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What makes this Friday good?
On Good Friday, Christians make the extraordinary claim that God Himself, having taken flesh and become man, endured torture and was ultimately nailed to a cross, where after three hours, He “uttered a loud cry, and breathed his last” (Mark 15:37).
So what’s good about it?
Throughout the ages, Christians of all traditions have explained that this happened, and that this Friday is good, because Jesus Christ was on the cross to bear the sins of the world, and because with His resurrection, He conquered death and opened the way to eternal life.
Yet throughout history, some Christians have singled out the Jews, levying upon them nothing less than the charge of deicide. As “Antisemitism: History and Myth” shows, this became the central and most enduring Christian indictment of the Jews, and the basis for countless pogroms throughout history.
Yet of all the charges that haters of the Jews levy against them, this core allegation is one of the strangest, weakest, and most curious of all.
Those who make this claim have their favorite scripture passages. Pontius Pilate, the Roman procurator of Judea, is depicted in the Gospel according to Matthew as facing the Jewish mob that is demanding the execution of Jesus and washing his hands, saying: “I am innocent of this man’s blood; see to it yourselves.” The crowd cries out in response: “His blood be on us and on our children!” (Matthew 27:24)
It was largely on the basis of this passage, as well as one in which Paul says that “the Jews… killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets” (I Thessalonians 2:15), that the charge began that the Jews in the aggregate, or at least those who had rejected the claim that Jesus was the Messiah, were nothing less than murderers, and not just murderers of the Messiah, but in view of the divinity of Christ, murderers of God himself.
Yet it is basic Christian theology that the death of Christ was the result of the sins of all mankind, not one particular group. The apostle Peter says: “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness” (I Peter 2:24). Christ’s death was sacrificial, as He bore the weight of all human sin on the cross. Because of that, and in light of his resurrection, His crucifixion is not the tragedy that it would have been if He had been just an ordinary human being. It is, rather, the basis for the redemption of the world. Every human being who lives now and has ever lived, from this perspective, can say that he or she is responsible for the crucifixion of Christ, for were it not for human sin, there would have been no warrant for his incarnation and sacrifice.
There is more. Read the rest here.
Stive says
It’s always been strange to me knowing the sins of all of us is why Christ died.
After his resurrection, Christ returned to his Jewish apostles until he went to the Father.Christ as the extreme Zionist is returning to zion to save the Jews of Israel at the 2nd coming. People know this but somehow it all doesn’t connect. At Passover when Jesus was crucified, Jerusalem had over a million pilgrim Jews there. A group of Jews did want him crucified but that’s a group out of a million people. Am sure there were other groups of Jews horrified at the event and most Jews not involved at all.
Would it be correct to say when a group antifa attacks a place that The Americans attacked that place ?
somehistory says
Good points, Stive
Jack Flag says
Here is a list of New Testament references about Jews and Pharisees. Note, one definition of antisemitism given by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), and written by Jewish Zionists, is: “Claims of Jews killing Jesus or blood libel”.
Matthew 3:7: But when he [John the Baptist] saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
Matthew 12:14: Then the Pharisees went out, and held a council against him, how they might destroy him [Christ].
Matthew 16:6, 11, 12: Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees. How is it that ye do not understand that I spake it not to you concerning bread, that ye should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees? Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.
Matthew 21:31, 43: Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you [Jewish chief priests and elders]. Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.
Matthew 23:13 – 15: But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows’ houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.
Mark 3:6: And the Pharisees went forth, and straightway took counsel with the Herodians against him, how they might destroy him [Christ].
John 5:15 – 18: The man departed, and told the Jews that it was Jesus, which had made him whole. And therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, and sought to slay him, because he had done these things on the sabbath day. But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work. Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.
John 10:31: Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him [Christ].
John 11:8: His disciples say unto him, Master, the Jews of late sought to stone thee; and goest thou thither again?
John 11:53, 57: Then from that day forth they took counsel together for to put him to death [Christ]. Now both the chief priests and the Pharisees had given a commandment, that, if any man knew where he were, he should shew it, that they might take [arrest] him.
John 18:12: Then the band and the captain and officers of the Jews took Jesus, and bound him.
John 19:7: The Jews answered him, We have a law, and by our law he [Christ] ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God.
John 19:12 – 16: And from thenceforth Pilate sought to release him: but the Jews cried out, saying, If thou let this man go, thou art not Caesar’s friend: whosoever maketh himself a king speaketh against Caesar. When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he brought Jesus forth, and sat down in the judgment seat in a place that is called the Pavement, but in the Hebrew, Gabbatha. And it was the preparation of the passover, and about the sixth hour: and he saith unto the Jews, Behold your King! But they cried out, Away with him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Shall I crucify your King? The chief priests answered, We have no king but Caesar. Then delivered he him therefore unto them to be crucified. And they took Jesus, and led him away.
Acts 2:22, 23, 36: [Peter preaching to the Jews on the Day of Pentecost] Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know: Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.
Acts 4:8 – 10: Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them, Ye rulers of the people, and elders of Israel, If we this day be examined of the good deed done to the impotent man, by what means he is made whole; Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole.
Acts 7:51, 52, 57, 58: [Stephen preaching to the Jews] Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye. Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which shewed before of the coming of the Just One [Jesus]; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers. Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord, And cast him out of the city, and stoned him.
Acts 9:23: And after that many days were fulfilled, the Jews took counsel to kill him [the Apostle Paul].
Acts 12:1 – 3: Now about that time Herod the king, stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church. And he killed James the brother of John with the sword. And because he saw it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also.
Acts 14:19: And there came thither certain Jews from Antioch and Iconium, who persuaded the people, and, having stoned Paul, drew him out of the city, supposing he had been dead.
Acts 23:12: And when it was day, certain of the Jews banded together, and bound themselves under a curse, saying that they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed Paul.
This is the historical record of the divinely inspired New Testament regarding the Pharisees and Jews.
somehistory says
Thank you for posting those Scriptures, Jack. Each one is a “testament” to Truth.
Gamzu says
Early Christians found themselves in a difficult situation. They worshipped someone who was executed by a Roman Governor for claiming to be King of Jews, which was treason against Rome. That made the followers look like traitors to Rome also. So to protect themselves they altered the story to make it appear as if the Roman Governor didn’t really want to execute Jesus and even considered him innocent, but was forced to do so by a mob of evil Jews. Everything we know about the brutal Pontius Pilate from other sources argues against the notion he would cave in to pressure from his Jewish subjects, whom he despised.
As for Paul, the Jews probably did strongly oppose him, since he preached against the Torah (“the Law”), something Jesus did not do.
somehistory says
they did not “alter the story.” They wrote what happened. And, Jesus said that He *fulfilled* the Law, and told them He was “Lord of the Sabbath.”
Jack Flag says
This following based on Acts chapter 2 is most certainly not antisemitic!:
On the day of Pentecost, there were Jews, devout Jews, from all these nations in Jerusalem. And Peter preached to them the Gospel, and 3,000 were saved, baptized and added to the church. All those people in Acts 2 in Jerusalem were Jews.
Christians must preach the Gospel to the Jews and pray for their Salvation.
somehistory says
This too, is Truth. All of the Apostles and first disciples of Jesus, were Jews.
Furthermore, *all* of the writers of the Bible’s account of Jesus’ life, ministry, commandments, death and resurrection, were Jews.
Men who were Jews, wrote of the part the leadership…High Priest, Sanhedrin, Pharisees, Scribes, Sadducees…played in the persecution, lies, attempts on His life, arrest, trial, torture and death of God’s Son.
There were Jews on both sides…some on the side as followers of Christ, and some on the side of satan the devil in putting Jesus in the hands of the Roman government to murder Him.
Alkflaeda says
I think that there were also some who, like the righteous Rabbi Gamaliel in Acts 6, were looking to time to sift truth from error. And I think that it is telling that Jesus was tried before a hand-picked Council by night – it suggests to me that Caiaphas was not confident that he would be able to steer the verdict that he wanted past men who would not stand for injustice, whether or not they were enthused about the defendant.
Stive says
One other item is about Jesus Christ.and Jesus Bar Abbas (Barabbas). Some people in that group didn’t necessarily hate Christ but loved Bar Abbas.Bar Abbas was a criminal were made to believe. He was a criminal by Roman law but his actual crime was constant insurrection against roman occupation and why the hearts of some wanted him released instead of Christ..
Many today would back the patriot over the one not fighting but promising things not seeable by the eyes at the moment.
Such is human nature. I warm that as Christs returns is close, many christians will go for the here and now promises of another and not go for Christ as a vast repeat of Christs first coming. I see it happening already so good hearted people wake up.
sporticus says
“deicide…this became the central and most enduring Christian indictment of the Jews, and the basis for countless pogroms throughout history.”
Given the slurs and worse that the Jewish people have endured I have been really puzzled by the emergence in recent years of the term “Judea-Christian values”.
I’m not aware there has been any grand ecumenical celebration.
Who started circulating the idea or phrase? Not anyone at Harvard. And among the vicious Western supporters of Hamas there must be many, many, at least nominal, Christians -I didn’t see any of them waving a cardboard placard scrawled with those words.
At first glance I think the usage “Judea-Christian values” is probably connected with some kind America-Israeli political lobbying -or maybe you just might want to sell your book?
Or maybe not, in the case of Douglas Murray.
As much as I am a fan of Douglas Murray, his use of the term focussed my attention when he used it during a long interview the other day on Unherd.
Its use could be seen as natural to the occasion since Mr. Murray has just published a book about 7 October. He doesn’t need to push his book and I doubt he is lobbying anything or anyone for anything. But still, I was bemused to think that he probably would never have used the phrase, or known of it, when he was at Oxford twenty or thirty years ago.
Maybe one day I will be really, really, surprised (shocked!) when people (and even Douglas Murray) begin to use the phrase “Israeli-Palestinian values”.
SKA says
“Judea-Christian values”. For your information three-quarters of what Christians consider their Holy Scripture consists of the Jewish “Old Testament.” At least 90% of the ethical teachings of the New Testament are derived from the Old Testament. Hence “Judeo-Christian” values.
gravenimage says
Yes, Jews and Chrstians have almost identical values. The term dates back at least to the 19th century, but was popularized in part by George Orwell.
Tony Rice says
I fail to see the purpose or justification of Jesus dying to take on the sins of all the world, why should mankind be absolved of what we do, not logical nor in fact a sensible act . Plus the fact the Israelites were so in awe of God that they would not even mention his name, except in the most necessary of circumstances, so when comes along a person who says he is the son of God, no wonder the Jews were placed in a most difficult set of circumstances, and one that should have been forseen by the ” son of God ” himself. In fact one could say very naughty of him to have placed such a problem and burden on his fellow people. By all accounts he was a wonderful person but who was born a Jew, lived a Jewish life and died a Jew, he did NOT set up another religion
Stive says
Look up bill schlagal. The son of God is one with God but is not God and he presents it using scripture quite well. His explanations do not contradict any scripture but is another way of looking at those scriptures. Is he right ? Is he wrong ? I do not know. But I lean towards him being right. Just watch his many videos and come to your own conclusions. If he is right, that would cause much blindness upon Israel by the doctrines out there.
somehistory says
All of what you wrote is your opinion. Furthermore, Jesus did tell the people what they would do to Him before they did it.
In fact, there are over 300 verses in the Hebrew Scriptures about the Son of God…before ever He came. The Jews knew.
somehistory says
Blaming the Jews of today for what Jews did to Jesus, is wrong.
Many Jews of that time, the leadership and those who listened to, and followed those leaders, were responsible for the murder of Christ Jesus.
Many Jews of that time were also followers of Jesus, became preachers of the “good news,” and helped other Jews and Gentiles to know Christ.
None of those people are alive today. We have the writings of Jesus’ Apostles, Jude and Dr. Luke to guide us in our actions, thoughts and words. None of them hide the Truth of what some of their people did to Jesus. And none of them tell us to hate the Jews for what their forefathers did.
Jesus willingly “obeyed even unto death,” so all who put faith in Him can have eternal life….**all** means of any tribe, people, nation and tongue.
As Peter wrote, “God is not partial.”
Daniel Bielak says
REGARDING BLAMING OTHERS:
“Easily seen is the fault of others, but one’s own fault is difficult to see. Like chaff one winnows another’s faults, but hides one’s own, even as a crafty fowler hides behind sham branches.”
—The Buddha, Dhammapada Verse 69, Khuddaka Nikāya, Sutta Piṭaka, Tipiṭaka
REGARDING RELIGIOUS IDEOLOGY:
“… Don’t go by reports, by legends, by traditions, by scripture, by logical conjecture, by inference, by analogies, by agreement through pondering views, by probability, or by the thought, ‘This contemplative is our teacher.’ When you know for yourselves that, ‘These qualities are skillful; these qualities are blameless; these qualities are praised by the wise; these qualities, when adopted & carried out, lead to welfare & to happiness’—then you should enter & remain in them …”
—The Buddha, Kalama Sutta, Aṅguttara Nikāya, Sutta Piṭaka, Tipiṭaka
ATTITUDES THAT ARE BENEFICIAL FOR EVERYONE TO HAVE
“‘He abused me, he struck me, he overpowered me, he robbed me.’ Those who harbor such thoughts do not still their hatred.
“‘He abused me, he struck me, he overpowered me, he robbed me.’ Those who do not harbor such thoughts still their hatred.
“Hatred is never appeased by hatred in this world. By non-hatred alone is hatred appeased. This is a law eternal.
“There are those who do not realize that one day we all must die. But those who do realize this settle their quarrels.”
—The Buddha, Dhammapada – Verses 3-6, Khuddaka Nikāya, Sutta Piṭaka, Tipiṭaka
“… As a mother would risk her own life to protect her only child, even so towards all living beings one should cultivate a boundless heart….”
—The Buddha, Excerpt from the Karaniya Metta Sutta—the Discourse on Loving-Kindness, Sutta Nipata, Khuddaka Nikāya, Sutta Piṭaka, Tipiṭaka
—————-
The Dhammapada: The Buddha’s Path of Wisdom, translated from the Pali by Acharya Buddharakkhita, with an introduction by Bhikkhu Bodhi
https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/dhp/dhp.intro.budd.html
Refuge: An Introduction to the Buddha, Dhamma, & Sangha, by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.
https://www.dhammatalks.org/books/#refuge
“A short introduction to the basic principles of Buddhism. Included are readings drawn from the earliest Buddhist texts and essays explaining aspects of the Triple Refuge that often provoke questions in those who are new to the Buddha’s teachings.“
Zimriel says
I Thessalonians 2:15 is debated in NT scholarship as a postPauline intrusion, possibly Marcionite.
sporticus says
I wasn’t suggesting that “Judeo-Christian values” don’t exist. I was saying something else.
Easy to be misunderstood. And by the way,
“maybe you just might want to sell your book”
is not a reference to Robert Spencer but is meant as a generalisation. I could have written
“maybe one just might want to sell one’s book”
but it’s difficult to us “one” these days because it can make one sound inadvertently posh and subject to parody.
This is another way:
“maybe an author just might want to sell their book”.
“kind” should be “kind of”.
sporticus says
This was a reply to SKA
dumbledoresarmy says
The ‘genocide!!” charge being levelled at Israel – and, indeed, by association and extension, against all Jews everywhere!! – at present, in relation to Israel’s vigorous self-defence against Jihad Fortress Gaza, is being used instead of the ‘deicide!’ charge to whip people into a frenzy of rage.
Today’s western non-religious/ atheistic progressives would just yawn – would roll about laughing – if someone proposed to them that the Joooz were eeeevil because “the Jooz killed God”. What God? says the progressive. Why should *I* care if somebody 2000 years ago ‘killed god’? (Leaving aside, of course, the completely cogent arguments that Mr Spencer has just deployed, to show that even when the charge was current, it was profoundly false.)
So a different charge is cooked up, a charge ironically using a term that a Jewish historian found himself compelled to coin, when he was studying the Muslim – Turkish and Arab Muslim – mass-murder of Armenian, Greek and Assyrian non-Muslim dhimmi communities within the Ottoman empire.
So now the Jews are screechingly accused of ‘genocide!’ every time a bunch of rabid Gazan Arab Muslim jihad fighters – or members of their community that are willingly or unwillingly functioning as human shields – get killed in the course of close-quarters urban-warfare fighting within the heavily-armoured many-levelled labyrinth that is Jihad Fortress Gaza. Even though there are 22 populous Arab Islamic states of this and that, numbering many many millions of people and the only people being killed within most of those are being killed by .. their fellow Arab or Arabised Muslims!! Even though the ratio of presumed-civilian to active-combatant deaths in Gaza is… even when one uses Hamas’ rubbery figures … extraordinarily low, compared to that of any other war in the 20th and 21st century, for which we have numbers.
And of course as a corollary of the ‘genocide!’ charge, the accusers can revamp a really ancient antisemitic trope, the medieval accusation that the Jews are ‘baby killers’!
Note: Jacques Ellul in his magnificent book ‘Un Chretien Pour Israel’ (1983) discusses all of these subjects with lapidary clarity… and way back in 1983 he noted that the (utterly and provably false) ‘genocide’ charge was ALREADY being used in anti-Israel propaganda.
Daniel Bielak says
+1
gravenimage says
Spot on, DDA.