Antisemitic Tropes: The Deicide Charge
For truly in this city there were gathered together against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever Your hand and purpose predestined to occur (Acts 4:27-28).
Steven Spielberg’s semi-autobiographical film, The Fabelmans,[1] tells the story of Sammy Fabelman, an aspiring filmmaker whose teen years are overshadowed by complex family dynamics. Sammy’s Jewish identity becomes prominent in the film when he encounters antisemitic bullies Chad and Logan at his new high school.
In one pivotal scene, Chad accuses Sammy of “making goo-goo eyes” at Logan’s girlfriend and demands that Sammy apologize to her. When Sammy denies Chad’s accusation, Chad promptly responds, “Then apologize to her for killing Christ. Apologize to her for killing our Lord!”
This is evidently Sammy’s first encounter with the Deicide Charge – an ancient erroneous belief that Jewish people are collectively and perpetually culpable for Jesus’ crucifixion. According to a 2013 survey by the Anti-Defamation League, 26% of Americans still accept this trope as fact.[2]
Sadly, the Deicide Charge is almost as old as Christianity. Second-century church father Justin Martyr was one of the first to express this belief in his Dialogue with Trypho, where he claims that Jewish suffering is God’s punishment for “murder[ing] the Just One.”[3]
History records how the “Christ-killer” charge resulted in physical harm to Jewish people over the centuries. David Rausch cites one: “One Jewish man was stabbed five times by a group of Crusaders ‘in memory of the wounds suffered by Jesus.’”[4]
At Life in Messiah, we categorically reject the Deicide Charge, which deliberately overlooks the non-Jewish instigators of Jesus’ death, fuels antisemitic words and actions, and is antithetical to the gospel.
Revisiting the Gentile Role in Jesus’ Death
Jesus’ crucifixion was commissioned and implemented by Gentiles. While Jewish religious leaders were the ones who arrested Jesus[5] and convicted Him of blasphemy, they did not have the authority to have Him killed. They needed the Roman governor Pilate’s cooperation to achieve this end.
Pilate is often portrayed as a weak character who was bullied by an angry mob to go against his better judgement. This interpretation completely overlooks Pilate’s status and power as a Roman official. Pilate was vested by the Roman Empire with “authority to release [Jesus] and authority to crucify [Him]” (John 19:10). As governor, he had a responsibility to investigate the matter and see that justice was done.
However, despite his wife’s warning[6] and his own certainty of Jesus’s blamelessness,[7] Pilate neglected his duty and chose the politically expedient path of convicting an innocent man. Washing his hands of Jesus’ blood was an empty gesture. Pilate had the authority, power, and responsibility to dismiss the groundless charges, but he chose not to.
Under Pilate’s orders, Roman soldiers (not a Jewish mob) flogged Jesus a second time, pressed the crown of thorns on his head, mocked and spat on Him, and nailed Him to the tree.
Recognizing Jesus’ Role in His Own Death
At its core, the Deicide Charge overlooks Jesus’ deity by implying He was a passive victim rather than the all-powerful God of the universe.
No power, human or otherwise, could have subjected Him to crucifixion without His willing submission. In His own words, Jesus took full responsibility for His own death: “For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it back. No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it back” (John 10:17-18a).
Jesus didn’t die because the Pharisees and elders conspired against Him; He had already demonstrated his ability to evade their machinations.[8] He didn’t die because Pilate convicted Him; as He told Pilate, “You would have no authority over Me at all, if it had not been given to you from above” (John 19:11). Jesus died because He freely chose to sacrifice His life to fulfill God’s promise of salvation. In His own words, “…the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life – a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28).
By His own declaration,[9] He could have prevented His own crucifixion at any time. He could have called down angels to prevent the trials, floggings, and execution. He could have fled Jerusalem after Judas left to betray Him or refrained from choosing Judas to be His disciple.[10] He could have hidden His divine identity and lived a relatively peaceful life. He could have refused to come to earth as a vulnerable human child in the first place.
Instead, in full knowledge of all He would suffer, He chose to endure the punishment we deserve, opening the door to forgiveness and salvation!
Conclusion
Blaming Jewish people for Jesus’ death is not only unfair and immoral; it relies on dangerously flawed theology by downplaying Jesus’ active role in His own death. Antisemitic theology inevitably sparks antisemitic action. From schoolyard taunts to the massacre of entire communities, the Deicide Charge has been used to justify centuries of apathy, hatred, oppression, and violence against the Jewish people.
As believers, these atrocities are part of our history. We should be the first to speak out against this and other antisemitic tropes. We should be the first to proclaim that Jesus voluntarily gave His life to save each of us from our sin. He died for the Jewish religious leaders who accused Him; He died for Pilate, who washed his hands of Him; He died for the Roman soldiers who carried out His execution; He died for you and me, who committed the sins that necessitated His sacrifice.
Jesus’ death and resurrection are grounds not for scapegoating, but for rejoicing!
Written by Miriam, Life in Messiah Communications Coordinator
Have you ever heard the Deicide Charge (also known as the “Christ-Killer Charge”)? How might you respond if someone made this accusation in your hearing?
Given that this antisemitic trope originated within the church, what insights can we gain about Jewish attitudes toward Christianity? It shouldn’t come as a surprise that Christianity is sometimes perceived as a religion of hate.
Are there any ways that you are misrepresenting Jesus to those who don’t know Him? As believers, we represent God to the world! If we act out of bitterness or hatred, we misrepresent Him.
Check out this page on antisemitism for helpful resources.
Endnotes:
[1] Life in Messiah does not necessarily endorse this film’s content or primary message.
[2] Read more about the survey here. For examples of forms the Deicide Charge takes today, read this article. For information on the current state of American antisemitism, click here.
[3] Quoted in The Anguish of the Jews by Edward H. Flannery (page 40).
[4] A Legacy of Hatred by David Rausch (page 27).
[5] The Gospels record wide acceptance of Jesus and His teaching by the common Jewish people, which the religious leaders viewed as a threat (e.g., Mark 11:18-19 and Luke 19:47-48). That the plot to kill Jesus was fomented by the leadership is clearly seen in Matthew 26:3-5, Mark 14:1-2, Luke 22:1-2, and John 11:45-53.
[6] See Matthew 27:19.
[7] Pilate emphasizes Jesus’ innocence several times in Luke 23. Verse 4: “But Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, ‘I find no grounds for charges in the case of this man.’” Verse 14: “‘…And behold, after examining Him before you, I have found no basis at all in the case of this man for the charges which you are bringing against Him.’” Verse 15: “‘No, nor has Herod, for he sent Him back to us; and behold, nothing deserving death has been done by Him.’” Verse 22: “And he said to them a third time, ‘Why, what has this man done wrong? I have found in His case no grounds for a sentence to death….’”
[8] Luke 4:28-30 is one passage demonstrating Jesus’ ability to avoid harm; He knew the time had not yet come for His death, so He effortlessly evaded those who sought to harm Him.
[9] He made this clear after Peter attacked one of the men who came to arrest Him. Rebuking Peter, Jesus said, “Do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels? How then would the Scriptures be fulfilled, which say that it must happen this way?” (Matthew 26: 53-54).
[10] In Mark 3:13-19 Jesus handpicks Judas to be one of His 12 disciples, even though He knows Judas will betray Him.