It was a strange scene.
A group of twelve Jewish men in a house in Jerusalem. The house filled with the sound of rushing wind. A tongue of fire resting on each one. Each one speaking in a different language he had never learned. Passers-by stand there, stunned. These devout Jews from all over the world were each hearing these Galileans speaking to them in the language of their home country.
A rugged man, a fisherman, steps forward to address the crowd.
The apostle Peter didn’t answer their curiosity; rather, he confronted the crowd with Jesus Christ—the one God had authenticated through mighty works and wonders and signs.
This clear demonstration was God confronting mankind with his Son—the Saviour of the world. To accept him or reject him were the only options; it was not possible to sit on the fence.
The ones he had created made their choice, and it was a shocking choice. The one who was worthy of their worship, they chose to murder.
Who killed Jesus?
We read how the Roman soldiers brutally tortured and crucified him. But they were not the only ones responsible. The High Priest and the elders of Israel all cried, “Crucify him, crucify him.”
So even though they hadn’t done the physical deed, the Jewish people had indeed killed Jesus.
But was it only the Jews that killed him?
Peter makes a shocking revelation. He said that Jesus was delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God. God’s providence is a great mystery. God had planned that his Son would die, and yet was in no way involved in the sin of the murder. Others, by their own choice, had executed the murder. They accomplished what their murderous hearts had set out to do, but God was working out his loving and righteous plan.
But why would God plan for his Son to be killed? To save sinners like you.
The answer to the question of who killed Jesus is answered in a hymn we know well.
We often sing a hymn that gives us the answer.
Behold the man upon a cross,
My sin upon His shoulders;
Ashamed, I hear my mocking voice
Call out among the scoffers.
It was my sin that held Him there
Until it was accomplished;
Who killed Jesus?
You did!
But God had revealed his plan centuries before his Son’s death. The Jesus you killed, God raised from the dead.
There were plans to cover it up, but it was witnessed by many. It was no delusion, no hallucination, no figment of the imaginations of followers of a dead teacher. Jesus had stepped out of the grave as the mighty warrior who had defeated death.
But he wasn’t only destined to die and rise from the dead. There was glory that awaited him. The Jesus you killed, God exalted—taken into the presence of his Father—given the seat of power and authority. The victorious Jesus Christ also received what the Father had promised, and he poured out the Spirit of God on his people as was prophesied and promised.
The Jesus you killed demands a response, but there is nothing that can be said in your defence. So, in the pain of guilt and the anguish of hopelessness, all you can do is cry out for help.
The help comes from an unexpected source—the Jesus you killed is the answer to your guilt. Surprisingly, the apostle says to the seeker, “repent and be baptised every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.”
Repentance is something we are familiar with. In his Gospel, Luke uses the contrition and the turning of the men of Nineveh from sin to illustrate repentance, and we understand that.
But when Peter says, “be baptised every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins,” we are taken aback because the Bible clearly teaches that salvation is by grace, through faith. Repentance and faith are the clear road to peace with God—they are two sides of the same coin.
We’ve stumbled on a helpful parallel: repentance and faith, and repent and be baptised. Suddenly, we can see baptism playing a more significant role than first imagined. It’s not just a static symbol or picture of something that happened in the past. It’s an announcement, a declaration—it’s nailing your colours to the mast.
Being baptised in the name of Jesus Christ was and is identification with Jesus—an expression of trust in Jesus’ ability to save through his death. Through baptism, people announce their allegiance to Jesus the Messiah King—something only someone who can understand their sin is able to do.
The Jesus you killed, is your life.
How would you live a life that he is worthy of?
Three thousand people in Jerusalem understood the worth of Messiah Jesus. They understood how to live out their allegiance to Christ. They had been forgiven much—now they loved much.
They understood that he had died to purchase a bride. They understood that to love him is to love his word and to love his bride.
They devoted themselves to Christ … together.
- Together around the Word.
- Together around the Lord’s Table.
- Together in their needs.
- Together in each other’s homes.
And together, their witness was unstoppable.
May the church be granted the privilege of feeling the weight of Christ’s blood, that we may rejoice all the more in our great Saviour and be drawn into a life together that reflects his beauty.