The Pastors and Theologians Killed Jesus
God showed up on planet Earth. His name was Jesus. Some people loved him, some weren’t sure what to make of him, and others saw him as a threat to get rid of. Who killed Jesus? Who wanted to get rid of God in their midst?
As a religious leader the answer troubles me. The people most opposed to God in their midst were the religious leaders - the very people who were supposed to be serving God and encouraging God’s people to do the same. In Matthew’s account of the life of Jesus we are told that there came a point where, “the chief priests and the elders of the people assembled in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas, and they schemed to arrest Jesus secretly and kill him” (Matt. 26:3,4).
The clergy, the theologians, the pious, all wanted to see Jesus killed. There were some exceptions, like Nicodemus and Joseph of Aramathea who were both religious leaders and disciples of Jesus. Although we are told that Joseph was a secret disciple, “because he feared the Jewish leaders” (John 19:38). He knew the danger of being faithful to Jesus within the faith community of his day. However, it was the people who had the greatest knowledge of the Scriptures; who had the best theological education; who had invested their lives in seeking to serve God; these were people who sought to undermine, silence, and then kill the one who was God incarnate.
It sounds crazy, the church leaders are the people most committed to removing Jesus. Why would they do that? Power and control. John reveals the heart of the religious leaders when they state that “If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our temple and our nation” (John 11:48). They are afraid of losing their positions of power. They are afraid that Jesus could undermine their nationalistic aspirations. So, the leader of the assembly, Caiaphas, says, “It is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish” John 11:50). How little he understood just how true those words would be. Except not just to protect the Jewish nation, but rather to bring salvation to all nations.
They weren’t content with just leaving it at killing Jesus, they also wanted to kill Lazarus too. We are told, “the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well, for on account of him many of the Jews were going over to Jesus and believing in him.” Of course it was the religious folks who became the first persecutors of the early Christian community.
It was the religious leaders who not only rejected Jesus, but also incited the crowd to scream, “Crucify him!” As they demanded the release of Barabbas, an insurrectionist.
It leaves me wondering about the ways religious leaders and theologians conspire today to remove Jesus from the church. Of course they’d never say it like that, but it happens just the same. Some of it is easy to see in the form of blatant heresy like Christian Nationalism. At other times it is more subtle like suggesting the Sermon on the Mount is an ideal for the future kingdom, but not practical for daily living, ignoring the final statement of Jesus that this wise person is the one who actually puts his words into practice in the present.
Thinking about who killed Jesus and why, should keep every religious leader (pastor/elder/theologian) focused and paying careful attention to make sure they are following Jesus and not falling into the abyss of seeking power, proclaiming a nationalistic message, diminishing God’s image in others, and failing to love all people.
Too many of us religious leaders refuse to acknowledge the whole counsel of God’s word. It is like Rich Mullins once famously told a group at a church, “You guys are all into that born again thing, which is great. We do need to be born again, since Jesus said that to a guy named Nicodemus. But if you tell me I have to be born again to enter the kingdom of God, I can tell you that you just have to sell everything you have and give it to the poor, because Jesus said that to one guy too… But I guess that’s why God invented highlighters, so we can highlight the parts we like and ignore the rest."
Unfortunately I know too many people who have left the church because of leaders like this. These folks still love Jesus, but can’t abide what they see in the church. God help those who have pushed both Jesus and other people out of the church.
