Who Killed the Christ?

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Date: Tue, 20 Apr 2010 Time: 4:53 AM
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For hundreds of years, people around the world have discussed, sought out reasons for and argued over the death of Jesus Christ. Can any one person be blamed for it or was His death a group effort? Is there another explanation? These aren't and have never been easy questions to answer.

Using ancient scriptures and other authoritative religious texts, including the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible, first-time author Clive P. Oscar tells the story of Christ's crucifixion both from the physical as well as the spiritual realm in his book, Who Killed the Christ? As Oscar puts it in the Preface, "This is a story of spiritual redemption brought about by horrible physical, mental and spiritual suffering by the God-man."

Throughout the 192 pages, the author takes a deep and passionate look into all of the key players that factored into the death of the self-proclaimed Messiah and Son of God to try and figure out who deserves the ultimate blame for His tragic death.

Judas Iscariot, the Apostle who for power and wealth betrayed Jesus and rejected all He stood for, is a popular figure to blame. He was the man responsible for the Lord being arrested and handed over to the Jewish authorities after He and his followers celebrated Passover at The Last Supper. Oscar lays out In Who Killed the Christ? not only the sequences of the betrayal by Judas, but the spiritual consequences of it, as Satan dominated his thoughts thereafter. He writes that Satan tried to "tempt" Judas to kill himself over what he had done, and at about the same time Christ was executed, Judas did just that and hung himself to death from a tree.

The Sanhedrin was ancient Israel's supreme court. It dealt with all civil and religious affairs, and consisted of 71 members. Among the most notable and relevant members, it included Joseph Caiaphas, the Roman-appointed High Priest of Jesus' day and his father-in-law, former High Priest Annas. Both figured in Christ's death, says Oscar.

Caiaphas organized a hearing in which Jesus was found guilty of blasphemy, after which he was sent to Pontius Pilate for further accusations in a civil trial. Annas, no fan of Christ according to Oscar, and who tried Jesus on blasphemy charges (but failed) before Caiaphas did, held all the "backdoor meetings" with Judas that set up the disgraced Apostle's eventual betrayal of his Master.

Another player in the death of Jesus was King Herod Antipas. Ruler of Galilee, he viewed Jesus as a false Prophet simply because he refused to work a miracle in his presence. Charged with no specific legal crime, Jesus could have been released by Herod but, according to the New Testament, was transferred to a higher authority instead, Pontius Pilate, the Roman Governor.

Pilate was the judge at Jesus' civilian trials but was reluctant to execute Him. He was accused of being a threat against Rome and Pilate ultimately sent Him to his crucifixion but washed his own hands from any responsibility for that decision, blaming the Jewish holy leaders for Jesus' situation instead. Oscar also ponders faulting Pilate's soldiers and executioners for Jesus' bloody death on a Cross, all of whom mercilessly and brutally tortured Christ.

Not to be left out are the Jewish people themselves, many of whom "demanded" Christ's death as they exclaimed, "Let his blood be on us and upon our Children." And lastly, Oscar considers blaming the human race and all of its individual and collective sins for laying the groundwork for Christ's execution.

The life of Jesus Christ is full of wonder and inspiration, but even after all this time is still shrouded in mystery. Mr. Oscar uses exhaustive research and his own analytical skills to bring the pieces of Jesus' final hours of life closer together and make sense of the madness that surrounded his death. And among the many pieces and players involved, you may finally discover the answer to the difficult question, "Who killed the Christ?"

About the Author

Charlie Doherty is a staff writer at News & Experts.