This murder could be looked at from several levels.  Jesus made himself available to be killed.  Judas Iscariot set Jesus up to be arrested by those who sought his life.  Jesus' disciples failed to either fight those who arrested him or rally the Palm Sunday folks to storm Caiaphas' house to free him. The Jerusalem establishment of priests and thieves had a vested interest in his death.  The Romans beat him half to death and crucified him to death.  The people of Judea and Israel were responsible for what they let their leaders do.  Satan tried to kill and corrupt Jesus many times before.

When Jesus was in the countryside, he preached good news, healed the sick, raised the dead, cast out demons and blessed their children.  He never had a critical word to say against these people.  He had won them over.  Wherever he went, crowds would gather.  Only once did he run off a crowd, but he did so by saying outlandish things suggesting cannibalism. (John 6:51-58)  Even so, when Jesus went to Jerusalem, they quoted verses referring to the messiah to him.  (Matt. 21:8-9)

The country folk had to go to Jerusalem on feast days renting a room, buying food and offering God's required sacrifices.  During Jesus' life, the Mosaic covenant was still in effect.

Then Jesus came to Jerusalem.  He broke up the organized thievery of selling animals and special temple coins.  The priests and scribes got a bribe to reject anything that wasn't sold by these dealers.  In chasing off the animals and mixing the coins, he hurt the priests, scribes and thieves in their wallets.  He went on to prophesy eight woes against the priests and scribes. (Matt. 23)  The leaders wanted to arrest him and kill him but they were afraid of the sympathetic country folk who were crowding their city. (Matt. 26:4,5)

Jesus' disciples still thought their rabbi was the political Messiah of Israel, despite all of what Jesus said to the contrary.  That included Judas Iscariot.  Satan gave Judas an idea; if he gave the leadership a chance to arrest Jesus, Jesus would wipe them out and take over Jerusalem!  I mean Jesus had the spirit of Elisha upon him!  Judas negotiated with the leadership to turn Him in.  At the Passover, Jesus said to Judas, "what you do, do quickly."  Ahah!  Now's the time!  The other disciples didn't understand.  Jesus made sure they had swords. (Luke 22:36-38)

Then Jesus and the disciples went out of Jerusalem with its crowds and noise to a specific place in a quiet garden across the canyon. He commonly went there.  If he had gone anywhere else in the world, he would not have been arrested and killed.  This was his last chance; he had to pray hard against temptation.

Judas brought the temple guard, the chief priests and the elders to that place in the garden and identified Jesus to them in the dark with a kiss.  He had done his job -- or so he thought.  The disciples pulled out their swords to defend Jesus.  Jesus immediately told them to put away the swords and let him be arrested.  In this tense moment, the disciples didn't know what to do.  So they ran out into the darkness in total confusion.  Even Judas didn't know what to do at this moment.  He was getting scared.  This was not supposed to happen.

He was quietly taken to the house of Caiaphas, the high priest where the temple guards mistreated him.  At dawn the Jerusalem syndicate reconvened at the house with false witnesses, tried him, found him guilty and sentenced him to be killed.  This mob then went to Pilate's portico to demand he be executed on false charges. (The country folk in town were just starting to wake up.) Pilate had not heard of him and refused.  As they insisted, Pilate sent the mob to Herod who was in town.  Jesus refused to say anything to Herod, so he sent the mob back to Pilate.  He refused their demand of death three times, even releasing a revolutionary instead, but that wasn't enough.  He had Jesus scourged, but that wasn't enough.  Finally, he was forced to crucify this harmless Nazarene, claiming he was innocent of his blood.  The chief priest declared a curse upon all Jews, saying "His blood be upon us and on our children," implying Pilate was free from the curse.

What was the extent of that curse?  If Jesus had been guilty of something big, they would have been free from the consequences of that curse.  He had not.  The curse covered all Jews, since it was the leader of the Jews who had pronounced it.  Were the Jewish country folk free from the curse by the blood of Jesus' death?  Not at all.  In fact this was the last straw for God.  Jesus had prophesied that this generation would pay for the death of all the prophets from the foundation of the world. (Luke 11:46-51)  One of Jesus' parables said the same thing. (Matt. 21:33-46)

Jesus said on the cross, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do."  Since he had already prophesied the doom of the Jews for killing Him, he could only be meaning the Romans who were killing an unknown Nazarene. (Luke 23:34)

Judas was in horror at how all his good intentions had turned into the death of an innocent man.  So he gave the priests a refund of their money and killed himself.  He still didn't understand the spiritual side of Jesus, so he didn't trust in Jesus' death for the forgiveness of his sins.  So sad.

At Pentecost, the Jewish country folk were back in Jerusalem.  They found out their doom was impending because of Jesus' death unless they received Jesus as their Lord & Savior.  Everyone of the country folk took the offer.  Some of the priests did as well.  The high priest and the thieves did not. They wanted to kill him again.

These clergy people of today point the finger of accusation at their own congregations, saying they would do the same as that mob of old.  But they don't point back at themselves, saying they would do the same as the corrupt high priest of old.  Those corrupt priests and thieves are the ones who killed Jesus. Shame is Satan's weapon to control people with.

We as Christians are not allowed to judge those outside the church, including Jews. Martin Luther was wrong on that score.  Satan wants to destroy the Jews because they are scheduled to rule with Jesus during the Millenium.  We must not listen to this Accuser even if he uses our own pulpit.

edited: April 21, 2017         orderofsaintpatrick.org/who-killed-jesus-christ.htm