Unpacking the “Christ Killer” Lie and Who Really Killed Jesus

By: Dr. Susan Michael, ICEJ USA President

For centuries, the most dangerous day of the year for the Jewish people was Good Friday as Christians around the world commemorated Jesus’ crucifixion. It was all too common that Good Friday sermons incited persecution of Jewish communities. For this reason, Jews commonly stayed in their homes and out of the streets to avoid encountering enraged congregants leaving church services looking for “Christ killers” to attack. 

The Christ-Killer Lie

It wasn’t until after the Holocaust that the Catholic Church changed its Good Friday liturgy to remove derogatory words regarding Jews and clarified its theology as one of respect for the Jewish faith and people. Some mainline Protestant denominations also made major efforts to renounce antisemitism and establish interfaith relations with the Jewish community.  

The problem, however, persists today. As antisemitism is surging around the world, the trope “Christ killer” is commonly found on social media and in some Christian and conservative discourse.  

The Evangelical movement is the fastest-growing segment of Christianity today, and while there are many Evangelicals who love and support Israel and the Jewish people, Christians must be aware of and on guard against this false accusation of Jews as “Christ killers.” 

What Does the New Testament Say? 

The New Testament account of Jesus’ crucifixion indicates that some Jewish religious leaders conspired to arrest Jesus and called for His death (Matthew 26; Mark 14; Luke 22; John 18). There are many theories on why the Jewish leaders did this: They were afraid of a potential uprising against their oppressive Roman rulers; they were upset when Jesus cleared the money changers from the temple courts; or they were fearful over Jesus’ prediction of the destruction of the temple. It is also widely accepted by Jewish historians that the religious aristocracy of the Second Temple period was corrupt, so there was also undoubtedly an element of self-preservation in their call for Jesus’ crucifixion. 

The late Professor David Flusser of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (considered the leading Orthodox Jewish expert on the Second Temple era and Early Christianity before his death) may have come the closest to documenting what happened. In his book Jesus (Magnus Press, 1998), Flusser suggested that certain members of the Sadducee sect conspired with the Romans to arrest and kill Jesus to preserve their control of temple worship, which they had wrested from their more popular rivals, the Pharisees. 

The Romans

In any event, it was the Romans who actually carried out the crucifixion, yet they are never blamed for being “Christ killers.” This may be because according to the New Testament accounts, the Roman Governor Pontius Pilate felt Jesus didn’t deserve death and proclaimed he was “washing his hands” of the matter. According to the Gospel of Mathew, the Jewish observers replied “His blood be on us and our children.”  

This is the root of the greatly embellished accusation that all Jews from all periods are responsible for spilling Jesus’ blood. 

The New Testament does not specify who those Jewish observers were, but we know that those allowed into the Roman courtyard were Jews associated with the corrupt religious aristocracy bringing Jesus before Pilate. We must remind ourselves that thousands of Jews had lined the streets outside the city gates only days prior when Jesus arrived in Jerusalem, waving palm branches and proclaiming Him as King. That was the whole reason some Jewish leaders saw Jesus as a threat—throngs of Jews were following Him.  

Who Is to Blame?

Would the blame accepted by a group inside the Roman courtyard be placed on all of those outside the courtyard who followed or sympathized with Jesus? Likewise, would their guilt be passed down generations to people who were not alive when Jesus died? Of course not. The responsibility begins and ends with the specific group of individuals calling for His execution. 

As Christians, we must also recognize our share of guilt in this story. Theologically speaking, we all put Jesus on the cross. First Timothy 1:15 says Jesus was born to die for our sins, and 1 Peter 3:18 adds that Jesus suffered for our sins to bring us to God. Jesus’ death was a sacrificial act meant to reconcile fallen mankind with God. Moreover, Jesus had the ability to avoid death but willingly laid down His life when He prayed in the garden of Gethsemane “not my will be done but yours.” 

What happened in the Roman courtyard that fateful day was how God orchestrated His plan of redemption. We should stand in gratitude and awe of that, not in anger at those He used to bring His plan to fruition. To demonize all generations of the Jewish faith for that is blatantly antisemitic. 

Recognizing Tropes Like the “Christ Killer” Lie

Prompted by a swell in antisemitic incidents, the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) drafted a definition of “antisemitism” in 2016 to help countries, institutions, and organizations recognize, respond, and better monitor and track antisemitic incidents. Along with the definition, IHRA provided examples of antisemitism, and one was “claims of Jews killing Jesus.” 

When the US House of Representatives voted on a bill to adopt the IHRA definition, a couple of far-right members accused the bill of outlawing the New Testament Scriptures. The IHRA example of antisemitism does not refer to the historical narrative of Jesus’ trial and crucifixion found in the New Testament. It refers to the centuries-long use of tropes such as “Christ killer” to blame Jews alive today for what happened 2,000 years ago. 

For the last 45 years, the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem has educated Christian congregations about this misapplication of Scripture and encouraged instead adherence to the words of the apostle Paul in Romans 9–11. Paul called for Christians to honor the Jewish people because their faith is the very root supporting the Christian faith. The ICEJ’s reach into 183 countries makes it the largest Christian organization in the world seeking to establish a new relationship with the Jewish people and the Jewish State of Israel—one based on honor and respect. 

Related Articles

Warning Christians about Antisemitism
Does the House Bill Opposing Antisemitism Outlaw Parts of the New Testament?
The Big Lie: Who Is Really Committing Genocide?

Keep Learning

What Is Antisemitism? Unpacking History’s Longest Hatred

Dr. Susan Michael is the USA President of the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem, a respected author, including Antisemitism: What Every Christian Needs to Know and How to Counter It, and the creator of Israel Answers.com and online courses at ICEJU.org that address antisemitism.