Yes. Jesus was rejected by His own people. “He came unto His own, and His own received Him not” (John 1:11). Israel’s religious leaders delivered Him over in unbelief, and then they shouted, “Crucify Him!” (Mark 15:13). Spiritually, that was the worst that could be said of Israel at that time.
Historically, though, it was Rome who did the execution. The Jews had no legal right to crucify anyone under Roman law. The governor Pilate gave the order to carry out the sentence (John 19:10–16). So in human terms, the guilt is shared by Jew and Gentile alike.
And in God’s terms, we all share the guilt. Peter said, “You killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead” (Acts 3:15). But he also said, “Christ died for our sins” (1 Corinthians 15:3). The cross was not a political act, but God’s plan of the ages (Acts 2:23).
His own people betrayed Him and Rome executed Him, but it was our sin that nailed Him there, and His love that kept Him there. None of us can point fingers at anyone else. Every one of us stands guilty apart from the mercy of the One who hung on that cross.
