No offense to shows like CSI, I'm pretty sure it isn't always so easy to determine exactly what it is that has caused the death of a crime victim or even one who has died from "natural causes" (at least not in a one hour frame of time). I remember the story of a 14-year-old in North Carolina whose death was a baffling mystery when he was first found dead. He had a friend over to spend the night and, at around 4:00 in the morning, the friend frantically called out to the boy's mother to come quickly. When she arrived in her son's room, she found him lying dead in his bed. There was no sign of injury and no health issues that could explain his sudden passing. Unfortunately, he had been dead for a few hours and so there was nothing rescuers could do to resuscitate him.
Whenever someone who has a known history of illness passes away - or if it's obvious that some form of trauma is the obvious culprit - then the book is usually closed pretty quickly on the case and life carries on. Yet when death involves a young person or someone else who otherwise appeared healthy, an investigation must take place to determine the cause of death. With this young 14-year-old boy the questions were many, yet before the medical examiner could even begin his autopsy to solve the mystery the young man's friend stepped forward with an explanation that saved the investigators a lot of time and energy. When he confessed that his friend had taken a pill that he thought was a mild stimulant, the medical examiner knew exactly where to look. What he found out was both revelational and tragic. The pill that the young man took was not a stimulant but rather an animal tranquilizer that quickly shut his system down and caused his death. Case closed but certainly not forgotten.
2000 years ago there was a Roman leader named Pilate who was the prefect of Judaea. It was hard enough for him to govern the Jewish people who resented Rome's presence and rule, but when they brought before him a man accused of "crimes" that encompassed primarily religious issues I'm sure his head began to spin. Pilate was no expert in Jewish law and he certainly did not feel qualified to mediate their religious quarrels. But this case was different. The accused in question was especially hated by the Jewish leaders and they were irrationally rabid about having him convicted and put to death.
Jesus was this man the Jews brought before Pilate. They had accused Him of subverting not only the Jewish nation but also opposing the payment of taxes to Caesar (neither of which was true). But their ultimate beef against Jesus was that He claimed to be the Messiah and the King of the Jews. Pilate took to examining Jesus but found nothing with which to condemn Him: "Clearly, He has done nothing to deserve death," Pilate exclaimed. Yet the Jews were insistent. Jesus must die. They lobbied for Pilate to exchange the life of Barabbas - a known criminal and murdered - Jesus' life. Again, Pilate could not understand this logic. "What has this man done wrong? I have found in Him no grounds for the death penalty." Pilate's intent was to have Jesus whipped and then released, but again the Jews were insistent that Jesus be crucified. Luke 23:23 records these chilling words of what happened next: "And their voices won out." So Pilate finally acquiesced; he released Barabbas and "handed Jesus over to their will."
Jesus was handed over to the will of the people. What exactly was it that killed Jesus? Or better yet, who killed Jesus? I did. And so did you. It was our willful rebellion against God that put Jesus on the cross. In a real sense we willed His death by our blatant sinfulness. The death plans for Jesus weren't laid out a mere 2000 years ago. Rather, they were set in motion the moment that sin entered into the picture with Adam and Eve. The very fact that we inherit our sin nature makes us complicit on the plot to kill Jesus. We are to blame just as much as the Jewish leaders who brought Him before Pilate.
Before we change into sackcloth and ashes for a session of self flagellation, consider that while it was our willful sin that put Jesus on the cross, it was also God's will that Jesus be offered up as a perfect sacrifice to satisfy His wrath again the sin of the world. Without the cross, we have no grace, no hope, no future. This does not justify my sin but rather helps to explain the beautiful solution for it. God's glory and amazing grace are greater than all of my sin. How could I not humbly turn away from my sin and wickedness and run to the cross of Christ that was erected because of my sin in the first place?
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