Between the hatred of the High Priest and his band for Jesus, the complacent compliance of Pilate, the
testimonies of the witnesses for hire and the actions of the Roman soldiers who implemented the scourging,
the beatings, the taunting and all manner of torment, both the Jewish and Gentile world of mankind can be
certain that no one people is guilty of the evil punishment that was afforded the One Who entered into the
world to redeem them, to save them from their sin and everlasting hell. I believe the movie adequately makes
this point in a very clear way, so that, anyone crying “foul” and suggesting that it is somehow anti-Semitic
is just plain wrong. Christians do not see the Jews as “Jesus killers” or as enemies. Christianity is the logical
outgrowth of Judaism. It is founded upon the realization that God kept His Word and sent His Messiah into
the world, as He said He would. That He plainly identified Him by sending Him into the society of Israel,
through the womb of a pure virgin, as He said He would. It is the realization that Messiah would suffer evil
at the hands of sinful man, no matter what their stripe or ethnicity, paying the price of sin and opening the
way for men to be saved from their sin and become heirs of heaven. No one race, no one ethnicity, no one
religious system put Jesus to death. It was the culmination of all the sin of all the people of  the world that
made it necessary for Him to come into the world of humanity and die. And be raised from the dead and
ascend into heaven, making a place for all who would accept His selfless sacrifice. All the discussions and
wrangling about who killed Jesus are pointless and groundless when one is armed with the facts. But, there
will always be those whose minds are made up and who cannot be bothered with the facts. For these, I reit-
erate, that there are two choices; either I accept Jesus and His vicarious sacrifice for me on the cross and
become a son of God through Him, or, I do not accept His suffering for my  sin, no matter how ignominious
and pay for my own sin for all eternity in hell. It’s really a “no brainer”, as Dr. D. James Kennedy put it. I
cannot be more explicit than that. Jesus died at the hands and for the sakes of the whole world, the entire
body of humanity. “For in this manner God loved the world [of mankind], that He gave His only uniquely
born Son, that whoever is trusting in Him will not be utterly destroyed, BUT will be [continually] having
everlasting life” (John 3:16, an original literal translation). It is this cosmos, the entire world of humanity that
God set His love upon and seeks to woe to Himself and redeem from the power, the penalty and the pres-
ence of sin. God the Son would, thus, demonstrate the love of the Father by giving Himself a ransom for
all would believe and accept His free gift of life. “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we
were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 9  Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved
from wrath through him. 10  For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his
Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. 11 And not only so, but we also joy in God
through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement” (Romans 5:8-11).

     My wife had belonged to a Christian singing group when she was in college. There was a song they
sang, called, “Who killed Jesus?” which always effected me deeply. When we were in pastorates, or, when I
preached a special message at Easter, I would have her precede my sermon and sing that song. It always
made my throat tighten, my voice crack and my eye balls sweat. It still does. Then, I had to get up and try to
give my message. I have no idea who the author is or when it was written. But I think the words are pro-
found; it poses the question, offers a litany of possible suspects and arrives at the only scriptural answer.

     Why He died was to provide the atonement for the sins of all humanity, to open the portal between
heaven and earth, so that all who trust in Him would be saved for all time and eternity. Those who confess
that they have no sin are not only proven to be liars and deluding themselves (1 John 1:6,8), but, are calling
God a liar Who testified that “all have sinned” (Romans 3:23).  His Word cannot abide in them nor they in
His heaven. “If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us” (1 John 1:10).
And further, they have removed themselves from ever being able to be saved, as long as they persist in their
delusion. No one can be saved until he acknowledges his sin, because, until he has done that he doesn’t see
a need for a Savior. It isn’t that he has no need, but that he sees no need. He is without a clear vision for the
truth. Without that, there is no hope. Solomon said; “Where there is no vision, the people perish (Proverbs
29:18).” It pays to see wisely and accept what God has spoken concerning us.  The aforementioned, Doctor
Miller used to remind us, “Now, students. You will never get anyone saved until you have first gotten them
lost.” Translation: Until a person sees that he is hopelessly lost he (or, she) will never seek to be found.
Confronted with the righteousness and holiness of Christ, a person cannot help but see the helplessness,
the filth and depravity of his own soul. Having made this discovery, the question is whether he will allow the
Lord Jesus Christ to save him, or, will he allow the devil to talk him out of it and be hopelessly, helplessly
and forever lost? Have you ever pondered the haunting words to the last verse of the hymn, Almost Per-
suaded?  Think about them for a moment and what they may say about you.

     Have you realized your own personal need, yet, for a Savior from your personal sin? I’m not asking if you
have become a member of a church, or have been baptized, nor whether you have completed catechism
classes,  nor if you were confirmed or were received as a child of some covenant. I am asking whether or not
you have personally received Jesus Christ as your personal Savior from sin. That is the only basis for sal-
vation given by God to be saved and become a child of God with full access and entitlement to Him and to
Heaven.