This week’s devotion is based on Cross Examined Week 5 – “Why Kill Him?” (CLICK HERE TO WATCH)
Whenever there is a murder, the question naturally arises, “Who did it?” Recently President Trump declassified the rest of the President Kennedy assassination files. For over 60 years various theories have been brought forward about Lee Harvy Oswald, the grassy knoll, communist conspiracies, mafia plans, and more. I was listening to a podcast and a segment was an interview with someone who had thoroughly read and investigated all the documentation and files pertaining to the assassination.
His conclusion? Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone. Even though other groups had desires to see Kennedy dead, there is no evidence that connects Oswald clearly to others who were conspiring against Kennedy.
What was intriguing about this podcast was the detail to which the host explained the difference between an actual conspiracy and conspiracy theory. A key thing that turns a theory into an actual conspiracy is evidence. Not speculation. Not guesses. Not assumptions. Clear evidence.
So who killed Jesus?
The evidence of the Gospels gives the process by which Jesus ended up on the cross. The conspiracy started with the Jewish leaders, tapped Judas for the hand off, utilized the Roman courts for the legal standing to crucify and finally the soldiers overseeing the execution put the person of Jesus on the cross.
All of these things are historical facts.
So is the case closed and we can walk away blaming the Jewish leaders, Judas or the Roman soldiers?
Perhaps.
But then we hear this piece of evidence admitted:
Acts 2:22 “Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. 23 This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross.
Wait. What?
Peter testifies to the crowd at Pentecost that God carried out a “deliberate plan” and had full “foreknowledge” of what was happening.
So was God behind the death of Jesus?
What does the evidence show?
As we look back at the record prior to Jesus being on the cross, we see ample evidence that God was working a plan that was the only way to win the victory over sin and redeem mankind.
From Genesis 3:15: And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”
From Isaiah 53:
But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.
6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
10 Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.
Jesus knew it:
Matthew 26:1-2 When Jesus had finished saying all these things, he said to his disciples, 2 “As you know, the Passover is two days away—and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.”
Certainly the sin of those immediately involved in Jesus’ death was real. However, the evidence shows the answer to the question, “Why kill him?” lies in God’s love for us that he deliberately planned to offer his Son as a sacrifice for our sin by nailing him to the cross.
He was killed by God’s plan for us.
Hebrews 7:26 Such a high priest truly meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. 27 Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself.
Apply: What makes Jesus’ death personal for you?
Prayer: Lord, thank you for perfectly carrying out your plan to save me…even thought it meant sacrificing your Son for my sin. AMEN.