"Who killed Jesus?" During the Middle Ages, Crusaders sometimes killed Jewish people on their way to free Jerusalem from the Turks. These Crusaders read Peter's sermon in Acts 2 and concluded the Jewish leaders of the first century were responsible for the death of Jesus. A group of people was wrongly punished for the actions of their ancestors.

According to the account Illustration by the Apostle Matthew, the Romans were responsible for killing Jesus. The Roman governor, Pilate delivered Jesus to death, even while declaring him an innocent man. The Roman soldiers led Jesus down the Via Dolorosa and publicly executed him.

Believers in Jesus do not argue about who killed Jesus. Ultimately, each person is responsible for the death of Jesus on the cross. Jesus willingly surrendered his life, and died to pay the penalty for the sins of Jews and Romans, Europeans, and Americans. Our self centered and unrighteous actions sent Jesus to the cross. He took the punishment of death we deserve and offers every man, woman, and child peace with God.

2 Corinthians 5:21. "God made Him who knew no sin (Jesus) to be sin on our behalf, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him."

As you know, everybody is talking about “The Passion of the Christ” movie. By now, I know that most of you have seen the movie and have had a chance to evaluate it from a critical and personal perspective. Prior to going, I’d read several reviews and noted that the reviewers had a split reaction to it. Some of them liked it, others didn’t. I was particularly interested in the reaction of David Denby of The New Yorker. He wrote, “The movie Gibson has made from his personal obsessions is a sickening death trip, a grimly unilluminating procession of treachery, beatings, blood, and agony…. Gibson is so thoroughly fixated on the scourging and crushing of Christ, and so meagerly involved in the spiritual meanings of the final hours, that he falls in danger of altering Jesus' message of love into one of hate."

You may be anticipating that I read that quote to you so I could be critical of the critic, and if you did, you are mistaken. I am interested in his description of the Passion Week as a “grimly unilluminating procession of treachery, beatings, blood and agony.” Though I’d take exception with the word “unilluminating,” I’d say Denby got it right. The passion was grim. And there were a procession of treachery, beatings, blood and agony. Something we 21st century Christians need to be reminded of.

Deut. 21:22-23 NASB "And if a man has committed a sin worthy of death, and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, [23] his corpse shall not hang all night on the tree, but you shall surely bury him on the same day (for he who is hanged is accursed of God), so that you do not defile your land which the Lord your God gives you as an inheritance.”

In his article, "The Changing Face of the Church, Kenneth Woodward wrote: "In India, where sin is identified with bad karma in this and previous lives, many converts interpret the cross to mean that Jesus' self-sacrifice removes their own karmic deficiencies, thus liberating their souls from future rebirths."

Jesus didn't die on the cross to cure "karmic deficiencies," He died to save people from their sins and provide a new life to all who believe. The cross cannot be adapted or molded to fit a religious system. It must be proclaimed, though, as the greatest act of sacrifice and the source of our hope.

Ephesians 2:16 NIV "and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility."

The man who took the role of Jesus experienced some torment of his own in playing the part. Actor James Caviezel who plays the role of Jesus in the new Mel Gibson film, The Passion of The Christ. The 35-year-old actor had previously turned down the role of Jesus in a play and two TV projects, but says he accepted this time because he sensed Gibson's commitment to telling the story without restraint. He said, "That's where Mel and I share the same common denominator. I want the absolute fullness of the truth, or I don't want to do it at all."

Being so truthful gave Caviezel the opportunity to experience some of what Jesus experienced. Caviezel had to hang on a cross in bone chilling winds, and he was struck by lightning during a recreation of the Sermon on the Mount. The worst scar he bears is a 14-inch gash in his back inflicted by an actor playing a Roman torturer.

On one occasion during filming, Director Mel Gibson instructed the two actors inflicting a simulated beating to hurl their lashes overhand like they were throwing a baseball. Caviezel's back was protected by a board, but the new technique caused one actor to miss the board and actually hit Caviezel. He said later, "It just extended over the board and hit me with such a velocity that I couldn't breathe. It's like getting the wind knocked out of you. The stinging is so horrific that you can't get air."

A few moments later, Caviezel was struck a second time. He says, "I turned around and looked at the guy, and I tell you, I may be playing Jesus, but I felt like Satan at that moment."

—http://cnn.entertainment.com, February 26, 2004. The man who plays Jesus, Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell.

What James Caviezel went through to produce a motion picture was frightening and painful, but nothing compared to what Jesus actually endured for us.

Isaiah 53:5 NIV "But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed."

We don’t have an equivalent to the cross in our culture, because modern capital punishment doesn’t come close to being as sadistic. In his book, the Case for Easter, Lee Strobel describes the flogging and crucifixion as “a beating so barbarous that it shocks the conscience, and a form of capital punishment so depraved that it stands as wretched testimony to man’s inhumanity to man.” Just as we don’t have an equivalent to the pain of the cross, neither do we have one for the shame of the cross—to hang on display while a crowd gathers to mock and leer. The pain of the cross was compounded by the shame of the cross.

I suppose most of us would prefer to hang a gold chain around our neck with a gold plated, diamond studded cross for ornamentation than to visualize the pain and shame we heaped upon Jesus at the cross. It was our shame that He bore.

1 Cor. 15:3 NASB “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,”

When General Peter Schoomaker took the position of Army Chief of Staff, he knew the job would be difficult. He was surprised to find out that the job had killed him. General Schoomaker said he was shocked when an official Pentagon notice arrived at his home notifying him that he had died. Schoomaker said, "It actually said I'd died."

His wife was shocked too. When she saw the notice she asked her husband, "What's this?"

General Schoomaker says that the strange notice has a reasonable explanation. Taking the job as Army Chief of Staff required him to come out of retirement. When the Pentagon accounting staff saw that his name had been dropped from the retired officers payroll, they concluded his name had been moved for the usual reason: death. Naturally, they sent the proper notification.

—Associated Press, Army Chief of Staff receives Own Death Notice, February 10, 2004. Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell.

When we take accept the sacrifice of Jesus on our behalf, we move from death to life.

Galatians 2:20 NIV "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, whom loved me and gave himself for me.”

During the Easter season, a radical group of Roman Catholics re-enact the Crucifixion in an event known as "Karabrio" in the village of Cutud, a village 50 miles north of Manila, Philippines. In 2006, Dominik Diamond, a British broadcaster was set to join them and be only the second Westerner to be crucified. After watching nine men be crucified, Diamond backed out saying, "God wanted me only to pray at the foot of my cross." The crowds booed as he sank to his knees and cried.

—http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,25689-2135354,00.html. Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and James Hodsden.

Christ is the only one who can pay the price for our sins. He took the punishment so we would not have to. Diamond was right, he just wants us to pray at the foot of the cross.

1 Corinthians 1:23 (TEV) "As for us, we proclaim the crucified Christ, a message that is offensive to the Jews and nonsense to the Gentiles."

In the early 1990s Bernard Coffindaffer exhausted his fortune spending millions of dollars placing crosses along highways in 30 states. His passion was to inspire people by showing them the cross. When Coffindaffer died in 1993, the project ended and the crosses he set up were left to deteriorate. Though the symbol of the cross has become controversial these days, a volunteer group based in Mississippi wants to refurbish the existing crosses and blanket America with new ones.

Sarah Abraham, Executive Director of Crosses Across America, says the goal is to place crosses every 25 miles all across America. The group places three crosses to symbolize the story of Christ's crucifixion. Originally the center cross was painted gold to represent royalty and the side crosses were pale blue symbolizing the earth. The total cost of the project will be around $7 million.

Abraham says "What you do is put them out there and you pray that every single person that sees them is ministered to by them." The crosses seem to have a positive effect for some. Jim Rippy, a Michigan driver, likes the idea. He says, "I don't know, it makes me feel pretty good."

—www.assistnews.net (Assist News Service), 'Crosses Across America' wants to blanket the nation with inspirational symbols along the nation's highways, March 10, 2005. Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell.

John 12:32-33 NLT "And when I am lifted up on the cross, I will draw everyone to myself." [33] He said this to indicate how he was going to die."

After the release of the motion picture, The Passion of the Christ, actor-director Mel Gibson said the film was unfairly prejudged, but added that he forgives his critics.

Gibson told Jay Leno on NBC's, The Tonight Show, "For a year it's been nothing but nasty editorials and name-calling." He said he would try to adopt a loving attitude "even for those who persecute you."

Gibson acknowledged the movie is violent and said it was R-rated for a reason. He mentioned other recent films and asked, "Why am I being picked on for this? There's far more violent movies." He added, "I don't know any director, any artist who would bow to this kind of pressure. It's un-American."

Gibson alleged a copy of the script had been taken before the film was completed which lead to "all these accusations of anti-Semitism." Gibson denies the film is anti-Semitic. He said," "That's not what the film is about. It's about tolerance."

—Associated Press, February 26, 2004, Gibson Laments judgment of 'Passion.' Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell.

The true message of the cross is certainly not tolerance. It is forgiveness. Jesus died to forgive all the sins of prejudice, name-calling, cruelty, and violence committed by men and women. Jesus offers forgiveness to all and restores mankind's proper relationship with our Heavenly father.

Romans 5:6-8 NIV "You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

An interfaith group founded by the leader of the Unification church, Sun Myong Moon is leading an effort to have Christian ministers remove crosses from their churches. This group says the cross is a symbol of oppression and perceived superiority. The group’s goal is to bring peace to the Middle East and the rest of the world by reconciling members of the world’s three largest religions.

National Chairman of the American Clergy Leadership Conference (ACLC), Augustus Stallings Jr. says there are certain symbols that stand in the way of bringing a true spirit of reconciliation and the cross is one of them. The ACLA is asking Christian churches to remove the cross from their buildings to demonstrate their willingness to remove barriers that stand in the way of individuals coming together as people of faith. Stallings feels the cross is central to the teaching about the grace of God, but argues that throughout history, Christians have used the cross to send messages of religious intolerance, racism, and forced conversations. He contends these divergent message connected with the symbol of the cross is the problem.

Michael Schwartz of Concerned Women for America responded by saying that taking away the symbol of the cross was bigoted and intolerant itself. He said, “Reconciliation and peace do not grow out of intolerance.” He says groups that do not believe Jesus Christ was God want to stifle the group that believes Jesus was God. Schwartz observed, “Is that peace through conquest, peace through surrender, peace through requiring that Christians cease proclaiming their Christianity? That is not an offer of peace.”

—CNSNEWS.com, August 22, 2003, Christian Churches should stop using the Cross, Group Says, written by Jeff Johnston, Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell

The cross is the doorway to peace with God. Peace with God is the doorway to peace between men.

Colossians 1:19-20 NIV “For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.”

Protesters in Bankok, Thailand are spilling blood in demonstrations demanding that current Prime Minister Abhist Vejjajiva step down and that their country holds new elections. But they are aren’t spilling blood in the way you might think. Let me read an excerpt from a news story: “As dawn broke on March 16, hundreds lined up at medical tents, where nurses siphoned blood from their veins into 2 liter water bottles and juice jugs. The protesters then marched to Government House—the Prime Minister’s official residence and office complex—and in a macabre pantomime of revolution, literally spilled their blood on the compound’s gates and front steps.”

The Christian revolution is one of spilled blood as well. But it isn’t our blood or the blood of our enemies that was spilt. We receive redemption because of Christ’s blood that He spilt on the cross of Calvary.

1 Peter 1:18-19 (NKJV) “knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, (19) but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.”

Crucifixion was a terrible way to die. In fact, Romans almost never described this ultimate penalty. There are four detailed accounts of crucifixion that have survived until today. They all describe the same execution—that of “a Jew by the name of Jesus … resurrected into a new and glorious form. … By enduring the most agonizing fate imaginable, he had conquered death itself.”

It was this awful death that Jesus died for us, that we might have life. Paul says, “I will glory in the cross.”—Jim L. Wilson and Rodger Russell.

But as for me, I will never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. The world has been crucified to me through the cross, and I to the world.