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Pastor's Corner  By Rev. Dr. George Hancock-Stefan Central Baptist Church Atlantic Highlands, NJ

PEOPLE WHO CRUCIFIED CHRIST - CAIAPHAS, PILATE, BARRABAS, YOU AND ME
5 April 2001

In the annals of Church History there are many dark spots and one of them is the labeling of the Jews as Christ-killers. A quick reading of the gospels shows that Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin had been responsible for the crucifixion of Jesus.

A more careful reading of the Scripture reveals that due to the fact that the Romans occupied the land of Israel, the Jews could not condemn anyone to death. The death sentence was the responsibility of Pilate. The Bible shows that Pilate was aware that he was crucifying an innocent man. 

A fleeting reading of Scripture is to say that a bloody revolution won the day. Barrabas was an insurrectionist, while Christ was a peaceful man. The people always prefer a revolution and so Barrabas crucified the Lord Jesus - it was an exchange - the Man of Peace for the Man of War.

In the conversation between Pilate and Jesus, Pilate blurted: "Don't you know that I have power to release and I have power to condemn you to death?". Jesus replied to him that he did not have any power, except the power that God, His Father gave to him.

It was Caiaphas, it was Pilate, it was Barrabas, it was you, and me. The prophet Isaiah writing 700 years before the crucifixion said: "We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all" (Isaiah 53:6). When Jesus was crucified, he was crucified because all have sinned. He died on the cross for the sins of all. 

A well-known song tells us that he could have called ten thousand angels to release him from the cross, but because He loved me and you as much as He loved Pilate and Caiaphas, He stayed on the cross.

Who crucified Jesus? It was you and I together with all the sinners of this world who put Him on the cross. It was for all the sinners of the world that Jesus Christ prayed Father, forgive them for they do not know what they do!

Contact Pastor George: cbcbeacon@aol.com

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