldiers & temple guards, to Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. Judas was undeniably an accomplice, yet he didn’t kill Jesus.
Next come the Jewish leaders—the Sanhedrin, the supreme legal council of the time, made up of chief priests, elders, & scribes. They viewed Jesus as a threat to their power & prestige. They’re the ones who sent the soldiers to arrest Him so they could put Him through a rigged trial. They would have put this innocent man to death themselves, but didn’t have the authority to do so under Roman occupation. These despicable men certainly had blood on their hands, but they didn’t kill Jesus.
They handed Him over to the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate, to execute Him. But Pilate repeatedly declared he found no basis for the charges & tried to release Jesus. Yet when the crowd—stirred up by the Jewish leaders—demanded crucifixion, Pilate caved to the pressure. He held the final authority to prevent the execution, but instead washed his hands, declaring, “I am innocent of this man’s blood.” Jesus pointed out to him: “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin” (John 19:11). Pilate authorized the death penalty, but even he did not kill Jesus.
Instead, the Jewish crowd willingly accepted that responsibility, calling out: “His blood be on us and on our children!” (Matt. 27:25). Throughout history, this claim has led to blaming the descendants of these Jewish people as “Christ-killers,” resulting in centuries of anti-Semitic prejudice. But no one should be held responsible for the sins of their ancestors. In fact, not even the majority of Jews back then wanted Jesus dead. The Jerusalem crowd hailed Him as Messiah just days prior on Palm Sunday. Some like to say that the same crowd that shouted ‘Hosanna!’ on Sunday shouted ‘Crucify!’ on Friday. But that doesn’t seem to be the case. The crowd calling for crucifixion was instigated by their leaders; most of the population of Jerusalem & everyone beyond weren’t even aware of the trial until it was too late. The Jewish people collectively, then or now, did not kill Jesus.
Who actually carried out the execution? Roman soldiers nailed Jesus’ hands & feet to the cross & hoisted Him into the air, leaving Him to die a slow, agonizing death. These soldiers inflicted unimaginable suffering, but they were simply following orders from their superiors. They didn’t kill Jesus either.
We could keep passing the blame around, but isn’t the true culprit Satan? There is truth in that. He was the real force pulling the strings behind it all, beginning with instigating & entering Judas. When Jesus died, the devil thought he’d defeated his enemy. But even Satan didn’t kill Jesus.
Then who did it? The answer is no one. Jesus Himself declared it plainly: “…I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again” (John 10:17-18). Jesus came into the world with the deliberate purpose of getting crucified for sin. He was in control the entire time. Various people wanted to kill Him at other points, but they couldn’t (Luke 4:29-30, John 7:6-8, 30, 8:20). No one could. When it was time, Jesus purposely headed to Jerusalem, knowing what needed to happen (Luke 9:51, 13:33, 18:31-33). Even as He was being arrested in the Garden, He acknowledged that He could stop it any time He wanted (Matt. 26:53-54). Instead, He sacrificed Himself, not as a vulnerable martyr, but as our voluntary substitute.
Some might object: If Jesus died for our sins, doesn’t that mean we’re the ones who killed Him? In a sense, yes—our rebellion against God made the cross necessary. As one popular preacher put it: “Our sins were the nails that nailed Him to that tree—and our hard hearts were the hammers that drove those nails” (Adrian Rogers). But actually the better saying is: “It wasn’t the nails that held Him to the cross—it was His love for you & me.” He didn’t have to. No one forced Him. He said: “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13).
Jesus didn’t just die for friends—He died for all sinners. “…At the right time Christ died for the ungodly… [for if] while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life” (Rom. 5:6, 10). That’s what makes Good Friday—a horrific day of death—so profoundly good. Jesus paid for our sins & His sacrifice was then vindicated by the Resurrection. Because He died, I can be forgiven; because He lives, no one can take my life—my life belongs to the Lord, & I’m going to live forever.