Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain. Acts 2:23
Who was responsible for Jesus’ death? In our text today, Peter in his great Pentecost sermon, reminds his Jewish audience of their role in that death. But was it just the Jews that we can blame?
Peter is correct in his blaming the Jews. The Sanhedrin had plotted to have Jesus arrested and had delivered Him to their leaders for trial. They then delivered Him to Pilate and clamoured for Him to be crucified until that coward gave in. Yes, the Jews bear great blame for Jesus death.
But so do the Gentiles, and Peter acknowledged that by referring to the crucifixion. That was a Roman method of execution. The Jews did not have the authority to execute anyone, so they delivered Jesus to Pilate, who did have that authority. Pilate violated Roman law by sentencing Jesus to death, and even his ceremonial hand washing did not clear that Gentile governor of the blame.
It would be easier on our conscience to say it was just the Jewish and Gentile leaders who were responsible for Jesus’ death. But the Jewish leaders persuaded the people to go along with their vile plot. The people – that’s us – are to blame.
But Peter reminded His audience that God had sent His Son to Calvary to be our Saviour. And Jesus Himself was in full agreement with that. Listen to His words in John 10:17 and 18: ‘Therefore doth my Father love Me, because I lay down My life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself’.
The death of Christ combines divine foreknowledge and purpose with human failure and responsibility. We are to blame, and God is to be praised. -Jim MacIntosh
Here is the link to the video of this message: https://youtu.be/dRld7AaT6-g